NGCOBO J [11] Before she testified, she was questioned by the court in order to determine whether she understood the import of an oath, and if not, whether she understood what it meant to speak the truth. While the court was not satisfied that she understood the import of an oath, it nevertheless concluded that the child understood the difference between truth and falsehood. The child was accordingly admonished to speak the truth. [12] At the conclusion of all the evidence, Mr Phaswane was convicted of the rape of the child. As the court found that the offence merited a sentence in excess of its jurisdiction in terms of the provisions of section 52(1) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act,12 the court referred the case to the High Court in Pretoria for sentence in terms of section 52 of the Act.13 In terms of section 52(1) an accused who 12 Act 105 of 1997. Section 52(1) provides: “If a regional court, following on— (a) a plea of guilty; or (b) a plea of not guilty, has convicted an accused of an offence referred to in— (i) Part I of Schedule 2; or (ii) Part II, III or IV of Schedule 2 and the court is of the opinion that the offence concerned merits punishment in excess of the jurisdiction of a regional court in terms of section 51(2), the court shall stop the proceedings and commit the accused for sentence as contemplated in section 52(1) or (2), as the case may be, by a High Court having jurisdiction.” 13 Section 52(3) provides: “(a) Where an accused is committed under subsection (1)(b) of sentence by a High Court, the record of the proceedings in the regional court shall upon proof thereof in the High Court be received by the High Court and form part of the record of that Court. (b) The High Court shall, after considering the record of the proceedings in the regional court, sentence the accused as contemplated in section 51(1) or (2), as the case may be, and the judgment of the regional court shall stand for this purpose and be sufficient for the High Court to pass such sentence: Provided that if the judge is of the opinion that the proceedings are not in accordance with justice, he or she shall, without sentencing the accused, 7