Section 77

Any police officer or other public officer acting in the course of his duty may cause or permit to be placed and maintained on or near

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any road any traffic sign which may be necessary or expedient to give effect to any regulations or orders lawfully given or made under any powers conferred upon any police officer or other person by any written law relating to the prohibition, restriction, regulation or control of traffic or the search of vehicles or persons on such road or which may be necessary or expedient to prevent or mitigate congestion or obstruction of traffic or danger to or from traffic in consequence of extraordinary circumstances:

Provided that no such sign shall be maintained for any period longer than may be necessary for such purpose.

Any person or public authority authorized under any written law to do or cause to be done any work on a road shall place and maintain or cause to be placed and maintained on or near any road such traffic signs as are necessary or expedient to prevent or mitigate danger to persons so working on such road or to or from traffic whilst such work is being carried out.

The owners or workers of any railway, light railway or tramway undertaking or any dock or harbour undertaking may place and maintain or cause to be placed and maintained on or near any road any traffic sign in pursuance of, or which is necessary or expedient for the exercise of, any powers conferred upon them by any written law.

After the appointed day no traffic sign other than a traffic sign lawfully placed in pursuance of this Part shall be placed on or near any road.

For the purposes of this Act, any traffic sign existing on the appointed day which was lawfully placed on or near a road before the appointed day, and which complies as to size, colour and type with this section or with the provisions of any written law repealed by this Act, shall be deemed to have been lawfully placed in pursuance of this Part.

Traffic signs other than notices in respect of the use of a bridge or traffic signs placed on or near any road in exercise of any powers conferred by subsection (2) or (3) shall be of the prescribed size, colour

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and type and shall if so prescribed be illuminated by lighting or by the use of reflectors or reflecting material in such manner as is prescribed:

Provided that a traffic sign shall not be deemed to be unlawfully placed on or near a road by reason only of a failure to comply with this subsection if in the opinion of a court the deviation from the prescribed size, colour, type or illumination is of a trivial character.

The Minister in relation to a Federal road, and the appropriate authority in relation to any other road, within the area of such authority, may by notice in writing, require the owner or occupier of any land on which there is any traffic sign or any object which so closely resembles a traffic sign that it might reasonably be taken to be such a sign or any advertisement or other structure which is so placed as to obscure any traffic sign from view or to distract the attention of drivers, to remove it or to cut down any tree or vegetation which is growing on such land in such a manner as to obscure any such sign, and if any person fails or neglects to comply with such notice, may effect such removal or cutting down doing as little damage as may be and may recover as civil debt from the person in default the expense incurred in so doing:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply to any traffic sign placed on such land by the Minister or the appropriate authority or any public officer or authority acting in pursuance of any powers conferred by any written law.

The Minister or the appropriate authority or any person acting under his or its authority may enter any land and exercise such other powers as may be necessary for the purpose of the exercise and performance of his or its powers and duties under this section:

Provided that unless with the consent of the occupier, no such entry shall be made into any dwelling house in actual occupation without twenty-four hours previous notice to such occupier or after sunset and before sunrise.

In this Act, any reference to the placing of traffic signs shall include a reference to the display in any manner whether or not involving fixing or placing.

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Any person wilfully damaging, defacing, altering, removing or tampering with any traffic sign which is lawfully placed in pursuance of this Part shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred ringgit.

Any person other than a person authorized under the provisions of this Part who places on or near any road any traffic sign or object which so closely resembles a traffic sign that it might reasonably be taken to be such a sign, or who places on or near any road any sign or advertisement in such manner as to obscure from view any traffic sign lawfully placed in pursuance of this Part shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred ringgit.

Power to set up roadblocks