(1)Where a witness in any judicial proceedings, other than a person accused of an offence to which the proceedings relate, makes a statement on oath or affirmation of some fact relevant in the proceedings contradicting in a material particular a previous statement made by the witness on oath or affirmation before a court during the same or any other judicial proceedings, the witness, if the court is satisfied that either of the statements made was made with intent to deceive, commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding twenty-four currency points or to imprisonment fora term not exceeding one year, or both.

(2)Upon the trial of any person for an offence under this section, it shall not be necessary to prove the falsity of his or her statement mentioned in subsection (1).

(3)No prosecution under this section shall be commenced unless with the consent in writing of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(4)In this section, “statement” includes a statement of evidence given during a criminal proceeding and certified by a magistrate.