*AVIATION OFFENCES ACT 1984

any act done in Malaysia which constitutes the offence as specified in the Schedule; and

any act done outside Malaysia which, if done in Malaysia, would constitute such an offence as is mentioned in paragraph (a);

―aircraft‖ means any aircraft, whether or not a Malaysian-controlled aircraft, other than—

a military aircraft; or

an aircraft which, not being military aircraft, is exclusively employed in the service of the Government;

―commander‖, in relation to an aircraft, means the member of the crew designated as commander of that aircraft by the operator thereof or, failing such a person, the person who is for the time being the pilot in command of the aircraft;

―consular officer‖ means a consular officer of Malaysia and includes a consul general, consul, proconsul and consular agent of

Malaysia;

―Convention country‖ means a country which has been declared by the Minister, by notification published in the Gazette, to have ratified or acceded to the Tokyo Convention, and has not been so declared to have denounced the Tokyo Convention;

―landing‖ includes alighting on water;

―Malaysian-controlled aircraft‖ means an aircraft—

which is for the time being registered in Malaysia; or

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which, being for the time being registered in some other country, is for the time being chartered by demise to a person who, or to persons each of whom, satisfies the following requirements, namely—

that he is a person qualified to be the owner of a legal or beneficial interest in an aircraft registered in Malaysia; and

in relation to Part III, the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft signed at The Hague on 16 December 1970;

in relation to Part IV, the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation signed at Montreal on 23 September 1971;

―Tokyo Convention‖ means the Convention on Offences and

Certain other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft signed at Tokyo on 14 September 1963;

in relation to the commission of an act in Malaysia, means an offence that is constituted under any law in force in

Malaysia; and

in relation to the commission of an act outside Malaysia, means the commission of the act that would have been an offence under any law in force in Malaysia had it been committed in Malaysia.

For the purposes of Part II, the period during which an aircraft is in flight shall be deemed to include—

For the purposes of Parts III and IV—

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to a country or the territorial limits thereof shall be construed as including a reference to the territorial waters, if any, of that country.

No proceedings for any offence under the law in force in

Malaysia committed on board an aircraft while in flight elsewhere than in or over Malaysia shall be instituted in Malaysia except by or with the consent of the Public Prosecutor.

The provisions of subsection (2) shall not prevent the arrest, or the issue of a warrant for the arrest, of any person in respect of any offence, or the remanding in custody or on bail of any person charged with any offence.

For the purpose of conferring jurisdiction, any offence under the law in force in Malaysia committed on board an aircraft in flight shall be deemed to have been committed in Malaysia.

Provisions as to extradition

If the commander of an aircraft in flight, wherever that aircraft may be, has reasonable grounds to believe in respect of any person on board the aircraft—

*NOTE—This Act has replaced the Extradition Ordinance 1958 [Ord. 2 of 1958] and the

Commonwealth Fugitive Criminals Act 1967 [Act 54 of 1967]–see section 54 of Act 479.

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Any member of the crew of an aircraft and any other person on board the aircraft may, at the request or with the authority of the commander of the aircraft, and any such member shall if so required by that commander, render assistance in restraining any person whom the commander is entitled under subsection (2) to restrain; and at any time when the aircraft is in flight any such member or other person

Any restraint imposed on any person on board an aircraft under the powers conferred by this section shall not be continued after the time when the aircraft first ceases to be in flight unless before or as soon as is reasonably practicable after that time the commander of the aircraft causes notification of the fact that a person on board the aircraft is under restraint and of the reasons therefor to be sent to an appropriate authority of the country in which the aircraft so ceases to be in flight, but subject to such notification, such restraint may be continued after that time—

The commander of an aircraft—

The commander of an aircraft—

in Malaysia which was so made in the presence or absence of the person charged with the offence and before a

Sessions Court Judge or Magistrate; or

outside Malaysia which was so made in the presence or absence of the person charged with the offence and before a consular officer or a judicial officer of any foreign country.

Any such deposition shall be authenticated by the signature of the Sessions Court Judge, Magistrate, consular officer or judicial officer before whom it was made who shall certify that the person charged with the offence was present or absent at the taking of the deposition.

It shall not be necessary in any proceeding to prove the signature or official character of the person appearing so to have authenticated any such deposition or to have given such certificate, and such certificate shall, unless the contrary is proved, be sufficient evidence in any proceeding that the person charged with the offence was present or absent, as the case may be, at the making of the deposition.

If a complaint is made to a consular officer that any offence has been committed on a Malaysian-controlled aircraft while in flight elsewhere than in or over Malaysia, that officer may inquire into the case upon oath.

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In this section—

If the aircraft is used in military, customs or police service, subsection (1) shall not apply unless—

destroys an aircraft in service or so damages such aircraft as to render it incapable of flight or as to likely endanger its safety in flight; or

commits on board an aircraft in flight any act of violence which is likely to endanger the safety of the aircraft, commits an offence under this Act.

commits an offence under this Act.

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Subject to subsection (4), any person who unlawfully and intentionally places or causes to be placed on an aircraft in service any device or substance which is likely to destroy the aircraft or is likely so to damage it as to render it incapable of flight or as to be likely to endanger its safety in flight commits an offence under this

Act; but nothing in this subsection shall be construed as limiting the circumstances in which the commission of any act—

Except as provided by subsection (4), subsections (1) and (2)

apply whether any such act therein mentioned is committed in

Malaysia or elsewhere, whatever the State of registration of the aircraft or whatever the nationality or citizenship of the person committing the act.

Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to any act committed in relation to an aircraft used in military, customs or police service unless—

Subsection (1) applies to any property used for the provision of air navigation facilities including any land, building or ship so used, and including any apparatus or equipment so used, whether it is on board an aircraft or elsewhere.

Subject to subsections (4) and (5), any person who intentionally communicates any information which is false, misleading or deceptive in a material particular, where the communication of the information endangers the safety of an aircraft in flight or is likely to endanger the safety of an aircraft in flight, commits an offence under this Act.

It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (3) to prove—

Subsections (1) and (3) do not apply to the commission of any act unless either the act is committed in Malaysia or, where the act is committed outside Malaysia—

Subsection (1) does not apply to any act committed outside

Malaysia and so committed in relation to property which is situated outside Malaysia and is not used for the provision of air navigation facilities in connection with international air navigation, unless the person committing the act is a citizen of Malaysia.

In this section, ―civil aircraft‖ means any aircraft other than an aircraft used in military, customs or police service.

Act of violence in relation to airport serving international civil aviation

commits an act of violence against a person at an airport serving international civil aviation that causes or is likely to cause serious injury or death; or

destroys or seriously damages any facility of an airport serving international civil aviation or aircraft not in service located at the airport or disrupts the services of the airport, and such an act endangers or is likely to endanger safety at that airport.

Except as provided by subsection (3), subsection (1) applies whether any of the acts mentioned in subsection (1) is committed in

Malaysia or elsewhere, whatever the State of registration of the aircraft or whatever the nationality or citizenship of the person committing the act.

20 Laws of Malaysia ACT 307

Subsection (1) does not apply to any act committed in relation to an aircraft used in military, customs or police service unless—

Sections 13 to 17 and the Schedule shall only apply to Parts

III and IV.

Powers of Minister

The Minister may make such regulations as appear to him to be necessary for carrying out or giving effect to the provisions of the

Tokyo Convention.

Aviation Offences 21

Abetting the commission of acts outside Malaysia

would, but for subsection 7(2), constitute the offence of hijacking;

would, but for subsection 9(4), be an offence under section 9;

would, but for subsection 10(5) or (6), be an offence under section 10; or

would, but for subsection 10A(3), be an offence under section 10A, commits an offence under this Act.

Penalty

Notwithstanding that consent has not been given in relation to the offence in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1)—

Where the *Extradition Act 1992 is applied pursuant to subsection (1), it shall have effect as if the only extradition crimes within the meaning of the Act were offences under this Act and attempts to commit such offences.

For the purposes of the *Extradition Act 1992 any act, wherever committed which—