MINOR OFFENCES ACT 1955

This Act shall apply to Peninsular Malaysia only.

Interpretation

The arcade of any house, where such arcade abuts on any street, notwithstanding any rights of property in the owner of such house, shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be a public footway.

ORDERS AS TO FIREWORKS

Restriction on letting off of fireworks

No such order or licence shall be deemed to authorize or permit the letting off of bombs or sand crackers.

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Minor Offences

Every licence issued under this section shall state the place where and the hours between which the fireworks may be let off and the description of fireworks which may be used, and may contain such conditions as the Chief Police Officer or authorized officer may think fit to impose.

No authority so published, or licence so issued, shall be held to relieve any person from liability in the event of any damage, loss or injury to person or property being caused by the letting off of such fireworks.

Any person who lets off any firework, except in accordance with the terms of an order or a licence issued under this section, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to both.

BURNING MATERIAL OR DISCHARGING

FIREARMS

Burning material or discharging firearms

If there is reasonable ground to believe that any such mad, dangerous or wild animal cannot be secured without risk of injury to the person of the veterinary authority, game warden or police officer attempting to secure the same, such veterinary authority, game warden or police officer may shoot or otherwise destroy such animals.

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In this section “veterinary authority” shall have the same meaning as in the Animals Act 1953 [Act 647], and “game warden”

includes every person who has the powers of a game warden under any written law relating to wild animals for the time being in force in Malaysia or any part thereof.

Dog running at persons, etc.

In any prosecution relating to any dog under subsection (1), it shall not be necessary to show a previous vicious propensity in such dog or the owner’s knowledge of such previous propensity or that the injury was attributable to neglect on the part of such owner.

The occupier of any house or premises where any dog was kept or permitted to live or remain at the time of causing any such injury as is referred to in subsection (1) shall be deemed to be the owner of such dog and shall be liable as such unless the said occupier can prove that he was not the owner of such dog at the time the injury complained of was committed and that such dog was kept or permitted to live or remain in the said house or premises without his sanction or knowledge:

Provided that where there are more occupiers than one in any house or premises let in separate apartments or lodgings or otherwise, the occupier of that particular part of the premises in which such dog shall have been kept or permitted to live or remain at the time of such injury shall be deemed to be the owner of such dog.

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Minor Offences

No compensation shall be payable to any person under this section in respect of injury sustained in any house or premises except upon proof that he entered such house or premises in the ordinary course of his duties or with the express or implied permission of the occupier.

No criminal liability shall arise under this section in respect of any injury sustained by any person in any house or premises unless such person has entered such house or premises in the ordinary course of his duties or with the express or implied permission of the occupier.

The owner shall not be liable under this section for any injury sustained by any person where such injury was attributable to any wrongful act of such person.

Letting loose dog or other animal

If any such animals are led or driven on any public road in contravention of the provisions of this section the owner and any person in charge of such animals shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred ringgit.

Miscellaneous offences

leads, drives or rides any horse, cattle, sheep, goat or pig on any public road in such a manner as not to have control over the same or in such a manner as to cause danger or obstruction to persons or traffic moving on the road;

drives, rides or leads any elephant on any public road without the permission of the Chief Police Officer or of an officer authorized by him in writing by name or office;

drives or rides any animal in a manner so rash or negligent as to indicate a want of due regard for the safety of others;

being in charge of any horse, cattle, sheep, goat or pig in any public road or public place fails to take proper steps to keep such animals under proper control;

exposes in any public road for show, hire or sale any horse or other animal or cleans or dresses any horse or other animal in such a manner as to interfere with the traffic, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty ringgit.

NUISANCES

Offences in relation to public roads

without lawful authority or excuse lays any stone, brick or other article on any public road so as to cause an obstruction thereto or so as to make the use of the road less convenient;

allows to remain on any public road any article which has fallen from any vehicle of which he is in charge;

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Minor Offences

rides or drives any vehicle upon any public footway;

causes or allows goods or other articles to rest on any public footway or other part of a public road or otherwise causes or allows such goods or other articles to create obstruction or inconvenience to the passage of the public for a longer time than may be absolutely necessary for loading or unloading such goods or other articles;

flies any kite or plays at any game or does any act which unreasonably obstructs or interferes with the traffic in any public road, or the wires of any telephone or telegraph, or public electric lighting system, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty ringgit.

Excessive noise

beats within the limits of any town or village between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. or in any public road or public place at any hour, a drum or tom-tom, or blows a horn or trumpet, or beats or sounds any instrument or utensil in such a manner as to cause annoyance or inconvenience to occupants of any premises in the vicinity;

or

operates or causes or suffers to be operated any gramophone or wireless loud speaker or pianola or other form of music mechanically or electrically produced in such a manner as to cause annoyance or inconvenience to occupants of any premises in the vicinity; or

operates or causes or suffers to be operated in or near any public road or public place or in any shop, business premises, building or place which adjoins any public road or public place any gramophone or wireless loud speaker or any other instrument whatsoever for the production of noise or music in such a manner as to cause annoyance or inconvenience to occupants of any premises in the vicinity, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred ringgit.

Any police officer not below the rank of Inspector, on the complaint of a house holder that the noise of any such instrument is dangerous to any sick person living near the place where such instrument is being operated, or for any other good and sufficient

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reason, may enter upon the premises or other place where the instrument is being operated, and after warning stop the same, either by the removal of the instrument or in some other appropriate way.

Nothing in this section shall apply to any music played by any of the armed forces of Malaysia or by any local force or visiting force or by the police force or to any call, prayer or other sound produced for religious purpose or to police whistles blown by any person for the purpose of calling assistance or to the reasonable use of any horn, bell, whistle or similar appliance on any motor car, bicycle or other vehicle on a public road for the purpose of avoiding an accident, or to anything done with the permission of the Chief Police Officer.

Insulting behaviour

(Deleted by Act No. 40 of 1967);

Bathing in public

bathes or washes himself, or any other person, animal or thing on any public road, or in or by the side of any public tank, reservoir, standpipe, watercourse or stream, the use of which for bathing has been forbidden by the

Chief Police Officer or any other lawful authority;

Obstructing person bathing

obstructs or incommodes a person bathing at any place set apart as a bathing place by wilful intrusion, or by washing any animal at or near such place, or in any other way;

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Minor Offences

Spitting

spits in any coffee shop, eating house, school premises or public place or in any trolley-bus, omnibus, railway carriage or other public conveyance or in or near any public road:

Provided that nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit any person from spitting into any receptacle provided for the purpose or into any drain, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred ringgit.

Affixing bills or otherwise defacing property, etc.

Any person who without authority in the case of public property or without the consent of the owner or occupier in the case of private property—

For the purpose of this section “Government office” includes the office of the Registrar of Federal Court, the High Court, Sessions

Court or Magistrate’s Court, and “public authority” shall mean a local authority, or a statutory authority exercising powers vested in it by Federal or State law.

Any person offering or soliciting to offer his services or loitering in any office mentioned in subsection (1) or in the vicinity thereof shall be presumed until the contrary is proved to have offered or solicited to offer, as the case may be, his services for profit or reward.

MILITARY, POLICE AND MARINE

Unlawful possession of military, naval, air force or police stores

Whenever any person would be liable under the provisions of subsection (1) above to punishment for any act, omission, neglect or default, he shall be liable to the same punishment for every similar act, omission, neglect or default of any agent or servant employed by him in the course of his business as keeper of such hotel, boarding-house, public house, common lodging house, eating house, coffee shop or other place of public entertainment or resort;

and every agent or servant employed by any person in the course of his business as aforesaid shall also be liable to the punishment prescribed by subsection (1) of this section for such acts, omissions,

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neglects or defaults as fully and effectually as if such agent or servant had been the keeper of such hotel, boarding-house, public house, common lodging house, eating house, coffee shop, or other place of public entertainment or resort.

POUNDS

Public pounds to be provided

Any person may and any police officer shall seize all horses, cattle, goats, sheep and pigs found picketed, tethered, or straying upon any public road or trespassing on any public or private property, and confine such animals in a public pound.

Any animal so impounded may be redeemed by the owner thereof within ten days after being so impounded on payment to the pound-keeper of such fee as is fixed from time to time by the

Ruler or Yang di-Pertua Negeri and published in the Gazette and of the expenses of feeding the same while impounded according to the rate to be fixed from time to time by the Chief Police Officer of the State.

Any animal not so redeemed as aforesaid may be publicly sold by order of the Chief Police Officer, and the proceeds of such sale after deducting the said fee and the expenses of feeding shall be paid to the owner of such animal, or if not claimed within a period of three months after such sale shall be retained by the

Chief Police Officer and paid into the Treasury.

Penalty for pound breach

Any person who takes any animal out of a public pound without the knowledge and consent of the pound-keeper shall be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty ringgit.

Every pound-keeper shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of the Penal Code [Act 574].

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Minor Offences

OTHER OFFENCES

Corpses and dying persons

Any person who fails to comply with the requirement of a police officer made under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months or to both.

Drunkenness and disorderly behaviour in public places

is present at or attends any meeting or assembly of persons for the purpose of training or drilling themselves, or of being trained or drilled, to the military use of arms, or for the purpose of practising military exercises or evolutions; or

is present at or attends any such meeting or assembly for the purpose of training or drilling any other person or persons to the military use of arms or the practice of military exercises or evolutions; or

trains or drills any other person or persons to the military use of arms or the practice of military exercises or evolutions or in any way aids or assists therein, may be arrested by any police officer without warrant and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.

Wearing unauthorized uniform

Any person, without the written permission of the Minister, who makes, manufactures, sells, buys, imports or exports any camouflage cloth or any camouflage uniform or any part thereof or anything resembling camouflage uniform or camouflage cloth shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to both.

For the purposes of this section—

“camouflage cloth” means a type of cloth for making camouflage uniform as specified in Part I of the Second Schedule;

“camouflage uniform” means a uniform designed as specified in Part II of the Second Schedule;

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“Minister”means the Minister for the time being charged with the responsibility for defence;

“visiting force” has the same meaning assigned thereto by the

Visiting Forces Act 1960 [Act 432].

The Minister may by order from time to time amend the

Second Schedule.

Unlawful use of boundary marks

In this section “boundary mark” includes a mark in the form of a broad arrow or any survey stone, iron pipe or spike, wooden peg or post, concrete post or pillar, or any other survey mark.

IDLE AND DISORDERLY PERSONS

Unlicensed hawkers

every prostitute behaving in a disorderly or indecent manner in or near any public road or in any place of public resort;

Beggars

every person begging in a public place, or in a place to which the public are admitted without payment or on payment, or using in any such place conduct calculated to induce the giving of alms (whether or not there is any pretence of singing, playing, performing, offering anything for sale or otherwise), and having or able to have other lawful means of livelihood;

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Minor Offences

every person resorting to begging within two years of having been an inmate in a welfare home under the Destitute

Persons Act 1977 [Act 183], shall be deemed to be an idle and disorderly person and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to both.

Licensing of hawkers

The Ruler or Yang di-Pertua Negeri, as the case may be, may, by rules made under this section, prescribe the fees which may be charged for any licence issued.

Rules made under this section or any by-laws made by a local authority under any written law shall provide that a hawker’s licence shall not be granted to any person (otherwise than by way of renewal of a licence for the year immediately preceding or for the sale of fresh food or drink only) except upon the production by such person of a certificate signed by a police officer of or above the rank of Assistant Superintendent, or by the

Officer in Charge of a Police District, certifying that such person is of good character and a proper person to be licensed as a hawker.

Before issuing a certificate to any persons under the preceding paragraph, a police officer of or above the rank of Assistant

Superintendent, or the Officer in Charge of a Police District, may require such person to provide his photograph in duplicate and to submit to all such steps as may be reasonably necessary for the taking and recording of his finger-prints.

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ROGUES AND VAGABONDS

Persons previously convicted under section 27

every person pretending or professing to tell fortunes, or using any subtle craft, means, or device, by palmistry or otherwise, to deceive and impose upon any person;

Wanderers failing to give a good account of themselves

every person wandering abroad and lodging in any barn or outhouse, or in any deserted or unoccupied building, or in the open air, or under a tent, or in any vehicle, not having any visible means of subsistence, and not giving a satisfactory account of himself;

Exposure of obscene or indecent prints, etc.

every person wilfully exposing to view, in or near any public road or in any public place, any obscene print, picture or other indecent exhibition;

Exposure of person with intent

every person wilfully, openly, lewdly and obscenely exposing his person with intent to insult any other person;

(Deleted by Act No. 19 of 1965).

Fraudulent charitable collections

every person going about as a gatherer or collector of alms, or endeavouring to procure charitable contributions of any nature or kind, under any false or fraudulent pretence;

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Minor Offences

Public betting or gaming

every person playing or betting by way of wagering or gaming in or near any public road or in any public place at or with any table or instrument of gaming, or any coin, card, token or other article used as an instrument or means of such wagering or gaming at any game or pretended game of chance;

Possession of housebreaking implements or offensive weapons

every person who shall be found between the hours of sunset and sunrise—

armed with any dangerous or offensive weapon or instrument, with intent to commit housebreaking; or

every person being found in or upon any dwelling house, or premises for the custody of property, or in any enclosed yard, garden or area, for any unlawful purpose;

Suspected persons, reputed thieves frequenting or loitering with intent

every suspected person or reputed thief, frequenting or loitering in or about any river, canal or navigable stream, dock or basin, or any quay, wharf or warehouse near or adjoining thereto or any public place or in or near any public road with intent to commit a seizable and non-bailable offence, and in proving such intent it shall not be necessary to show that the person suspected was guilty of any particular act or acts tending to show his purpose or intent, and he may be convicted if, from the circumstances

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of the case, and from his known character as proved to the

Court, it appears that his intent was to commit a seizable and non-bailable offence; and

Idle and disorderly person resisting arrest

every person arrested as an idle and disorderly person who violently resists arrest and is subsequently convicted of the offence for which he was arrested, shall be deemed to be a rogue and vagabond and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.

FRAUDULENT POSSESSION OF PROPERTY

Fraudulent possession of property

If any person charged with having or conveying anything stolen or fraudulently obtained declares that he received the same from some other person, or that he was employed as a carrier, agent or servant to convey the same for some other person, the

Magistrate may cause every such other person, and also, if necessary, every former or pretended purchaser or other person through whose possession the same has passed, provided that such other person is alleged to have had possession of the same within the jurisdiction of such Magistrate, to be brought before him and examined, and may examine witnesses upon oath touching the same.

If it appears to such Magistrate that any person so brought before him had possession of such thing and had reasonable cause to believe the same to have been stolen or fraudulently obtained such person shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.

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Minor Offences

The word “possession” in subsections (1), (2) and (3) of this section includes possession in a house, building, vehicle, ship, vessel, boat or other place as well as possession in or near a public road or in a public place.

Any person who—

If information is given on oath to a Magistrate that there is cause to suspect that any property which may be reasonably suspected of being stolen or fraudulently obtained is within any house, building, ship, vessel, boat, or other place, such Magistrate may, by warrant directed to any police officer, cause such house, building, ship, vessel, boat or other place to be entered and searched at any hour of day or night.

The information mentioned in subsection (6) of this section shall describe the property which it is reasonably suspected has been stolen or fraudulently obtained, and shall also describe the house, building, ship, vessel, boat or other place in which such property is suspected to be.

If upon the making of the search any property, such as that described in the information, is found in the house, building, ship, vessel, boat or other place, the police officer making the search or some other police officer shall convey such property before a

Magistrate or guard the same on the spot or otherwise dispose thereof in some place of safety.

The police officer making the search or some other police officer may also take into custody and bring before a Magistrate any person in such house, building, ship, vessel, boat or other place in whose possession or under whose control such property is found.

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Sections 59, 64 and 65 of the Criminal Procedure Code

[Act 593] shall apply to searches made under this section.

Destroying or disposing of certain goods and articles within ten days of receipt

Where any goods or articles, to which subsection (1) of this section apply, are ordinarily sold or intended to be used together in pairs or sets, then the value of such goods or articles shall, for the purpose of the said subsection, be the value of such pairs or sets of such goods or articles.

The provisions of this section shall not apply to any pawnbroker or any dealer in second-hand goods or any worker in platinum, gold or silver or any dealer in platinum, gold or silver articles who receives any such goods or metal or articles from another pawnbroker, second-hand dealer, worker or dealer, if such goods, metals or articles have been retained by such lastmentioned pawnbroker, second-hand dealer, worker or dealer for at least the period specified in subsection (1) of this section and appropriate to such goods, metal or articles.

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Minor Offences

GENERAL

Arrest

Any animal, conveyance or article concerning, by or for which an offence has been or is reasonably believed to have been committed may be seized and taken to a pound or police station and there kept until the charge has been disposed of, unless sooner given up by order of a Magistrate or any police officer in charge of a police station or any police officer not below the rank of sergeant:

Provided that where any property so seized and detained is subject to speedy and natural decay or is in the opinion of the

Chief Police Officer of less value than ten ringgit, such property may be sold at any time and the net proceeds of such sale shall be retained and disposed of in such manner as the Magistrate may on the trial of the charge direct.

Power to compound offences

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may, from time to time, revoke or amend any order made under subsection (1) of this section.

Repeal

(Deleted by Act No. 19 of 1965).

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Minor Offences

FIRST SCHEDULE

[Subsection 34(1)]

S.S. Cap.

The Minor Offences Ordinance

F.M.S. Cap.

The Minor Offences Enactment

Johore Enactment No. 6

The Small Offences Enactment

Johore Enactment No. 34

Stolen Property and Habitual

Criminals Enactment

Kedah Enactment No. 111

Enactment No. 111 (Small Offences)

Kedah Enactment No. 118

Enactment No. 118 (Stolen Property)

Kelantan Enactment No. 5 of

The Minor Offences Enactment 1932 1932

Trengganu Enactment No. 11

The Small Offences Enactment of 1356

Perlis Enactment No. 7 of 1356

The Small Offences Enactment

SECOND SCHEDULE

[Subsection 25A(4)]