Section 18
Compensation to finder of antiquities
of Sarawak Heritage Ordinance, 2019
—
Save as provided in subsection (3), the Director shall pay to any person who discovers and gives notice of his discovery of an antiquity under section 15, a compensation equal to the value thereof, or renounce Government ownership in the object and return it to the finder, who shall receive a certificate of discovery in such form as may be prescribed.
(2)
Such value shall be fixed by agreement between the parties or, in default of such agreement, by submission to arbitration under the law relating to arbitration for the time being in force in Sarawak.
(3)
No compensation shall be payable to the finder of any antiquity if—
(a)
the discovery of the antiquity was made in contravention of any provision of this Ordinance;
(b)
the Director is of the opinion that the antiquity should be preserved in the place where it was found; or
(c)
the land on or in which the antiquity was discovered is
State land.
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