Application of criminal law to aircraft
(1) Any act or omission taking place on board a Malaysian-controlled aircraft while in flight elsewhere than in or over Malaysia which, if taking place in Malaysia, would constitute an offence under the law in force in Malaysia, constitutes that offence:
Provided that this subsection shall not apply to any act or omission which is expressly or impliedly authorized by or under that law when taking place outside Malaysia.
(2) No proceedings for any offence under the law in force in Malaysia committed on board an aircraft while in flight elsewhere than in or over Malaysia shall be instituted in Malaysia except by or with the consent of the Public Prosecutor.
(3) The provisions of subsection (2) shall not prevent the arrest, or the issue of a warrant for the arrest, of any person in respect of any offence, or the remanding in custody or on bail of any person charged with any offence.
(4) For the purpose of conferring jurisdiction, any offence under the law in force in Malaysia committed on board an aircraft in flight shall be deemed to have been committed in Malaysia.
Provisions as to extradition
For the purposes of the application of the *Extradition Act 1992 [Act 479] to crimes committed on board an aircraft in flight, any aircraft registered in a Convention country shall, at any time while that aircraft is in flight, be deemed to be within the jurisdiction of that country, whether or not it is for the time being also within the jurisdiction of any other country.
*NOTE—This Act has replaced the Extradition Ordinance 1958 [Ord. 2 of 1958] and the Commonwealth Fugitive Criminals Act 1967 [Act 54 of 1967]–see section 54 of Act 479.
Powers of commander of aircraft
(1) The provisions of subsections (2), (3), (4) and (5) shall have effect for the purposes of any proceeding before any court in Malaysia.
(2) If the commander of an aircraft in flight, wherever that aircraft may be, has reasonable grounds to believe in respect of any person on board the aircraft—
(a) that the person in question has done or is about to do any act on the aircraft while it is in flight which jeopardizes or may jeopardize—
(i) the safety of the aircraft or of persons or property on board the aircraft; or
(ii) good order and discipline on board the aircraft; or
(b) that the person in question has done on the aircraft while in flight any act which in the opinion of the commanders is a serious offence under any law in force in the country in which the aircraft is registered, not being a law of a political nature or based on racial or religious discrimination,
then, subject to subsection (4), the commander may take with respect to that person such reasonable measures, including restraint of his person, as may be necessary—
(i) to protect the safety of the aircraft or of persons or property on board the aircraft;
(ii) to maintain good order and discipline on board the aircraft; or
(iii) to enable the commander to disembark or deliver that person in accordance with subsection (5),
and, for the purposes of paragraph (b), any Malaysian-controlled aircraft shall be deemed to be registered in Malaysia whether or not it is in fact so registered and whether or not it is in fact registered in some other country.
(3) Any member of the crew of an aircraft and any other person on board the aircraft may, at the request or with the authority of the commander of the aircraft, and any such member shall if so required by that commander, render assistance in restraining any
person whom the commander is entitled under subsection (2) to restrain; and at any time when the aircraft is in flight any such member or other person may, without obtaining the authority of the commander, take with respect to any person on board the aircraft any such measures as are mentioned in subsection (2) which he has reasonable grounds to believe are immediately necessary to protect the safety of the aircraft or of persons or property on board the aircraft.
(4) Any restraint imposed on any person on board an aircraft under the powers conferred by this section shall not be continued after the time when the aircraft first ceases to be in flight unless before or as soon as is reasonably practicable after that time the commander of the aircraft causes notification of the fact that a person on board the aircraft is under restraint and of the reasons therefor to be sent to an appropriate authority of the country in which the aircraft so ceases to be in flight, but subject to such notification, such restraint may be continued after that time—
(a) for any period, including the period of any further flight, between that time and the first occasion thereafter on which the commander is able with any requisite consent of the appropriate authorities to disembark or deliver the person under restraint in accordance with subsection (5); or
(b) if the person under restraint agrees to continue his journey under restraint on board that aircraft.
(5) The commander of an aircraft—
(a) if, in the case of any person on board the aircraft, he has reasonable grounds—
(i) to believe as mentioned in paragraph (2)(a); and
(ii) to believe that it is necessary so to do in order to protect the safety of the aircraft or of persons or property on board the aircraft or to maintain good order and discipline on board the aircraft, may disembark that person in any country in which that aircraft may be; and
(b) if, in the case of any person on board the aircraft, he has reasonable grounds to believe as mentioned in paragraph
(2)(b), may deliver that person—
(i) in Malaysia to a police officer or an immigration officer; or
(ii) in any other country which is a Convention country, to an officer having functions corresponding to the functions either of a police officer or of an immigration officer in Malaysia.
(6) The commander of an aircraft—
(a) if he disembarks any person in pursuance of paragraph
(5)(a) in the case of a Malaysian-controlled aircraft, in any country or, in the case of any other aircraft, in Malaysia, shall report the fact of, and the reasons for, that disembarkation to an appropriate authority in the country of disembarkation; and
(b) if he intends to deliver any person in accordance with paragraph (5)(b) in Malaysia or, in the case of a Malaysiancontrolled aircraft, in any other country which is a Convention country, shall before or as soon as reasonably practicable after landing give notification of his intention and of the reasons therefor, where the country in question is Malaysia, to a police officer or an immigration officer or, in the case of any other country which is a Convention country, to an officer having functions corresponding to the functions either of a police officer or of an immigration officer in Malaysia,
and any commander of an aircraft who without reasonable cause fails to comply with the requirements of this subsection commits an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand ringgit.
Provisions as to evidence in connection with aircraft
(1) Where in any proceeding before a court in Malaysia for an offence committed on board an aircraft the testimony of any person is required and the court is satisfied that the person in question cannot be found in Malaysia, there shall be admissible in evidence
before that court any deposition relating to the subject matter of that proceeding previously made on oath by that person—
(a) in Malaysia which was so made in the presence or absence of the person charged with the offence and before a Sessions Court Judge or Magistrate; or
(b) outside Malaysia which was so made in the presence or absence of the person charged with the offence and before a consular officer or a judicial officer of any foreign country.
(2) Any such deposition shall be authenticated by the signature of the Sessions Court Judge, Magistrate, consular officer or judicial officer before whom it was made who shall certify that the person charged with the offence was present or absent at the taking of the deposition.
(3) It shall not be necessary in any proceeding to prove the signature or official character of the person appearing so to have authenticated any such deposition or to have given such certificate, and such certificate shall, unless the contrary is proved, be sufficient evidence in any proceeding that the person charged with the offence was present or absent, as the case may be, at the making of the deposition.
(4) If a complaint is made to a consular officer that any offence has been committed on a Malaysian-controlled aircraft while in flight elsewhere than in or over Malaysia, that officer may inquire into the case upon oath.
(5) In this section—
(a) the expression “deposition” includes any affidavit, affirmation or statement made upon oath; and
(b) the expression “oath” includes an affirmation or declaration in the case of persons allowed by law to affirm or declare instead of swearing,
and nothing in this section shall prejudice the admission as evidence of any deposition which is admissible in evidence apart from this section.
