Section 23

any offence under this Act as an offence which may be compounded; and

the method and procedure for compounding such offence.

The Director General may, with the consent in writing of the Public Prosecutor, at any time before a prosecution is being instituted, compound any offence prescribed as an offence which may be compounded by making a written offer to the person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence to compound the offence upon payment to the Director General of a sum of money not below one hundred ringgit and not exceeding the maximum fine to which the person would have been liable to if he had been convicted of the offence within such time as may be specified in the written offer.

Fisheries (Amendment)

A written offer under subsection (2) may be made at any time after the offence has been committed but before any prosecution for it has been instituted, and where the amount specified in the offer is not paid within the time specified in the offer or within such extended time as the Director General may grant, prosecution for the offence may be instituted at any time after that against the person to whom the offer was made.

Where any offence committed under this Act has been compounded in accordance with this section, the Director General shall direct that any article of a perishable nature which is the subject matter of any offence be sold and the proceeds of the sale forfeited.

All sums of money received by the Director General under this section shall be paid into the Federal Consolidated Fund.

Any offence committed in contravention of paragraph 8(a), subsection 11(3), 11(3a), 15(1), 15(2) or 19(5), or section 16, 26

or 44 is not compoundable.

Notwithstanding subsection (6), the Director General may compound any offence under paragraph 8(a), subsection 11(3)

or 11(3a) where the fishing appliance relating to which such offence is committed is a traditional fishing appliance.

Where a fishing appliance is the subject matter of any offence compounded under subsection (2), such fishing appliance may be confiscated and disposed of as directed by the Director General.”.

Amendment of section 34