Amendment Act · As enacted
Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Amendment) Act 2022
Amends the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007Official textFrom Laws of Malaysia Online, unchanged
This Act may be cited as the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Amendment) Act 2022.
This Act comes into operation on a date to be appointed by the Minister by notification in the Gazette and the Minister may appoint different dates for the coming into operation of different provisions of this Act.
s 2Amendment of section 2
The Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants
Act 2007 [Act 670], which is referred to as the “principal Act”
in this Act, is amended in section 2—
in the English language text, in the definition of
“exploitation”, by substituting for the word “means” the word “includes”;
by deleting the definition of “coercion”;
in the definition of “enforcement officer”, by substituting for the words “section 27” the words “subsection 27(1)
or any public officer appointed under subsection 27(1a)”;
and
by substituting for the definition of “trafficking in persons”
the following definition:
‘ “trafficking in persons” means all actions of recruiting, conveying, transferring, acquiring, maintaining, harbouring, providing or receiving, a person, for the purpose of exploitation, by the following means:
threat or use of force or other forms of coercion;
abduction;
fraud;
deception;
abuse of power;
abuse of the position of vulnerability of a person to an act of trafficking in persons; or
the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to obtain the consent of a person having control over the trafficked person;”.
s 3Amendment of section 6
Subsection 6(2) of the principal Act is amended—
in paragraph (n), by substituting for the word “three” the word “five”; and
in paragraph (o), by substituting for the word “two” the word “three”.
Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Amendment)
s 4Amendment of section 12
Section 12 of the principal Act is amended—
by substituting for the words “a child” the words “a child or not being a person who is unable to fully take care of or protect himself because of a physical or mental disability or condition”;
by deleting the words “for the purpose of exploitation,”;
and
by substituting for the words “fifteen years” the words
“twenty years”.
s 5Substitution of section 13
The principal Act is amended by substituting for section 13
the following section:
s 13“Aggravated offence of trafficking in persons
Any person who commits an offence of trafficking in persons, where the trafficked person not being a child or not being a person who is unable to fully take care of or protect himself because of a physical or mental disability or condition where any of the following applies:
in committing the offence, the person caused grievous hurt to the trafficked person or to any other person;
in committing the offence, the person caused death to the trafficked person or to any other person;
in committing the offence, where caused by or at the time the person was trafficked, the trafficked person committed suicide;
in committing the offence, the person exposed the trafficked person to life threatening diseases, including the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS);
in committing the offence, the person engaged in trafficking in persons activities as part of an organized criminal group activity; or
where the offence of trafficking in persons was committed by a public officer in the performance of his public duties, shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years, and shall also be liable to whipping.”.
s 6Amendment of section 14
Section 14 of the principal Act is amended—
in the shoulder note, by inserting after the word “children”
the words “or a person who is unable to fully take care of or protect himself because of a physical or mental disability or condition”;
by renumbering the existing section as subsection (1);
in the renumbered subsection (1)—
by substituting for the words “a child” the words
“a child or a person who is unable to fully take care of or protect himself because of a physical or mental disability or condition”;
by deleting the words “for the purpose of exploitation,”; and
by substituting for the words “imprisonment for a term not less than three years but not exceeding twenty years, and shall also be liable to fine” the words “imprisonment for life or with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years, and shall also be liable to whipping”; and
Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Amendment)
by inserting after the renumbered subsection (1) the following subsection:
“(2) In a prosecution for an offence under this section, the means used against a trafficked person who is a child or a person who is unable to fully take care of or protect himself because of a physical or mental disability or condition is irrelevant and is not a requirement to be proved.”.
s 7Amendment of section 15a
Section 15a of the principal Act is amended by substituting for the words “seven years” the words “fifteen years”.
s 8Amendment of section 19
Section 19 of the principal Act is amended by substituting for the words “ten years” the words “fifteen years”.
s 9Amendment of section 26a
Section 26a of the principal Act is amended by substituting for the words “fifteen years” the words “twenty years”.
s 10Amendment of section 26b
Section 26b of the principal Act is amended—
in the national language text, by substituting for the word
“menjalankan” the word “melakukan”;
in paragraph (b), by deleting the word “or” at the end of the paragraph;
in paragraph (c), by substituting for the comma at the end of the paragraph the words “; or”;
by inserting after paragraph (c) the following paragraph:
“(d) where the offence of smuggling of migrants was committed by a public officer in the performance of his public duties,”; and
by substituting for the words “imprisonment for a term not less than three years but not exceeding twenty years, and shall also be liable to fine, or to both” the words “imprisonment for life or with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years, and shall also be liable to whipping”.
s 11Amendment of section 26c
Section 26c of the principal Act is amended by substituting for the words “seven years” the words “fifteen years”.
s 12Amendment of section 27
Section 27 of the principal Act is amended by inserting after subsection (1) the following subsections:
“(1a) The Minister may, after consultation with any other relevant Minister, appoint any public officer as may be deemed necessary as an enforcement officer for the purposes of this
Act and the public officer appointed as such may exercise all powers of enforcement.
Every appointment under subsection (1a) shall be published in the Gazette.”.
s 13Amendment of section 42
Section 42 of the principal Act is amended by inserting after subsection (2) the following subsections:
“(3) The Minister charged with the responsibility for women, family and community development shall be responsible for any matter relating to the management, administration and control over the place of refuge declared under subsection (1), the trafficked person in the place of refuge and the Protection
Officer appointed under section 43.
Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants (Amendment)
The Minister charged with the responsibility for women, family and community development may issue any directions in any manner, whether generally or specifically for the purposes referred to in subsection (3).”.
s 14Amendment of section 43
Section 43 of the principal Act is amended—
in subsection (1), by substituting for the words “Social
Welfare Officers or any other public officers” the words
“Social Welfare Officers, any other public officer or any other person”; and
by deleting subsection (1a).
s 15Amendment of section 51
Subsection 51(5) of the principal Act is amended by inserting after the words “section 52” the words “, the recording of deposition for the purposes of section 61a”.
s 16Amendment of section 54
The principal Act is amended by substituting for subsection 54(3) the following subsection:
“(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the court may, upon an application made by a Protection Officer or an enforcement officer, and being satisfied that the trafficked person requires further care and protection for a reasonable reason or for the purposes of the management of repatriation, make an order that the trafficked person be placed in a place of refuge for any further period as the Magistrate may think fit.”.
s 17Amendment of section 57
Section 57 of the principal Act is amended by inserting after the words “The Minister may,” the words “after consultation with the Minister charged with the responsibility for women, family and community development,”.
s 18Amendment of section 66
Subsection 66(2) of the principal Act is amended by deleting paragraph (f).
Notwithstanding the provisions of this Act, the members of the Council appointed by the Minister under paragraphs 6(2)(n)
and (o) before the date of coming into operation of this Act shall continue to hold office until the appointments are revoked or until the expiry of their terms of appointment.
All directions, declarations, Protection Orders and interim protection orders made, issued or granted under the principal Act shall, to the extent that the directions, declarations, Protection
Orders and interim protection orders are consistent with the principal Act as amended by this Act, continue to be in force until such directions, declarations, Protection Orders and interim protection orders are revoked or amended.
Any investigation, recording of deposition, trial or proceedings done, taken or commenced under the principal Act immediately before the coming into operation of this Act, shall be dealt with as if the principal Act had not been amended by this Act.