The State admitted to a crucial typing error in court on Wednesday, a mistake that could see important evidence scrapped in the corruption trial of former national police chief Jackie Selebi.

"I am embarrassed... there was a typing error... and it was repeated," state prosecutor Gerrie Nel said in the High Court in Johannesburg.

"Why it was missed my Lord...[I don't know]. I read it a hundred times, and I missed it."

The State made a mistake in the dates in the charge sheet against Selebi.

The time period in which Selebi allegedly committed crimes should be from 2000 to 2006, and not 2000 to 2005, said Nel.

He made an application to the court to amend the charge sheet accordingly.

Selebi's lawyer Jaap Cilliers jumped on the mistake at the end of proceedings on Tuesday, when it emerged that the alleged sharing of secret information between Selebi and a UK investigation into his then friend, convicted drug dealer Glenn Agliotti, happened in 2006.

Cilliers told Judge Meyer Joffe that the time period in the indictment only covered alleged crimes committed until the end of 2005, and does not include 2006.

"The charge sheet really restricted itself up to a certain date," Cilliers told Joffe on Wednesday morning.

'Opportunistic' application

He dismissed Nel's application as "opportunistic", saying that a KPMG report into alleged financial irregularities related to the Selebi case, which the State is relying heavily on, also restricted its investigation to the end of 2005.

"It is clearly opportunistic of my learned friend to say it was typing mistake.

"This was deliberately done... and he [Nel] tries to get out of it now.

"We have limited our preparation... to the end of 2005," added Cilliers.

He also complained to the judge that Nel did not even give him a courtesy phone call on Tuesday night to inform him of the application.

Joffe agreed with Cilliers.

"I understand you were under pressure last night... [but] this trial is going to be hard enough to determine and run without congeniality between the parties," said the judge.

The court adjourned briefly just before 11am for the judge to consider the application.

Selebi is facing two counts of corruption and defeating the ends of justice, related to payments of at least R1.2-million he allegedly received from Agliotti, slain mining magnate Brett Kebble, and ex-Hyundai boss and mining businessman Billy Rautenbach.

The hearing continues.

Read more from the Selebi trial...