79A.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), any serviceman authorised by the Armed Forces Council to compound offences may compound any offence specified in the Schedule that is prescribed as a compoundable offence (called in this section a prescribed offence) by collecting from an accused reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding the lower of the following:
(a)
either —
(i)
one half of the amount of the maximum fine that is prescribed for the offence; or
(ii)
one half of the amount of the maximum fine that is authorised to be imposed by a disciplinary officer on the accused for the offence at a summary trial, if lower than the amount in sub-paragraph (i) or if no maximum fine is prescribed;
(b)
$5,000.
(2) An authorised composition officer must not compound a prescribed offence reasonably suspected to have been committed by an accused who is in the same chain of command as the authorised composition officer.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), an authorised composition officer is not in the same chain of command as an accused by reason only of being in the same formation as the accused.
(4) On payment of the sum of money under subsection (1), no further proceedings are to be taken against the accused in respect of the prescribed offence.
(5) All sums collected for the composition of an offence under subsection (1) must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.