Section 31
Power to sell goods remaining in custody
of Bintulu Port Authority Act 1981
(1)
Subject to this section and without prejudice to section 33, the Authority may, where any goods which have been placed in its custody are not removed therefrom within a period of twenty-one days from the time when such goods are so placed in custody, at the expiration of such period sell by public auction any or all of such goods as are still in its custody:
Provided that—
(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 power of sale of the goods 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 of Sarawak, unless the goods are of so perishable a nature as, in the opinion of the Authority, to render their 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.
34 Laws of Malaysia ACT 243
(5)
Notwithstanding subsection (4), the title of a bona fide purchaser shall not be invalidated by reason of the omission to give such notice, and the purchaser shall not be required to inquire whether notice has been given.
(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 has been given to the Authority before the day of the sale.
(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, into the general account of the Authority, and thereupon all rights to the same by that person shall be extinguished.