Clause 42

Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this Part shall be guilty of an offence and may be arrested without warrant by any police officer, public health officer or public officer authorised in writing in that behalf by the Commissioner and taken before a Magistrate’s Court and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding $4,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both.

Notwithstanding subsection (1) or any other written law for the time being in force, any police officer, public health officer or public officer, who, having effected an arrest in accordance with subsection (1), is satisfied as to the identity, name and place of residence of the person arrested, may, instead of taking him before a Court or to a police station serve upon that person a notice in such form as may be prescribed under section 115 requiring him to attend at the Court described at the hour and on the date specified in the notice.

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

A duplicate of the notice served under subsection (2) shall be prepared by the police officer, public health officer or public officer, as the case may be, and produced by him to a Court if so required by the 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 (1).

If a person upon whom a notice under subsection (2) has been served fails to appear before a Court in accordance therewith, the Court shall thereupon issue a warrant for the arrest of that person.

Upon a person arrested in pursuance of a warrant issued under subsection (6) being produced before it, a Court shall proceed as though he were produced before it in pursuance of subsection (1) and shall at the conclusion of the 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 is not shown may order him to pay such penalty not exceeding $2,000 as the Court may think fit or may commit him to prison for a term not exceeding 2 months.

Any stall, together with any appliances and utensils relating thereto and the food or goods intended or exposed for sale, whether or not they appear to be abandoned, belonging or appearing to belong to or in the possession of a person appearing to be committing or to have committed an offence under this Part may be seized by any police officer, public health officer or by public officer authorised as aforesaid and removed to and detained in any police station 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.

If any money is found, together with any food, articles, appliances or utensils seized under subsection (8), the money shall be deemed to be lawfully seized.

Any money seized under subsection (9) if it is claimed within 48 hours after such seizure by the owner thereof shall be returned to the owner whether or not he is licensed under this Part.

Any cooked or uncooked food or perishable articles or goods, seized and removed under subsection (8) and likely to decay may be disposed of forthwith.

If any abandoned articles or goods so seized and detained, other than cooked or uncooked food or perishable articles or goods already disposed of, are claimed within 48 hours after such seizure by the owner thereof, being a person licensed or otherwise lawfully entitled to set up or sell such articles or goods at the place at which the same were seized, such abandoned articles or goods shall be returned to him.

Every seizure shall, except when the articles, goods or money 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 (1) or on receiving a report in respect of any abandoned articles which were apparently being used in connection with the sale of food or goods, order the property seized under subsection (8) to be forfeited and to be disposed of in such manner as the Court may think fit.

The Magistrate’s Court may, on receiving a report in respect of any abandoned articles which were not apparently being used in connection with the sale of food or goods, order the property seized under subsection (8) to be forfeited and to be disposed of in such manner as the Court may think fit.

If the Magistrate’s Court directs the sale of any article, the proceeds or such part thereof as the Court may think 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 for an offence under subsection (1), order any money seized under subsection (9) to be returned to him if he satisfies the Court that he is the owner thereof.

The Magistrate’s Court shall, on convicting any person for an offence under subsection (1) and such person does not satisfy the Court that he is the owner of any money seized under subsection (9) or, on receiving a report in respect of any abandoned money, order such money to be forfeited and paid into the Consolidated Fund.

This section shall apply mutatis mutandis to any person who contravenes any regulations made under this Act for the control of matters under this Part.