Using covert recordings as evidence in Court

A covert recording is a recording made in secret, without the knowledge or permission of the person being recorded.

In Wilbur Tock Bing Heng v Tock Khee Song & Anor, the respondent argued that an audio recording made without his consent or knowledge was inadmissible. The High Court dealt with this issue with a simple answer. The learned Judge held that the evidence was admissible “as long as it is relevant to the proceedings herein”.

As shown in the case above, covert recordings may be used as evidence in Court. However, doing so is not without risk. A person who uses such recordings may expose himself or herself to various legal actions, including an action for breach of confidence or invasion of privacy.

In Berjaya Land Berhad v Wong Chee Hie & Ors [2010] CLJU 983, the plaintiff filed an action for breach of confidence arising from the use of certain leaked privileged and confidential emails in another suit.

An earlier version of this case summary was published by Foong Cheng Leong on LinkedIn.