Postal Services Act 1991 Part IX — Offences and penalties

Penalty for contravention of section 8

s 25

(1) Any person who-. (a) conveys, otherwise than in accordance with the terms of a valid licence, any letter within the exclusive privilege conferred on the Government by section 8; (b) performs any service incidental to conveying, otherwise than in accordance with the terms of a valid licence, any letter within the exclusive privilege aforesaid; (c) sends or tenders or delivers in order to be sent, otherwise than in accordance with the terms of a valid licence, any letter within the exclusive privilege aforesaid; or (d) makes a collection of letters within the exclusive privilege aforesaid for the purpose of sending them otherwise than in accordance with the terms of a valid licence, a fine not exceeding one thousand ringgit for every such letter. (2) Any person who, having already been convicted of an offence under this section, is again convicted thereunder shall, on every such subsequent conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding two thousand ringgit for every such letter. Penalty for contravention of section 17 or 18

s 26

Any person who, in contravention of section 17 or 18, sends r tenders or makes over in order to be sent by post any posta article or other thing shall be guilty of an offence and shall, o conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to a fine, or to both. Penalty for defiling or injuring letter boxes

s 27

Any person who places in or against any letter box provided by the licensee for the reception of postal articles any fire, match or light, or any explosive, dangerous, filthy, noxious, or deleterious ubstance or any fluid, or commits a nuisance in or against an uch letter box, or does anything likely to injure any such letter box or its appurtenances or contents, shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to a fine, of to both. Penalty for affixing without authority any thing to, or disfiguring, a post office

s 28

Any person who, without due authority, affixes any placard, advertisement, notice, list, document, board or other thing in or on, or paints, tars, or in any way disfigures, any post office, shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand ringgit. Penalty for unlawfully detaining mails or opening mail bags n obedience to the order in writing of the Minister or the Commissior or the direction of a competent Court, detains the mails or any Penalty for unlawfully retaining postal articles or mail bags

s 30

Any person who fraudulently retains or wilfully secretes or makes away with or keeps or detains or when required by an authorized officer neglects or refuses to deliver up, any postal article in course of transmission by post which ought to have been delivered to any other person, or a mail bag containing a postal article, shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, and shall also be liable to a fine not exceeding four thousand ringgit. Penalty for unlawfully diverting letters Any person who, wilfully and maliciously with intent to injure any other person, either opens or causes to be opened any letter which ought to have been delivered, or does any act whereby the due delivery of a letter to any person is prevented or impeded, imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding four thousand ringgit, or to both. Penalty for unlawfully disclosing contents of postal articles

s 32

Any person who reveals, discloses or in any way makes known the contents of any postal article opened under the authority of this Act, except so far as may be necessary for the purpose of returning the same or so far as may be authorized by the Commissior in writing, shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to a fine, or to both.

Penalty for making fictitious stamps

s 33

(1) Any person who- (a) makes or knowingly utters, deals in, hawks, distributes, or sells any fictitious stamp or knowingly uses for postal purposes any fictitious stamp; (b) has in his possession without lawful excuse any fictitious stamp; (c) makes, or without lawful excuse has in his possession, any die, plate, instrument or materials for making any fictitious stamp; or (d) makes, issues or sends by post any stamped or embossed envelope, wrapper, card, form or paper in imitation of one issued under the authority of the licensee, imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine, or to both. (2) Any stamp, die, plate, instrument or materials found in the possession of any person in contravention of this Act may be seized and shall be forfeited. (3) Forfeiture under this section may be declared by a Magistrate's Court, and all things forfeited shall be dealt with as the Court directs and the proceeds (if any) thereof paid into the Consolidated Fund. (4) Nothing in this section shall be held to exempt any person from any punishment to which he may be liable under any other Prohibition of false notices as to reception of letters

s 34

Any person who, without authority from the Commission, places or maintains in or on any house, wall, door, window, box, pillar, or other place, belonging to him or under his control, any of the following words, letters, or marks: (a) the words "post office" or "postal office"; (b) the words "letter box", accompanied with words, letters, or marks, which signity or imply or may reasonably lead the public to believe that it is a post office letter box; or (c) any words, letters, or marks which signify or imply or may reasonably lead the public to believe that any house or place is a post office, or that any box is a post office letter box, a fine not exceeding one thousand ringgit, and, if the offence is continued after a previous conviction, to a fine not exceeding one hundred ringgit for every day during which the offence so continues. Penalty for breach of licence

s 35

Any licensee who without lawful excuse fails to comply with any term or condition expressed in the licence shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand ringgit for every such breach. Offences by body corporate

s 36

Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a ody corporate, any person who at the time of the commission o he offence was a director, manager, secretary or other simila officer of the body corporate or was purporting to act in such capacity shall, as well as such body corporate, be deemed to be guilty of that offence unless he proves that the offence was committed without his consent or connivance and that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as he ought to have exercised, having regard to the nature of his functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances. General penalty

s 37

Any person who contravenes any provision of this Act or any rules made thereunder shall be guilty of an offence and, if no penalty is expressly provided shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding two thousand ringgit.

Penalty for abetting, or attempting to commit, offences

s 38

Any person who abets the commission of any offence punishable under this Act, or attempts to commit any offence so punishable, shall, on conviction, be liable to the penalty provided for that offence. Magistrate's Court to have full jurisdiction

s 39

Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law to the contrary, the Court of a First Class Magistrate may try any offence under this Act or any rules made thereunder and may impose the full penalty for such offence. Power of Chairman of Commission to compound offence

s 40

(1) The Chairman of the Commission may, with the consent in writing of the Public Prosecutor, compound any offence committed by any person under this Act or any rules made thereunder and determined by the Minister to be a compoundable offence by rules made under this Act by making a written offer to the person suspected to have committed the offence to compound the offence upon payment to the Chairman of an amount of money not exceeding fifty percent of the amount of the maximum fine for that offence within the time specified in the offer. (2) An offer under subsection (1) may be made at any time after the offence has been commited, but before any prosecution for it has been instituted, and if the amount specified in the offer is not paid within the time specified in the offer or within such extended period as the Chairman may grant, prosecution for the offence may be instituted at any time after that against the person to whom the by the Chairman, subject to such terms and conditions as he thinks (4) All sums of money received by the Chairman under this section shall be paid into and form part of the Federal Consolidated