Newspapers Act

Upon receiving an application to obtain a permit under this Act and on payment of the fee prescribed in the First Schedule and of any deposit of the amount prescribed in the Second Schedule, the Minister may grant a permit subject to such conditions as he may determine, which shall be endorsed thereon.

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the

Minister may, in determining the conditions of the permit, specify that the maximum number of copies for each issue of the newspaper which may be printed, published, sold or distributed in Brunei Darussalam shall be determined by him.

Every such permit, unless sooner revoked or suspended, shall be valid for one year from the date of its issue, and may be renewed for further periods not exceeding 12 months in respect of each renewal.

The Minister may, after giving the applicant or permit holder, as the case may be, an opportunity to be heard, at any time and on any grounds and without assigning a reason therefor, refuse to grant or revoke, or may suspend for such period as he thinks fit, a permit to any local newspaper or any overseas newspaper.

Any decision of the Minister to refuse to grant, revoke or suspend the permit shall be final and shall not be called in question by any court on any ground whatsoever.

Notice of the grant, refusal to grant, revocation or suspension of a permit under this section shall be published in the Gazette.

The deposit under subsection (1) shall be available to pay any fine which may be imposed upon the proprietor, printer, publisher or editor of the newspaper in question, either under this Act or in respect of any matter appearing in the newspaper, and shall also be available to pay any damages that may be awarded in any action for libel in respect of any matter appearing in the newspaper and the costs of any such action.

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The Registrar may direct that the whole of such deposit or such part as may be necessary shall be paid out in respect of such fine, damages or costs and that the deposit shall be maintained to the amount prescribed in the

Second Schedule.

The proprietor, printer, publisher or editor may, at any time, give notice to the Registrar that he does not desire to renew the permit and the

Registrar may, after the expiry of the permit, direct that the sum deposited in respect of the newspaper, or so much of such sum as remains deposited, shall be paid to the person entitled to receive it.

No newspaper to be published without permit.

Subject to subsection (2), no person shall print, publish or assist in the printing or publishing of any newspaper in Brunei Darussalam unless the proprietor, printer, publisher or editor of the newspaper has previously obtained a permit granted by the Minister authorising the publication thereof.

No permit shall be granted to the proprietor, printer, publisher or editor of any newspaper whose publication would constitute an offence under section 3C.

Any person who contravenes this section or fails to comply with any condition imposed under section 3(1) is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $40,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.

Permit required for sale and distribution in Brunei Darussalam of overseas newspaper.

No overseas newspaper shall be published, sold, offered for sale or printed for distribution in Brunei Darussalam unless the proprietor of the newspaper or his agent has previously obtained a permit granted by the

Minister authorising the publication, sale or distribution of the newspaper in

Brunei Darussalam.

Every such permit shall have effect in respect of the proprietor to whom it was granted or his agent.

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The Minister may impose as conditions of the grant of a permit that the proprietor shall —

Any person who contravenes this section or fails to comply with any condition imposed under section 3(1) is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $4,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.

Local newspaper company.

No local newspaper shall be printed or published in Brunei

Darussalam except by a company formed and registered under the

Companies Act (Chapter 39).

In every such company, the directors shall constitute citizens of

Brunei Darussalam or persons to whom a Residence Permit has been granted under regulations made under the Immigration Act (Chapter 17) or both.

No printer, publisher, editor, editor-in-chief or journalist, not being a citizen of Brunei Darussalam or a person to whom a Residence

Permit has been granted under regulations made under the Immigration Act

(Chapter 17), shall be connected in any such capacity with any such company unless he has previously obtained approval from the Office of the

Prime Minister.

Any person who contravenes this section is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $40,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.

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This section shall apply to any newspaper published at intervals not exceeding one week.

[S 86/2008]

Funds from foreign source for purposes of newspaper other than commercial purposes prohibited.

Subject to this section, no person shall, on or after the grant or renewal of a permit under section 3, receive on behalf or for the purposes of any newspaper any funds from a foreign source without the prior approval of the Minister.

The Minister may grant such approval if he is satisfied, on such information as he may require to be furnished to him, that the funds from a foreign source are intended for bona fide commercial purposes.

Notwithstanding subsection (1), where any funds from a foreign source are sent to any person without his prior knowledge, consent or solicitation and the funds are intended for or given by the donor for the purposes of the newspaper, that person shall, within 3 days of the receipt thereof, report the circumstances and particulars of the receipt of the funds and the purposes for which the funds were received to the Minister.

Where funds from a foreign source have been received by any person for the purposes of the newspaper under subsection (3) and the

Minister refuses his approval for the retention of those funds, that person shall, within such time as is specified by the Minister, return them to the sender thereof or, if the sender cannot be traced, the funds shall be donated to any charity specified by the Minister.

Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with subsection (1), (3) or (4) is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $40,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both and the Court may, in addition to any other penalty that it may impose, order the forfeiture to the Government of any funds which are the subject of the charge.

(a)

Any journalist who, having received any funds from a foreign source for printing or publishing any news item or article or for adopting a particular line or bias in respect of any news item or article, fails to report in writing within 7 days to the managing director of his newspaper

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company the receipt of those funds is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $40,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.

Nothing in this section shall apply to any dealing by any person in the shares of a newspaper company quoted on a stock exchange in Brunei

Darussalam.

For the purposes of this section —

“foreign source” includes —

A Magistrate may, upon the application of the Public Prosecutor, order the suspension of the publication of any local newspaper and any overseas newspaper for a period not exceeding 6 months if —

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A Magistrate may, upon the application of the Public Prosecutor, order that pending the determination of any proceedings against the printer, publisher or editor of a newspaper for any offence mentioned or referred to in subsection (1) —

It shall be an offence —

When an order is made under subsection (1), the Commissioner of Police, or any police officer authorised by him in writing under his hand shall seize and detain all the machinery, type, appliances, paper, printing materials, writing materials, books, documents, writings, effects and things used to produce the newspaper the registration of which has been suspended.

The Commissioner of Police or any police officer authorised by him in writing under his hand may remove anything which he is directed by subsection (4) to seize to such place or places within Brunei Darussalam as he may see fit and to keep the thing in such place or places so long as the order subsists.

No order under this section shall be made unless the proprietor or editor of the local newspaper in relation to which an application is made has been given an opportunity to show cause against the making of the order.

Where in any publication there is maliciously published any false news, the printer, publisher, editor and the writer thereof is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $40,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.

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For the purposes of this section, malice shall be presumed in default of evidence showing that, prior to publication, the accused took reasonable measures to verify the truth of the news.

No prosecution for an offence under this section shall be initiated without the consent in writing of the Public Prosecutor.

Unlawful to furnish incorrect particulars.

Any person who certifies the correctness of any particular furnished pursuant to any requirement made under this Act shall, if such particular is incorrect, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $40,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.

It shall be a defence to a charge under subsection (1) to prove that —

as proof of the truth of the matters stated in such entry or extract; or

as proof that the particulars appearing in such entry or extract were furnished and certified by the informant by whom they purport to have been furnished and certified.

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Search, seizure and forfeiture.

It shall be lawful for any Magistrate to grant a warrant to any police officer to enter any place or board any vessel or aircraft in or on board which any contravention of this Act or of any regulations made thereunder may appear to have been committed, and to search the place, vessel or aircraft.

Every such warrant shall have the effect of empowering all police officers to enter such place or board such vessel or aircraft and to search the place, vessel or aircraft and to seize anything with respect to which any contravention of this Act or of regulations made thereunder may appear to have been committed or which may appear to be or to contain evidence of any such contravention.

It shall be lawful for a Magistrate, upon such notice, if any, as he may think fit, to order to be forfeited anything with respect to which an offence against this Act or against any regulations made thereunder has been committed.

Anything so forfeited shall be disposed of in such manner as the

Commissioner of Police may direct.

It shall be lawful for the Registrar and any person appointed by the Registrar in writing under his hand at all reasonable times to enter upon any premises from which newspapers are distributed or sold and to inspect, peruse and take away a copy of any newspaper found upon such premises.

Any police officer who is lawfully upon any premises or place whether in pursuance of any warrant or otherwise may seize, remove and detain anything with respect to which any offence against this Act or against any regulations made thereunder may appear to have been committed or which may appear to be or contain evidence of the commission of any such offence.

Where it appears to any police officer not below the rank of

Inspector that there is reasonable cause to believe that in any premises there is concealed or deposited any newspaper the printing, publication, sale or distribution of which is unlawful under any of the provisions of this Act and he has reasonable grounds for believing that by reason of the delay which

Newspapers would be entailed by obtaining a search warrant the object of the search is likely to be frustrated, he may enter and search the premises as if he were empowered to do so by a warrant.

Power to seize and detain illegal newspapers.

A senior officer of customs, as defined in section 2(1) of the

Customs Order, 2006 (S 39/2006), a police officer not below the rank of

Inspector, the Postmaster-General and the Deputy Postmaster-General may detain, open and examine any package or article which he suspects to contain any newspaper which is being or has been brought into Brunei Darussalam for the purposes of publication, sale or distribution in contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or of any condition imposed in respect of any permit.

Any police officer or any officer of customs, as defined in section 2(1) of the Customs Order, 2006 (S 39/2006), may seize and detain any newspaper found in the possession of any person which the police officer or officer of customs has reasonable cause to believe has been printed, published, sold or distributed or is intended to be printed, published, sold or distributed in contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or of any condition imposed in respect of any permit.

Any such newspaper which has been printed, published, sold or distributed shall, whether or not any person has been convicted of any office in respect thereof —

the publication was made without his authority, consent or knowledge; and

the publication did not arise from want of due care or caution on his part.

Service of process.

The publisher of every local newspaper shall, as soon as reasonably possible after any edition or varied impression of such newspaper is published, cause to be delivered to the Registrar, Director of Information, or such other officer as may be authorised in that behalf by the Minister, three copies thereof.

A publisher who fails to comply with subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of not exceeding $10,000.

the registration of local newspapers, overseas newspapers and news agencies and their proprietors, printers, publishers and editors;

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the licensing of distributors of local newspapers and overseas newspapers;

the prohibition of the distribution of local newspapers and overseas newspapers except by licensed distributors;

the regulation of the distribution with or in newspapers of documents not forming an integral part thereof;

the particulars to be furnished in connection with registration or licensing, notification of any change in the required particulars and the manner in which and the conditions upon which effect may be given or refused to be given, to any such change;

the manner in which the identity of the printer of any local newspaper and the time of printing or publication shall be established and, in particular, for the printing of the printer’s and publisher’s name and address on any such newspapers;

the identification of press representatives on their request by the issue of passes or otherwise by such authority as may be prescribed;

granting exemption from all or any of the provisions of this

Act or of any of the regulations made thereunder;

fees and deposits;

forms either in addition to or in substitution for the form in the Schedule;

prescribing anything which is required by this Act to be prescribed;

the nature and form of any document necessary for the purposes of this Act.

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Exemption.

The Minister may, subject to such conditions as he may impose, by order published in the Gazette, exempt —

Nothing in this Act shall extend to the impression of any engraving or to the printing of any visiting or business card, bill-head or letter heading.

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