diff --git a/perl/Git.pm b/perl/Git.pm
index 3179e6efb2..f4b56e6d4d 100644
--- a/perl/Git.pm
+++ b/perl/Git.pm
@@ -1493,8 +1493,8 @@ when not using -z or when parsing the output of diff -u.
 					$_ = $2;
 					last;
 				}
-				# This is malformed -- just return it as-is for now.
-				return $_[0];
+				# This is malformed
+				throw Error::Simple("invalid quoted path $_[0]");
 			}
 			$_ = $remainder;
 		}