MARRIED WOMEN AND CHILDREN (ENFORCEMENT OF MAINTENANCE) ACT 1968

by way of wages or salary, including any fees, bonus, commission, overtime pay or other emoluments payable in addition to wages or salary by the person paying the wages or salary or payable under a contract of service;

by way of pension, including gratuity and an annuity in respect of past services, whether or not the services were rendered to the person paying the annuity, and including periodical payments by way of compensation for the loss, abolition or relinquishment, or any diminution in the emoluments, of any office or employment;

"employer" means a person by whom, as a principal and not as a servant or agent, earnings fall to be paid to a defendant, and references to payment of earnings shall be construed accordingly;

"maintenance order" means-

an order made under section 3 of the Married Women and Children (Maintenance) Act 1950;

an order for the payment of periodical sums by way of maintenance or alimony to a wife or for the benefit of any child under the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976;

a maintenance order confirmed by the court under the Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement) Act 1949; and

where this Act are made applicable by virtue of an authorization under section 14 to or in respect of a maintenance order made by a Syariah Court shall include such order.

An application for an attachment of earnings order may be made in the proceedings in which a maintenance order is applied for or in any subsequent proceedings.

The amount to be prescribed in an attachment of earnings order shall be such sum as to the court shall seem reasonable after taking into account the resources and needs of the defendant and the needs of persons for whom he must or reasonably should provide.

An attachment of earnings order shall contain, so far as they are known to the court making the order, such particulars as may be prescribed for the purpose of enabling the defendant to be identified by the person to whom the order is directed.

An attachment of earnings order or any variation thereof shall not come into force until the expiration of seven days from the date when a copy of the order is served on the person to whom the order is directed.

An attachment of earnings order shall designate the officer to whom the payments under the order are to be made.

The court by which an attachment of earnings order has been made may, if it thinks fit, on the application of the defendant or a person entitled to receive payments under the related maintenance order, make an order discharging or varying the attachment of earnings order.

An attachment of earnings order shall cease to have effect—

Where on any occasion on which earnings fall to be paid to a defendant there are in force two or more attachment of earnings orders relating to those earnings, then, for the purpose of complying with this Act the employer shall—

An employer who, in pursuance of an attachment of earnings order, makes a payment under this Act shall give to the defendant a statement in writing specifying the amount of that payment.

MARRIED WOMEN AND CHILDREN (ENFORCEMENT OF MAINTENANCE)

Where the person to whom an attachment of earnings order is directed has, during the period of one month immediately preceding the day on which the order is served on him, on no occasion been the defendant's employer, he shall forthwith give notice in writing to that effect in the prescribed form to the court.

order the defendant to give to the court, within such period as may be specified by the order, a statement signed by him of—

the name and address of his employer, or of each of his employers if he has more than one;

order any person appearing to the court to be an employer of the defendant to give to the court, within such period as may be specified by the order, a statement signed by him or on his behalf of such particulars as may be specified by the order, of all earnings of the defendant which fell to be paid by that person during such period as may be so specified.

A document purporting to be such a statement as is mentioned in subsection (1) shall, in any such proceedings as are so mentioned, be received in evidence and be deemed to be such a statement without further proof unless the contrary is shown.

10

A person to whom an attachment of earnings order is directed who makes an application under subsection (1) shall not incur any liability for failing to comply with the order as regards any payments of the class or description specified by the application which are made by him to the defendant while the application, or any appeal in consequence thereof, is pending:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply to such payments if the said person subsequently withdraws the application or, as the case may be, abandons the appeal.

Any sums received by virtue of an attachment of earnings order by the court shall be deemed to be payments made by the defendant, so as to discharge first any sums for the time being due and unpaid under the related maintenance order (a sum due at an earlier date being discharged before a sum due at a later date) and secondly any costs incurred in proceedings relating to the maintenance order which were payable by the defendant when the attachment of earnings order was made or last varied.

MARRIED WOMEN AND CHILDREN (ENFORCEMENT 11 OF MAINTENANCE)

If any question arises, in connection with any proceedings relating to an attachment of earnings order, as to what department, office or other body is concerned for the purposes of this section, or as to who for those purposes is the chief officer thereof, that question shall be referred to and determined by the Minister of Finance but the Minister of Finance shall not be under any obligation to consider a reference under this subsection unless it is made by a court.

A document purporting to set out a determination of the Minister of Finance under subsection (2) and to be signed by an official of the Ministry of Finance shall, in any such proceedings as are mentioned in that subsection, be admissible in evidence and deemed to contain an accurate statement of such a determination unless the contrary is shown.

fails to comply with section 7 (1) or (4) or an order of a court under section 8 (1); or

gives such a notice as is mentioned in section 7 (4) or a statement in pursuance of an order of a court under section 8 (1), which notice or statement he knows to be false in a material particular; or

recklessly gives such a notice or statement which is false in a material particular, shall, subject to subsection (2) be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to a fine not exceeding one thousand ringgit or both.

It shall be a defence for a person charged with failing to comply with section 7 (1) to prove that he took all reasonable steps to comply with the attachment of earnings order to which the failure relates.

If the defendant neglects or fails to comply with any order made by the court under subsection (1), the court making the order may call upon the defendant to show cause why he has neglected or failed to comply with the said order.

If sufficient cause is not shown and the sum of money payable and due under the maintenance order is not paid, the court may proceed to recover the same by issuing a warrant for the attachment and the sale of the property belonging to the defendant.

Except for a warrant of attachment issued by the High Court, a warrant for the attachment and the sale of the property belonging to a defendant under subsection (3) may be executed anywhere within West Malaysia, but if it is required to be executed outside the State in which it is issued, it shall be endorsed by a Magistrate of the First Class having jurisdiction in the State in which it is to be executed.

If the sum of money so payable and due be not paid and cannot be recovered by such attachment and sale, the court may direct that the defendant shall suffer imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month for every such neglect or failure to comply with the order of the court made under subsection (1):

Provided that—

the expression "court" shall include a Syariah Court constituted by or under the Enactment of that State;

the expression "maintenance order" shall include a maintenance order made by the aforesaid Syariah Court; and

ACT 356

any order made or any warrant or any process issued by the aforesaid Syariah Court under this Act shall be as valid and effectual as if the same is made or issued by a Magistrate of the First Class in that State and may be executed within that State, but if it is required to be executed outside that State it shall be endorsed by a Magistrate of the First Class having jurisdiction in the State in which it is to be executed.

Act 356

(Revised----1988)

Particulars under section 7 (ii) and (iii) of the Revision of Laws Act 1968 (Act 1)

LIST OF AMENDMENTS

Amending Law

Short title

In force from

Act 160 ... ... Malaysian Currency (Ringgit) 29-8-1975 Act 1975

LIST OF LAWS OR PARTS THEREOF SUPERSEDED

No.

Title

No.8 of 1968 ... Married Women And Children (Enforcement Of Maintenance) Act 1968