PART 3 [29/2002] | Punishment for corruption |
5. Any person who shall by himself or by or in conjunction with any other person —| (a) | corruptly solicit or receive, or agree to receive for himself, or for any other person, any gratification as an inducement to or reward for, or otherwise on account of —| (i) | any person doing or forbearing to do anything in respect of any matter or transaction whatsoever, actual or proposed; or | | (ii) | any member, officer or servant of a public body doing or forbearing to do anything in respect of any matter or transaction whatsoever, actual or proposed, in which such public body is concerned; or |
| | (b) | corruptly give, promise or offer to any person whether for the benefit of that person or of another person, any gratification as an inducement to or reward for, or otherwise on account of —| (i) | any person doing or forbearing to do anything in respect of any matter or transaction whatsoever, actual or proposed; or | | (ii) | any member, officer or servant of a public body doing or forbearing to do anything in respect of any matter or transaction whatsoever, actual or proposed, in which such public body is concerned, |
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| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. |
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| Punishment for corrupt transactions with agents |
6. If —| (a) | any agent corruptly accepts or obtains, or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain, from any person, for himself or for any other person, any gratification as an inducement or reward for doing or forbearing to do, or for having done or forborne to do, any act in relation to his principal’s affairs or business, or for showing or forbearing to show favour or disfavour to any person in relation to his principal’s affairs or business; | | (b) | any person corruptly gives or agrees to give or offers any gratification to any agent as an inducement or reward for doing or forbearing to do, or for having done or forborne to do any act in relation to his principal’s affairs or business, or for showing or forbearing to show favour or disfavour to any person in relation to his principal’s affairs or business; or | | (c) | any person knowingly gives to an agent, or if an agent knowingly uses with intent to deceive his principal, any receipt, account or other document in respect of which the principal is interested, and which contains any statement which is false or erroneous or defective in any material particular, and which to his knowledge is intended to mislead the principal, |
| he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. |
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| Increase of maximum penalty in certain cases |
| 7. A person convicted of an offence under section 5 or 6 shall, where the matter or transaction in relation to which the offence was committed was a contract or a proposal for a contract with the Government or any department thereof or with any public body or a subcontract to execute any work comprised in such a contract, be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or to both. |
| Presumption of corruption in certain cases |
| 8. Where in any proceedings against a person for an offence under section 5 or 6, it is proved that any gratification has been paid or given to or received by a person in the employment of the Government or any department thereof or of a public body by or from a person or agent of a person who has or seeks to have any dealing with the Government or any department thereof or any public body, that gratification shall be deemed to have been paid or given and received corruptly as an inducement or reward as hereinbefore mentioned unless the contrary is proved. |
| Acceptor of gratification to be guilty notwithstanding that purpose not carried out, etc. |
9.—(1) Where in any proceedings against any agent for any offence under section 6(a), it is proved that he corruptly accepted, obtained or agreed to accept or attempted to obtain any gratification, having reason to believe or suspect that the gratification was offered as an inducement or reward for his doing of forbearing to do any act or for showing or forbearing to show any favour or disfavour to any person in relation to his principal’s affairs or business, he shall be guilty of an offence under that section notwithstanding that he did not have the power, right or opportunity to do so, show or forbear or that he accepted the gratification without intending to do so, show or forbear or that he did not in fact do so, show or forbear or that the act, favour or disfavour was not in relation to his principal’s affairs or business.| (2) Where, in any proceedings against any person for any offence under section 6(b), it is proved that he corruptly gave, agreed to give or offered any gratification to any agent as an inducement or reward for doing or forbearing to do any act or for showing or forbearing to show any favour or disfavour to any person having reason to believe or suspect that the agent had the power, right or opportunity to do so, show or forbear and that the act, favour or disfavour was in relation to his principal’s affairs or business, he shall be guilty of an offence under that section notwithstanding that the agent had no power, right or opportunity or that the act, favour or disfavour was not in relation to his principal’s affairs or business. |
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| Corruptly procuring withdrawal of tenders |
10. A person —| (a) | who, with intent to obtain from the Government or any public body a contract for performing any work, providing any service, doing anything, or supplying any article, material or substance, offers any gratification to any person who has made a tender for the contract, as an inducement or a reward for his withdrawing that tender; or | | (b) | who solicits or accepts any gratification as an inducement or a reward for his withdrawing a tender made by him for that contract, |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or to both. |
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| Bribery of Member of Parliament |
11. Any person —| (a) | who offers any gratification to a Member of Parliament as an inducement or reward for such Member’s doing or forbearing to do any act in his capacity as such Member; or | | (b) | who being a Member of Parliament solicits or accepts any gratification as an inducement or a reward for his doing or forbearing to do any act in his capacity as such Member, |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or to both. |
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| Bribery of member of public body |
12. A person —| (a) | who offers any gratification to any member of a public body as an inducement or reward for —| (i) | the member’s voting or abstaining from voting at any meeting of the public body in favour of or against any measure, resolution or question submitted to that public body; | | (ii) | the member’s performing, or abstaining from performing, or his aid in procuring, expediting, delaying, hindering or preventing the performance of, any official act; or | | (iii) | the member’s aid in procuring or preventing the passing of any vote or the granting of any contract or advantage in favour of any person; or |
| | (b) | who, being a member of a public body, solicits or accepts any gratification as an inducement or a reward for any such act, or any such abstaining, as is referred to in paragraph (a)(i), (ii) and (iii), |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or to both. |
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| When penalty to be imposed in addition to other punishment |
13.—(1) Where a court convicts any person of an offence committed by the acceptance of any gratification in contravention of any provision of this Act, then, if that gratification is a sum of money or if the value of that gratification can be assessed, the court shall, in addition to imposing on that person any other punishment, order him to pay as a penalty, within such time as may be specified in the order, a sum which is equal to the amount of that gratification or is, in the opinion of the court, the value of that gratification, and any such penalty shall be recoverable as a fine.| (2) Where a person charged with 2 or more offences for the acceptance of gratification in contravention of this Act is convicted of one or some of those offences, and the other outstanding offences are taken into consideration by the court under section 148 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 for the purpose of passing sentence, the court may increase the penalty mentioned in subsection (1) by an amount not exceeding the total amount or value of the gratification specified in the charges for the offences so taken into consideration. [15/2010] |
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| Principal may recover amount of secret gift |
14.—(1) Where any gratification has, in contravention of this Act, been given by any person to an agent, the principal may recover as a civil debt the amount or the money value thereof either from the agent or from the person who gave the gratification to the agent, and no conviction or acquittal of the defendant in respect of an offence under this Act shall operate as a bar to proceedings for the recovery of that amount or money value.| (2) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prejudice or affect any right which any principal may have under any written law or rule of law to recover from his agent any money or property. |
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