Malaysia legislation

Section 110

of NATIONAL HERITAGE ACT 2005

Section 110

(2)

Where anything has been seized under this Act the enforcement officer may at his discretion temporarily return such thing to the owner of the same on security being furnished to his satisfaction that such thing shall be surrendered to him on demand or to produce it before a court of competent jurisdiction.

(3)

An order for the forfeiture under subsection (1) shall be made if it is proved to the satisfaction of the court that an offence under this Act or any regulations made under this Act has been committed and that the object, material, book, document or other thing was the subject-matter of or was used in the commission of the offence, even though no person has been convicted of such offence.

(4)

If there is no prosecution with regard to any object, material, book, document or other thing seized under this Act, such object, material, book, document or other thing shall be taken and deemed to be forfeited at the expiration of a period of one calendar month from the date of service of a notice to the last known address of the person from whom the object, material, book, document or other thing was seized indicating that there is no prosecution in respect of such object, material, book, document or other thing, unless before the expiration of that period a claim thereto is made in the manner set out in subsections (5), (6), (7) and (8).

(5)

Any person asserting that he is the owner of the object, material, book, document or other thing referred to under subsection (4) and that it is not liable to forfeiture may personally or by his agent authorized in writing give written notice to the enforcement officer or police officer in whose possession such object, material, book, document or other thing is held that he claims the object, material, book, document or other thing.

National Heritage 67

(6)

On receipt of the notice referred to in subsection (5), the enforcement officer or the police officer shall refer the matter to the Magistrate for a decision.

(7)

The Magistrate to whom a matter is referred under subsection (6) shall issue a summons requiring the person asserting that he is the owner of the object, material, book, document or other thing and the person from whom it was seized to appear before the Magistrate, and when they appear or when they fail to appear, due service of the summons having been proved, the

Magistrate shall proceed to examine the matter.

(8)

If it is proved that an offence under this Act or any regulations made under this Act has been committed and that object, material, book, document or other thing referred to in subsection (7) was the subject-matter of or was used in the commission of such offence, the Magistrate shall order the object, material, book, document or other thing to be forfeited and shall, in the absence of such proof, order its release.

(9)

Any object, material, book, document or other thing forfeited or deemed to be forfeited shall be delivered to an enforcement officer or a police officer and shall be disposed of in accordance with the directions of the Magistrate.

(10)

Where anything seized in exercise of the powers conferred under section 100 or section 101 is of a perishable nature or where the custody of such thing involves unreasonable expense and inconvenience, the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner or Assistant

Commissioner or the enforcement officer, as the case may be, may direct that such thing be sold at any time and the proceeds of the sale be held to abide by the result of any prosecution or claim under this section.

No costs or damages arising from seizure to be recoverable