8 prepare his defence. 1 On the other hand, provision is made in the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 (CPA) for rectifying defective charges and clarifying any vagueness or ambiguity. 2 [19] In this case the charge specified a clearly circumscribed period during which the offence was alleged to have occurred. The appellant was able to plead thereto without any difficulty. The reference, in the J88 and the evidence of the doctor, to the period February to June could only be a discrepancy in the evidence supporting the charge. Equally, the complainant’s momentary failure during cross-examination to recall the month during which the incident occurred fell to be considered as such. These discrepancies could not, in my view, render the appellant’s trial unfair. [20] Regarding the complainant’s evidence as to when the rape occurred, at the start of her evidence she was led by the prosecutor to ‘explain what happened during the month of February 2006’. During cross-examination she was asked if she could remember the month during which the rape occurred. At first she could not, but she later did. Considering the age of the complainant, both at the time of the incident and when she was giving evidence, and the lapse of time between the incident and the trial, I do not think that her momentary lapse of memory was unreasonable or that it was an indication that she was fabricating her evidence. On the whole, apart from that moment in cross-examination the complainant was consistent about the month during which the rape occurred. [21] A related submission was that on the doctor’s evidence the incident could not have happened in February 2006. However the doctor’s evidence that the only thing he could conclude with certainty from the injuries was that the incident occurred more than a month prior to the date of examination does not support that submission. [22] Much was made, both before the regional court and in this court, of the lack of clarity in the complainant’s police statement and her evidence in court regarding 1 Section 84 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977. Also see s 35(3)(a) of the Constitution and S v Ismail & others 1993 (1) SACR 33 (D) 40c-d. 2 For example, further particulars may be requested in terms of s 87 of the CPA.