NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
W(B)L 51-7406
CONFIDENTIAL
not been given an advantage and it was a case of one person's word against another's, it is possible that the court might give the accused the benefit of the doubt, in which event clause 25 would not apply. But the inclusion
of the Malaysian provision might well serve to tip the scale in favour of the prosecution.
8.
Certain other clausesof the Bill present difficulties in their existing form and these are dealt with in the following paragraphs.
Clause 13.
9.
Having regard to the defini- tion of a public servant in clause 2, the special powers of investigation conferred by clause 13 could be conferred upon an employee of any of the public bodies listed in the schedule to the Bill. I understand that this
is not the intention and I shall be grateful if the clause may be amended to make this
clear.
10.
Clause 14. This clause confers unusually wide powers on the Attorney-General, in the course of any investigation into an offence under the Bill, to requirea person accused of such an offence, or any other person, to provide detailed and comprehensive information on a wide variety of matters. In particular, sub-clauses 14(1)(a)(i) and (iii) provide that an accused person may be required to furnish comprehensive and detailed information, not only in relation to himself, his agents or his trustees, but also inrelation to his spouse, parents or children.
11. It could, in certain circumstances, be very difficult or even impossible for an accused to provide the necessary information in relation to his parents, spouse or children; and the unreasonableness of such a requirement is emphasised by the new clause 20(b) which provides that the accused's failure to furnish
such information may be the subject of comment
/ by the
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