Section 78
of Brunei Darussalam National Accreditation Council Act
Section 78
(1)
Where an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of that body, or of any person purporting to act in any such capacity, he, as well as the body corporate, is also guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
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(2)
Where a partnership is guilty of an offence against this Act or any regulations made thereunder, every partner, other than the partner who is proved to have been ignorant of or to have attempted to prevent the commission of the offence, is also guilty of an offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(3)
In relation to a body corporate whose affairs are managed by its members, “director”, in subsection (1), means any member of that body corporate.
Compounding of offences 79.
(1)
The Council may compound any offence committed by any person against this Act or any regulations made thereunder which has been prescribed to be a compoundable offence by collecting from the person reasonably suspected of having committed that offence a sum of money not exceeding one half of the amount of maximum fine prescribed for that offence.
(2)
On payment of such sum of money, no further proceedings should be taken against that person in respect of that offence.
Penalty for offences not otherwise provided for 80.
Any person who is guilty of an offence against this Act or any regulations made thereunder for which no penalty is expressly provided is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both.
Penalty in case of continuing offence 81.
Any person who is guilty of an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder shall, in the case of a continuing offence, be liable, in addition to any other penalty to which he is liable under this Act or any regulations made thereunder in respect of such offence, to a daily fine not exceeding $1,000 for each day the offence continues after conviction.
Presumption 82.
In any proceeding for an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder when it has been proven that any application, information, particular, document or statement, whether written or not, is —
(a)
false or incorrect in whole or in part; or
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(b)
misleading in any material particular, it shall be presumed until the contrary is proved that such application, information, particular, document or statement is false or incorrect in whole or in part or misleading in any material particular, as the case may be, to the knowledge of the person signing, delivering or supplying it.
Public servant 83.
Every member of the Council or any of its committees, any officer or agent of the Council and any member of the committees and the sub-committees while discharging his duties or performing his functions or exercising his power under this Act or any regulations made thereunder is deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of the Penal Code
(Chapter 22).
Protection against suit and legal proceedings 84.
No action shall lie or prosecution shall be brought, instituted or maintained against —
(a)
the Council, any member of its committees or any officer or staff of the Secretariat;
(b)
the Council, any member of the Council, or any member of any of its committees:
(c)
the Sub-Committees or any of its member; or
(d)
any person lawfully acting on behalf of the Council, in respect of any act, neglect or default done or committed by him or it in good faith in the exercise, performance or purported exercise or performance of his duties, functions and powers under this Act.
Obligation of secrecy 85.
(1)
Except for any of the purposes of this Act and for the purposes of any civil or criminal proceedings under any written law, no member of the
Council, officer or staff of the Council shall disclose any information which has been obtained by him in the course of his duties and which is not published in pursuance of this Act.
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(2)
Any person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both.
Power to exempt 86.
The Minister may, other than in respect of professional programmes and professional qualifications, by order published in the Gazette exempt, subject to such conditions as he may deem fit to impose —
(a)
any higher education provider duly registered under any other written law;
(b)
any person or class of persons; or
(c)
any higher education provider, from all or any of the provisions of this Act or any regulations made thereunder.
Regulations 87.
(1)
The Minister may, with the approval of His Majesty the Sultan and
Yang Di-Pertuan, make regulations which are necessary or expedient for giving effect to or for carrying out the provisions of this Act.
(2)
Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Minister may make regulations for —
(a)
prescribing the manner of applying for provisional accreditation or accreditation under this Act, the particulars to be supplied by an applicant, the manner of accreditation and the conditions to be imposed;
(b)
prescribing the forms for the purposes of this Act;
(c)
prescribing the fees and charges payable under this Act and the manner for collecting and disbursing such fees and charges;
(d)
prescribing the records and documents to be kept and the returns to be submitted;
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(e)
prescribing the offences which may be compounded and the method and procedure thereof;
(f)
providing for the regulation of all or any of the activities of the Council and generally the performance of the functions, the exercise of the powers and the discharge of the duties of the Council under this Act; and
(g)
providing for such other matters required to be or which may be prescribed or which are necessary for giving effect to the provisions of this Act and for their due administration.
(3)
Such regulations may include such incidental, consequential and supplementary provisions as the Minister considers necessary or expedient.