PART X1 - PERJURY AND FALSE STATEMENTS AND DECLARATIONS


96 Perjury

(1) Any person lawfully sworn as a witness or as an interpreter in a judicial proceeding who wilfully makes a statement material in that proceeding which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true shall be guilty of the misdemeanour of perjury, and shall be liable to imprisonment for 7 years.

(2) Where a statement made for the purpose of a judicial proceeding is not made before the tribunal itself but is made on oath before a person authorised by law to administer an oath to the person who makes the statement and to record or authenticate the statement it shall, for the purposes of this section, be treated as having been made in a judicial proceeding.

(3) The question whether a statement on which perjury is assigned was material is a question of law to be determined by the court of trial.


97 False statements on oath made otherwise than in a judicial proceeding Any person who —
(a) being required or authorised by law to make any statement made otherwise on oath for any purpose and being lawfully sworn (otherwise than in a judicial proceeding) wilfully makes a statement which is material for that purpose and which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true; or
(b) wilfully uses any false affidavit,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and shall be liable to imprisonment for 7 years.


98 False statements etc. with reference to marriage
Any person who —
(a) for the purpose of procuring a marriage or a certificate or licence for marriage knowingly and wilfully makes a false oath or makes or signs a false declaration, notice or certificate required under any Act for the time being in force relating to marriage; or
(b) knowingly and wilfully makes or knowingly and wilfully causes to be made for the purpose of being inserted in any register of marriage a false statement as to any particular required by law to be known and registered relating to any marriage; or
(c) forbids the issue of any certificate or licence for marriage by falsely representing himself to be a person whose consent to the marriage is required by law knowing such representation to be false,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and shall be liable to imprisonment for 7 years.


99 False statements, etc. as to births, or deaths

(1) Any person who —
(a) wilfully makes any false answer to any question put to him by any registrar of births or deaths relating to the particulars required to be registered concerning any birth or death or wilfully gives to any such registrar any false information concerning any birth or death or the cause of any death; or
(b) wilfully makes any false certificate or declaration under or for the purposes of any Act relating to the registration of births or deaths or knowing any such certificate or declaration to be false, uses the same as true or gives or sends the same as true to any person; or
(c) wilfully makes, gives or uses any false statement or declaration as to a child born alive as having been still-born or as to the body of a deceased person or a still-born child in any coffin or falsely pretends that any child born alive was still-born; or
(d) makes any false statement with intent to have the same inserted in any register of births or deaths,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and shall be liable to imprisonment for 7 years.

(2) A prosecution under this section shall not be commenced more than 3 years after the commission of the offence.


100 False statutory declarations and other false statements without oath

(1) Any person who knowingly and wilfully makes (otherwise than on oath) a statement false in a material particular and the statement is made —
(a) in a statutory declaration; or
(b) in an abstract, account, balance sheet, book, certificate, declaration, entry, estimate, inventory, notice, report, return or other document which he is authorised or required to make, attest or verify by any Act for the time being in force; or
(c) in any oral declaration or oral answer which he is required to make by, under or in pursuance of any Act for the time being in force,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.

(2) For the purposes of this section “statutory declaration” means a declaration made by virtue of the Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act.'°


101 False declarations, etc., to obtain registration, etc., for carrying on a vocation
Any person who —
(a) procures or attempts to procure himself to be registered in any register or roll kept under or in pursuance of any Act for the time being in force of persons qualified to practise any vocation or calling; or
(b) procures or attempts to procure a certificate of registration of any person on any such register or roll as aforesaid,
by wilfully making or producing or causing to be produced either verbally or in writing, any declaration, certificate or representation which he knows to be false or fraudulent, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and shall be liable to imprisonment for 12 months.


102 Aiders, abettors, suborners, etc.

(1) Every person who aids, abets, counsels, procures or suborns another person to commit an offence against any of the 6 preceding sections shall be liable to be proceeded against, tried and punished as if he were a principal offender.

(2) Every person who incites or attempts to procure or suborn another person to commit an offence against any of the 6 proceeding sections shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.


103 Corroboration

A person shall not be liable to be convicted of any offence against any of the 7 preceding sections or of any offence declared by any other Act to be perjury or subornation of perjury or to be punishable as perjury or subornation of perjury solely upon the evidence of 1 witness as to the falsity of any statement
alleged to be false.


104 Fabricating evidence
Any person who, with intent to mislead any tribunal in any judicial proceeding —
(a) fabricates evidence by any means other than perjury or subornation of perjury; or
(b) knowingly makes use of such fabricated evidence, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and shall be liable to imprisonment for 7 years .


105 Inconsistent or contradictory statement

(1) Where 2 or more inconsistent or contradictory statements of fact or alleged fact, material to the issue or matter in question, have been wilfully made on oath by one and the same witness in any judicial proceeding or proceedings, whether before the same court or tribunal or person or not, such witness shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and shall be liable to imprisonment for 6 months.

(2) Upon the trial of any person for an offence under this section, it shall not be necessary to prove the falsity of either of the inconsistent or contradictory statements, but, upon proof that both the statements were made by him, the court, if satisfied that the statements, or either of them, were or was made with intent to deceive the court, tribunal or person before whom the statements or either of them were or was made, shall convict the accused.


106 Proof of certain proceedings on which perjury is alleged On a prosecution —
(a) for perjury alleged to have been committed on the trial of an information for felony or misdemeanour; or
(b) for procuring or suborning the commission of perjury on any such trial,
the fact of the former trial shall be sufficiently proved by the production of a certificate containing the substance and effect (omitting the formal parts) of the information and trial purporting to be signed by the registrar or other person having the custody of the records of the court where the information was tried or by the deputy of that registrar or other person without proof of the signature or official character of the clerk or persons appearing to have signed the certificate.


107 Forms and ceremonies of oath immaterial
For the purposes of this Part, the forms and ceremonies used in administering an oath are immaterial if the court or person before whom the oath is taken has power to administer an oath for the purpose of verifying the statement in question and if the oath has been administered in a form and with ceremonies which the person taking the oath has accepted, without objection or has declared to be binding on him.

PART XII - OTHER OFFENCES RELATING TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE


108 Deceiving witnesses

Any person who practises any fraud or deceit, or knowingly makes or exhibits any false statement, representation, token or writing, to any person called or to be called as a witness in any judicial proceeding, with intent to affect the testimony of such person as a witness, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.


109 Destroying evidence

Any person who, knowing that any book, document, or thing of any kind whatsoever is or may be required in evidence in a judicial proceeding, wilfully removes or destroys it or renders it unintelligible or undecipherable or incapable of identification, with intent thereby to prevent it from being used in evidence, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.


110 Conspiracy to defeat justice and interference with witnesses Any person commits a misdemeanour who —
(a) conspires with any other person to accuse any person falsely of any crime or to do anything to obstruct, prevent, pervert or defeat the course of justice; or
(b) in order to obstruct the due course of justice, dissuades, hinders or prevents any person lawfully bound to appear and give evidence as a witness from so appearing and giving evidence or endeavours to do so; or
(c) obstructs or in any way interferes with or knowingly prevents the execution of any legal process, civil or criminal.


111 Compounding felonies

Any person who asks, receives or obtains, or agrees or attempts to receive or obtain, any property or benefit of any kind for himself or any other person upon any agreement or understanding that he will compound or conceal a felony, or will abstain from, discontinue or delay a prosecution for a felony, or will withhold any evidence thereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.


112 Compounding penal actions

Any person who, having brought, or under pretence of bringing, an action against another person upon a penal Act in order to obtain from him a penalty for any offence committed or alleged to have been committed by him, compounds the action without the order or consent of the court in which the action is brought or is to be brought, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.


113 Advertisements for stolen property Any person who —
(a) publicly offers a reward for the return of any property which has been stolen or lost, and in the offer makes use of any words purporting that no questions will be asked, or that the person producing such property will not be seized or molested; or
(b) prints or publishes any such offer, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.


114 Corruptly taking a reward

Any person who corruptly takes any money or reward directly or indirectly, under pretence or upon account of helping reward any person to recover any property which has, under circumstances which amount to felony or misdemeanour, been stolen or obtained in any way whatsoever, or received, shall (unless he has used all due diligence to cause the offender to be brought to trial for the same) be guilty of felony, and shall be liable to imprisonment for 7 years.


115 Offences relating to judicial proceedings (1) Any person who —
(a) within the premises in which any judicial proceeding is being had or taken, or within the precincts of the same, shows disrespect, in speech or manner, to or with reference to such proceeding, or any person before whom such proceeding is being, had or taken; or
(b) having been summoned by any court fails without good cause, the proof whereof shall lie on him, to appear on the date and at the time specified in the summons; or
(c) being present at a judicial proceeding and being called upon to give evidence, refuses to be sworn or to make an affirmation; or
(d) having been sworn or affirmed, refuses without lawful excuse to answer a question or to produce a document which it is within his power to produce; or
(e) having attended a judicial proceeding to give evidence, remains in the room in which such proceeding is being had or taken after the witnesses have been ordered to leave such room; or
(f) causes an obstruction or disturbance in the course of a judicial proceeding; or
(g) while a judicial proceeding is pending, makes use of any speech or writing misrepresenting such proceeding or capable of prejudicing any person in favour of or against any parties to such proceeding, or calculated to lower the authority of any person before whom such proceeding is being had or taken; or
(h) publishes a report of the evidence taken in any judicial proceeding which has been directed to be held in private: or
(i) attempts wrongfully to interfere with or influence a witness in a judicial proceeding, either before or after he has given evidence, in connection with such evidence; or
(j) dismisses a servant because he has given evidence on behalf of a certain party to a judicial proceeding; or
(k) wrongfully retakes possession of land from any person who has recently obtained possession by a writ of court; or
(l) commits any other act of intentional disrespect to any judicial proceeding, or to any person before whom such proceeding is being had or taken,
shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable to imprisonment for 3 months.

(2) When an offence under paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (g) or (l) of subsection (1) is committed in view of the court, the court may cause the offender to be detained in custody, and at any time before the rising of the court on the same day may take cognisance of the offence and sentence the offender to a fine of $40 or in default of payment to imprisonment for 1 month.

(3) The provisions of this section shall be deemed to be in addition to and not in derogation from the power of the High Court to punish for contempt of court.