3 and the intermediary were seated in a separate room with him testifying with the aid of a closed circuit camera. [3] An issue that occasioned concern to us on perusing the appeal record in the matter was whether there had been proper compliance by the trial court with the provisions of s 164 read with sections 162 and 163 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 in respect of the complainant, the minor child P. Both counsel were invited to file supplementary heads of argument and advised that at the hearing of the matter they had to be prepared to address argument on that issue. [4] Sections 162–164 of the Criminal Procedure Act provide as follows: ‘162 Witness to be examined under oath (1) Subject to the provisions of sections 163 and 164, no person shall be examined as a witness in criminal proceedings unless he is under oath, which shall be administered by the presiding judicial officer or, in the case of a superior court, by the presiding judge or the registrar of the court, and which shall be in the following form: “I swear that the evidence that I shall give, shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.” (2) If any person to whom the oath is administered wishes to take the oath with uplifted hand, he shall be permitted to do so. 163 Affirmation in lieu of oath (1) Any person who is or may be required to take the oath and– (a) who objects to taking the oath; (b) who objects to taking the oath in the prescribed form; (c) who does not consider the oath in the prescribed form to be binding on his conscience; or (d) who informs the presiding judge or, as the case may be, the presiding judicial officer, that he has no religious belief or that the taking of the oath is contrary to his religious belief, shall make an affirmation in the following words in lieu of the oath and at the direction of the presiding judicial officer or, in the case of a superior court, the presiding judge or the registrar of the court: