Section 29A — MONEYLENDERS ACT 1951

(1)

Any person who—

(a)

for the purpose of the issuance of a licence to himself or to any other person, or for preventing the imposition of any condition in relation to such licence, makes any statement or declaration which to his knowledge is false or incorrect, either in whole or in part, or is misleading in any material respect;

(b)

furnishes any particulars or documents in relation to an application for the issuance of a licence which to his

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knowledge are false or incorrect or misleading in any material respect;

(c)

makes any entry in a register, record, return, account or any other document required to be kept, maintained or furnished under this Act, which is false or incorrect or misleading in any material respect;

(d)

alters, tampers with, defaces or mutilates any licence or other document which is required to be exhibited on a moneylender’s premises, or lends or allows such licence or document to be used by any other person;

(e)

forges, or has in his possession with intent to deceive a document that so closely resembles a licence, record, return, account or any other document that is required to be kept, maintained, or furnished under this Act;

(f)

alters any entry made in a register, licence, record, return, account or any other document that is required to be kept, maintained or furnished under this Act;

(g)

exhibits on a moneylender’s premises a licence or any other document that is required to be exhibited on those premises, where such licence or document has been altered, tampered with, defaced or mutilated;

(h)

exhibits on a moneylender’s premises an imitation of a licence or other document that is required to be exhibited on those premises;

(i)

prepares, maintains or authorizes the preparation or maintenance of false records, returns, accounts or any other documents that are required to be furnished under this Act;

(j)

falsifies or authorizes the falsification of records, returns, accounts or any other documents that are required to be furnished under this Act; or

58 Laws of Malaysia ACT 400

(k)

demands or accepts security for a loan in any form prohibited by the regulations made under section 29H, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to both.

(2)

In any prosecution under this section, when it has been proved that any application, statement, declaration, particular, return, account, record or other document is false or incorrect in whole or in part, or is misleading in any material respect, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that such application, statement, declaration, particular, return, account, record or other document was false or incorrect, or misleading in any material respect, to the knowledge of the person making, preparing, maintaining, signing, delivering or supplying it.

(3)

Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(g) or (h), a person shall not be found guilty of an offence if he proves that he had acted in good faith and had no reasonable grounds for supposing that the licence or any other document exhibited on his premises had been altered, tampered with, defaced, or mutilated, or that such licence or document was an imitation.

(4)

If an Inspector or police officer has reasonable cause to believe that a licence or any other document exhibited on a moneylender’s premises, or a licence, record, account, return or any other document produced to him in pursuance of this Act by the person in charge of those premises is a licence, record, account, return or document in relation to which an offence under this section has been committed, he may seize the licence, record, account, return or document.

Prohibition of assisting unlicensed moneylending

29AA. (1) Any person who assists a moneylender in contravention of subsection 5(1) shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or

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to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand ringgit or to both.

(2)

For the purpose of subsection (1), where the bank account, passbook, automated teller machine card, credit card or charge card of any person, or the post-dated cheque issued by any person, is proved to the satisfaction of the court to have been used to facilitate the carrying on of the business of a moneylender in contravention of subsection 5(1), that person shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have assisted the moneylender in the contravention of subsection 5(1).

Harassment or intimidation, etc. of borrower