Malaysia legislation
Section 23
Section 23
⎯(1) Any person subject to the jurisdiction of a Native Court who⎯
(a)
intentionally omits to attend a Native Court at a place and time specified by such Court for his attendance;
(b)
omits to produce or deliver up a document or thing on the lawful order of a Native Court;
(c)
refuses to answer any question lawfully asked by a
Native Court, or to sign any statement lawfully required by such
Court;
(d)
having the means to pay any compensation awarded against him, refuses or wilfully fails to make such payment after due notice;
(e)
intentionally insults a Native Court or any member thereof; or
(f)
intentionally interrupts the proceedings of a Native
Court at any stage, shall be guilty of contempt of court: Penalty, imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit, or to both.
(2)
Proceedings for contempt of Native Courts shall be regulated by rules made under section 29.
(3)
Any person who fails to do or abstains from doing any act or thing, including payment of money towards the maintenance of a wife or dependant, on the lawful order of a Native Court may, upon proof of such default, be ordered by the Court to pay a sum not exceeding ten ringgit for each day during which default is made, or to be imprisoned until he has remedied his default, but so that any such term of imprisonment shall not exceed six months.
(4)
Nothing in this Ordinance shall confer on any Native
Court, other than a court presided by a Magistrate, power to direct that any person be imprisoned but, if it appears to the Native Court after the conviction of the offender that, by reason of the character and antecedents of the offender or by reason of the nature and circumstances of the case, the offender should be imprisoned, the person presiding in such Court may, in lieu of dealing with the offender in any manner in which such Court has power to deal with the offender, commit him to a court presided over by a Magistrate for sentence.
(5)
To secure the presence of the offender before a court presided by a Magistrate for sentencing pursuant to an Order made under subsection (4), the Native Court may order the offender to furnish a security as it deems reasonable and if the offender shall default in providing such security, the Native Court may order that he be temporarily detained in prison pending his appearance before a
Magistrate.
Power to issue warrants and summonses