The High Court will rule tomorrow on the admissibility of the video recording of lawyer Karpal Singh's press conference held on Feb 6 where he allegedly made seditious remarks on the Sultan of Perak.

Judicial commissioner Azman Abdullah said he needed time to decide on the issue after hearing submissions from the prosecution and defence today.

karpal slam macc 210209 Lead counsel Jagdeep Singh Deo said the admissibility of the 37-minute recording by RTM cameraman Adial Hari Singh should be decided at the end of the prosecution case and not at this stage of the trial.

Jagdeep said he was objecting to the prosecution's application to tender the recording as evidence on the grounds that the entire recording was not viewed by the witness who was the maker of the exhibit.

"Accuracy, continuity and reliability are crucial elements which are applicable in this case at this stage, where prosecution witnesses themselves had agreed that there were six gaps in the recording.

"It is not as simple as just calling the maker to identify the exhibit and tender it. What is more important here is accuracy and integrity of the tape," stressed Jagdeep.

He was submitting on the admissibility of the video recording as evidence at the sedition trial of Karpal Singh, who is alleged to have made seditious remarks about the Sultan of Perak at the press conference held in his office, Messrs Karpal Singh & Co, in Jalan Pudu Lama, here between noon and 12.30pm on Feb 6.

‘Gaps’ in recording

Jagdeep Singh said during examination-in-chief and cross-examination that Adial admitted he did not record the entire question-and-answer session and was not sure how many parts he had omitted out and how long were the "gaps".

"He was indeed candid enough to admit that it was a recycled tape, where he had no knowledge who had custody of the tape before it was produced in court.

"It was a complete failure on the part of the prosecution to show the chain of evidence over the video recording before they decide to tender it as evidence," added Jagdeep Singh.

Deputy public prosecutor Noorin Badaruddin in her submissions said the fact remained that Adial was the maker of the video recording and it was a primary evidence as stipulated under Section 61 of the Evidence Act.

"The issue here is not about the "gaps" which the prosecution witnesses admitted while testifying during the sedition trial, but the main issue centred on what was uttered by Karpal during the press conference on Feb 6.

"He was just a cameraman, he would not be able to answer what was Karpal's statement all about," she added.

She said defence counsel must distinguish between who was entrusted to record the press conference and understand the issue highlighted by the lawyer and a cameraman whose duty was to record the event.

Noreen also told the court that even though witnesses agreed on the "gaps", that did not mean that the tape had been "tampered with".

- Bernama