Section 18 — PORT AUTHORITIES ACT 1963

(a)

in the case of goods for which a through bill of lading has been issued there shall be substituted a period of forty-two days for the period of twenty-one days referred to in this subsection; and

(b)

if the goods are of a perishable nature the authority may direct their removal within such shorter period (not being less than twenty-four hours after the landing) as the authority may think fit, and the said power of sale may be exercised at the expiration of such period.

(2)

For the purposes of subsection (1) a sale shall not be rendered invalid by reason only that it takes place on premises or in an area to which the public is not admitted except on presentation of a pass.

(3)

Before making such sale the authority shall give three days’

notice thereof by advertisement in two local newspapers circulating in the State in which the said sale is to be held, unless the goods are of so perishable a nature as in the opinion of the authority to render their

32 Laws of Malaysia ACT 488

immediate sale necessary or advisable, in which event such notice shall be given as the urgency of the case permits.

(4)

If their addresses are ascertainable from the manifest of the cargo or from any of the documents which have come into the hands of the authority or are otherwise known, notice shall also be given to the owners of the goods and to the agent of the discharging vessel.

(5)

Notwithstanding subsection (4), the title of a bona fide purchaser shall not be invalidated by reason of the omission to send the said notice, and such purchaser shall not be required to inquire whether such notice has been sent.

(6)

The proceeds of sale shall be applied by the authority for, and in accordance with the order of, the following payments:

(a)

duty payable to the Government;

(b)

expenses of the sale;

(c)

payment of the rates, charges and expenses due to the authority in respect of the goods; and

(d)

freight and other claims or lien of which notice under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 [Ord. 70 of 1952], has been given.

(7)

The balance of the proceeds of sale (if any) after making the payments under subsection (6), shall be paid to the person entitled thereto on demand or, where no such demand is made within one year from the sale of the goods, to the general account of the authority, and thereupon all rights to the same by such person shall be extinguished.

Power to compound or compromise claim or demand