14.—(1) Where the Director-General or an authorised officer knows or has reason to believe that any pesticide or vector repellent is being stored on any premises, vessel or aircraft, he may, for the purpose of ascertaining whether such pesticide or vector repellent is in contravention of this Act or the regulations —| (a) | enter such premises, vessel or aircraft at all reasonable times, to take, without payment, any reasonable sample of any pesticide or vector repellent (including the container and package thereof) found stored thereon for analysis or testing; and | | (b) | seize or detain under normal storage conditions or take any necessary measures to prevent the removal or disposal of the whole consignment from which the sample is taken until a report of the result of the analysis or test is obtained. |
| (2) Where the Director-General or an authorised officer has seized or detained or taken measures to prevent the removal or disposal of any consignment of pesticides or vector repellents under subsection (1)(b), the Director-General or authorised officer, as the case may be, shall forthwith give notice in writing thereof to the owner, consignor or consignee of the consignment or to the agent of such person, if the name and address of such owner, consignor or consignee or agent thereof are known. |
| (3) Any person aggrieved by any action taken by the Director-General or an authorised officer under subsection (1)(b) may, within 14 days thereof, appeal to the Minister whose decision shall be final. |
(4) No person shall —| (a) | without the authority of the Director-General or an authorised officer tamper with, remove, distribute, sell or otherwise dispose of, the whole or any part of a consignment in respect of which he knows or ought reasonably to know that the Director-General or an authorised officer has taken any action under subsection (1)(b); or | | (b) | alter, counterfeit, deface, destroy, erase or remove any identification mark, label or seal affixed by the Director-General or an authorised officer to the consignment. |
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(5) The Director-General or an authorised officer may by notice require the owner, consignor or consignee of the consignment from which any sample is taken under subsection (1)(a) or the agent of such person —| (a) | to submit, at his own expense, the sample to an approved laboratory for the purpose of analysis or testing; and | | (b) | to produce the report of analysis or testing issued by the approved laboratory. |
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(6) Where —| (a) | the result of the analysis or testing of the sample conducted under subsection (1)(a) or (5) confirms that the sample is not in contravention of this Act or the regulations; or | | (b) | the Minister on an appeal under subsection (3) so directs, |
| the Director-General or an authorised officer, as the case may be, shall forthwith release the consignment. |
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| (7) Where the result of the analysis or testing of the sample conducted under subsection (1)(a) or (5) confirms that the sample is in contravention of this Act or the regulations, the Director-General or an authorised officer, as the case may be, may direct the owner, consignor or consignee of the consignment or the agent of such person to treat or destroy or otherwise dispose of such consignment, at the expense of such owner, consignor or consignee or agent thereof, in such manner as the Director-General or authorised officer thinks fit. |
| (8) Where a person to whom a direction under subsection (7) is given fails to comply with that direction, the Director-General or an authorised officer may take such steps as he thinks fit to secure the treatment, destruction or disposal of the consignment to which the direction relates and recover any costs and expenses reasonably incurred by him from that person in accordance with section 41. |
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