Clause 40

The Commissioner may, subject to such conditions as he may think fit, specify the streets, premises, places or areas, or parts thereof, in which stalls, tables, showboards, vehicles or receptacles or any other means designed or adapted for the purpose may, with his consent, be set up or used for the sale of food, drink or goods of any kind and may issue licences to persons hawking, selling or exposing the same for sale:Provided that no public street or place of public resort shall be so specified without the consent of the Minister.

Any person who, not being licensed under this section, sets up or uses any stall, table, showboard, vehicle or receptacle or any other means designed or adapted for the purpose, occupying a stationary position in any premises for the purpose of hawking, selling or exposing for sale any food or drink or any other goods shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and may be arrested without warrant by any police officer or by any public officer authorised by the Commissioner in writing in that behalf and taken before a Magistrate’s Court and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars.

For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2) of this section and any regulations made under this Act for the control of hawkers —

“premises” means —

“stall” means any table, showboard, vehicle or receptacle or any other means designed or adapted for the purpose of selling food, drink or goods of any kind and used or intended for use by hawkers, and includes any structure affixed thereto by way of roof, support or flooring.

Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2) of this section or of any other written law for the time being in force, any police officer or any public officer, who having effected an arrest in accordance with the provisions of this section, is satisfied as to the identity, name and place of residence of the person arrested, may, in his discretion, instead of taking such person before a Court or to a police station serve upon such person a notice requiring such person to attend at the Court described at the hour and on the date specified in such notice. The said notice shall be in such form as may be prescribed under section 142 of this Act.

For the purpose of satisfying himself as to the identity of the person arrested, such police officer or public officer may require the person arrested to furnish such evidence of identity as he may deem necessary.

A duplicate copy of the notice referred to in subsection (4) of this section shall be prepared by the police officer or public officer, as the case may be, and by him, if so required by a Court, produced to such Court.

On an accused person appearing before a Court in pursuance of such a notice, the Court shall take cognizance of the offence alleged and shall proceed as though he were produced before it in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section.

If a person upon whom such a notice has been served as aforesaid fails to appear before a Court in accordance therewith, the Court shall thereupon issue a warrant for the arrest of such person.

Upon a person arrested in pursuance of a warrant issued under subsection (8) of this section being produced before it, a Court shall proceed as though he were produced before it in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section and shall at the conclusion of such proceedings call upon him to show cause why he should not be punished for failing to attend in compliance with the notice served upon him and if cause be not shown may order him to pay such penalty not exceeding two thousand dollars as the Court thinks fit or may commit him to prison for a term not exceeding two months.

Any stall, table, showboard, vehicle or receptacle together with any appliances and utensils relating thereto and the food, drink or goods intended or exposed for sale, whether they appear to be abandoned or not, belonging or appearing to belong to or in possession of a person appearing to be committing or to have committed an offence under subsection (2) of this section may be seized by any police officer or public officer authorised as aforesaid and removed to and detained at any police station or Government depôt or such other place as may be approved by the Commissioner, at the risk of the owner, to abide the directions of a Magistrate’s Court:Provided that any perishable articles likely to decay so seized and removed may be disposed of forthwith:And provided also that if any abandoned articles so seized and detained, other than perishable articles already disposed of, are claimed within forty-eight hours after such seizure by the owner thereof, being a person licensed or otherwise lawfully entitled to set up or sell such articles at the place at which the same were seized, such abandoned articles shall be returned to such owner.

Every such seizure shall, except when the articles seized have been returned to the owner, be reported to a Magistrate’s Court.

The Magistrate’s Court shall, on convicting any person of an offence under subsection (2) of this section or on receiving a report in respect of any abandoned articles which were apparently being used in connection with the sale of food, drink or goods, order the property seized under subsection (10) of this section to be forfeited and to be disposed of in such manner as the Court deems fit:Provided that if the Court directs the sale of such articles, the proceeds thereof shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

The Magistrate’s Court may, on convicting a person of an offence under subsection (2) of this section or on receiving a report in respect of any abandoned articles which were not apparently being used in connection with the sale of food, drink or goods, order the property seized under subsection (10) of this section to be forfeited and to be disposed of in such manner as the Court deems fit:Provided that if the Court directs the sale of such articles the proceeds or such part thereof as the Court thinks fit shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund and the balance, if any, paid to the owner.

The Magistrate’s Court may, on convicting any person under subsection (2) of this section, order his photograph to be taken by a police photographer or other photographer. Any such photograph may be preserved and may be produced to any Court for the purpose of establishing identity on a subsequent conviction.

The Commissioner may, from time to time, with the concurrence of the Commissioner of Police, issue temporary permits subject to such conditions as he may think fit for the erection of stalls, tables and showboards for the sale of food, drink or goods in any place specified in such permits during the continuance of any temporary fair, fête, wayang, gala or other special occasion and, notwithstanding anything in this section contained, it shall not be an offence to erect a stall, table or showboard in accordance with any such permit.