Section 32

Any person guilty of an offence against this Act, for which no other penalty is specifically provided by this Act or by any regulations made thereunder, shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding *fifty thousand ringgit or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding **five years or both:

Provided that if the act or omission with which such person is charged is in the opinion of the court of such a nature as to amount to

*NOTE—Previously “three”—see subparagraph 20(b)(i) of the Poisons (Amendment) Act 2022

**NOTE—Previously “one year”—see subparagraph 20(b)(ii) of the Poisons (Amendment) Act 2022

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wilful default or culpable negligence, which endangered or was likely to endanger human life, such person shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding *two hundred thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding **ten years or both.

Where a person charged with an offence against this Act or of any regulation made thereunder is a body corporate every person who, at the time of the commission of such offence, is a director or officer of such body corporate may be charged jointly in the same proceedings with such body corporate and where the body corporate is convicted of the offence charged, every such director or officer shall be deemed to be guilty of such offence unless he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he took reasonable precautions to prevent its commission.

Any person who would have been liable under this Act or of any regulation made thereunder to any penalty for anything done or omitted if such thing had been done or omitted by him personally, shall be liable to the same penalty if such thing has been done or omitted by his partner, agent or servant, unless he proves that he took reasonable precaution to prevent the doing or omission of such thing.

Any poison, psychotropic substance, receptacle, package, conveyance, machinery, contrivance, equipment, book, register, record, document, computerized data or other article in respect of which an offence against this Act has been committed shall be forfeited and shall be disposed of in such manner as the Licensing

Officer may direct.

Every penalty or forfeiture imposed under this Act shall be in addition to, and not in substitution for, any other penalty to which the accused may be liable under any other law, and no conviction under this Act shall be pleaded in any civil proceedings in mitigation of damages claimed against the person convicted.

*NOTE—Previously “five ”—see subsubparagraph 20(b)(iii)(A) of the Poisons (Amendment) Act 2022

**NOTE—Previously “two”—see subsubparagraph 20(b)(iii)(B) of the Poisons (Amendment) Act 2022

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Compounding of offences

*32A. (1) The Minister may, with the approval of the Public

Prosecutor, make regulations prescribing—

The Director General of Health or any Drug Enforcement

Officer appointed by the Director General of Health may, with the written consent of the Public Prosecutor, compound any offence committed by any person under this Act and any regulations made under this Act and prescribed to be a compoundable offence by making a written offer to the person suspected of committing the offence to compound the offence on payment to the Director General of Health of an amount of money not exceeding fifty per cent of the amount of the maximum fine for that offence within the time specified in the offer.

An offer under subsection (2) may be made at any time after the offence has been committed but before any prosecution for it has been instituted.

If the amount specified in the offer is not paid within the time specified in the offer or such extended time as the Director General of

Health may grant, prosecution for the offence may be instituted at any time after that against the person to whom the offer was made.

Where an offence has been compounded under this section—