Over a period of 33 years, seven people were unwittingly convicted - in name - for crimes they did not commit.

Their identities had been misused by the real culprits when they were arrested by the police and charged in court, mainly for minor offences such as gambling and theft.

The actual culprits had served their respective sentences under the assumed names.

These separate and unrelated cases of identity theft came to light during a review by the police, comparing fingerprint records with National Registration Office with those taken of the culprits when they were arrested.

On Friday, the prosecution applied to the High Court to set aside the seven convictions against the innocent persons whose names were used by the actual culprits