Petty offences

(1) A person who, Unmuzzled ferocious dog. (i) permits any unmuzzled ferocious dog to be at large, or sets on or urges any dog or other animal to attack, worry or put in fear any person or beast; Negligently driving beast. (ii) by negligence or ill-usage in driving any beast causes any mischief to be done by such beast, or in any wise misbehaves himself in the driving, care or management of such beast; Wantonly injuring beast. (iii) not being hired or employed to drive any beast, wantonly or unlawfully pelts, drives or hurts any such beast; or Endangering life or limb by furious riding, etc. (iv) rides or drives furiously so as to endanger the life or limb of any person, or to the common danger or terror of the passengers in any street; Obstructing public crossing. (v) by means of any vehicle or beast willfully obstructs any crossing or street; Rides, etc., on footway. (vi) leads or rides any beast or draws or drives any vehicles upon any footway 17 or curbstone, or fastens any beast in a manner which enables it to wander across or upon any footway or sideway; (vii) rolls or carries any cask, tub, hoop or Carrying cask, etc., along foot- way. wheel, or any ladder, plank, pole, show board or placard upon any footway or sideway, except for the purpose of loading or unloading any vehicle or of crossing the footway or sideway; Affixing bills to buildings, etc. (viii) without the consent of the owner or occupier affixes any posting-bill or other paper against or upon any building, wall, fence, paling, post or tree, or chalks or paints, or in any other way whatever willfully breaks, destroys or damages any part of such building, wall, fence, paling, post or any fixture or appendage thereunto, or willfully damages any tree, shrub, border, hedge or plant in any public walk or garden; (ix) being a common prostitute or night- Loitering for walker loiters or is in any street or public place for the purpose of prostitution or solicitation to the annoyance of the inhabitants or passengers or behaves in a riotous and indecent manner; (x) sells or distributes, or offers for sale or distribution, or exhibits to public view, any profane, indecent or obscene book, paper, print, drawing, photograph, painting or Selling, etc., obscene articles. 18 representation, or sings any profane or obscene song or ballad, or writes or draws any indecent or obscene word, figure or representation upon any wall, door, window, shutter, paling or other conspicuous place, or upon any paper and exposes the said paper to public view, or uses any profane, or language in any street or in any public place, to the annoyance of any other person; Using threatening etc., word or behaviour. (xi) uses to or at any other person or in the hearing of any person, any threatening, abusive, profane, obscene, indecent or insulting words or behaviour, whether calculated to lead to a breach of the peace or not, such several committed in a street, or public place, or in a private enclosure or ground; conduct. (xii) in any street or public place or in any private enclosure or ground is guilty of disorderly conduct, or in any street or public place or within public hearing or public view unlawfully fights with any other person; Carrying fire dangerously. (xiii) by day or night, carries fire or a lighted torch or candle not enclosed in a lantern, or smokes or strikes any light in any field of sugar canes, any megass-house or megass-yard; Disturbing religious meeting, etc. (xiv) wilfully disturbs any meeting or assembly, or any congregation lawfully assembled for religious worship or for any religious service or rite in any burial ground, or disturbs or molests any person thereat; (xv) wantonly throws or discharges any Throwing missiles. stone or other missile to the damage or danger of any person or glass or window, tiles, shingles or slate; Wantonly ringing doorbell. (xvi) willfully or wantonly disturbs any inhabitant by pulling or ringing any doorbell or knocking at any door without lawful excuse, or willfully and unlawfully extinguishes the light of any lamp; (xvii) flies any kite, or plays at any game to Annoying persons by playing at games. the annoyance of the inhabitants or passengers; (xviii) stands or loiters about to the Impeding foot- passengers. annoyance of the passersby, or interferes with or impedes the free passage of foot passengers; (xix) commits any wanton or mischievous General mischievous act. act causing damage or annoyance not otherwise defined in this Act; (xx) throws or places any dirt, litter or Throwing rubbish in streets, etc. ashes, or any carrion, fish, offal, bottles, broken glass or rubbish, or throws or causes any such thing to fall into any sewer, pipe or drain, or into any stream or watercourse, pond or reservoir for water, or causes any offensive matter to run from any house or other place into any street or 20 thoroughfare, or into any uncovered place, whether or not surrounded by a wall or fence; Throwing things in canal. (xxi) whether by night or day in a public or private place, throws or causes to fall into any canal any matter other than night soil; Throwing litter, etc., in thoroughfare, etc. (xxii) throws any refuse, litter or rubbish in or upon any public road or street, or upon the seashore or canal-bank, except upon such places as are appointed to be used as dust heaps or receptacles of rubbish or litter; or Keeping pigsty near street. (xxiii) keeps any pigsty to the front of any street or road not being shut out from such street or road by a sufficient wall or fence, or keeps any swine in or near any street, or in any dwelling so as to be a common nuisance; Removing night soil. (xxiv) empties any privy or cesspool, or removes along any thoroughfare any night soil or other offensive matter, between the hours of four in the morning and nine in the evening, or carelessly slops or spills any such offensive matter in the removal thereof and fails to sweep and clean thoroughly every place in which any such offensive matter has been slopped or spilled; (xxv) being the occupier of a house or other tenement, does not keep all footways, ditches and water- courses adjoining the occupied by him reasonably swept and cleaned; (xxvi) exposes anything for sale upon or so Exposing goods for sale over foot- way, etc. as to hang over any carriage-way or footway, or on the outside of any house or shop, or sets up or continues any pole, blind, awning, line or any other projection from any window, parapet, or other part of any house, shop or other building so as to cause any annoyance or obstruction in any thoroughfare; or Washes animal in street. (xxvii) in any street washes or cleans any (xxviii) in any street or public place is Various offences whilst drunk. guilty, while drunk, of riotous or disorderly behaviour, or is drunk while in charge on any street or public place of any vehicle, beast or steam engine, or is drunk when in possession of any loaded firearm or of any cutlass, machete or sheath- knife; (xxix) being able wholly or in part to Neglecting to maintain himself. maintain himself or his family by work or other means, willfully refuses or neglects so to do; (xxx) being a common prostitute wanders Common prostitute. in any street or place of public resort and behaves in a riotous and indecent manner; (xxxi) wanders abroad or places himself in Wandering abroad to collect alms. any public place, street, court or 22 passage to beg or gather alms, or causes or procures, or encourages any child or children so to do; Depositing dead animal in inhabited place. (xxxii) deposits or throws the carcass of any dead animal, or causes the same to be thrown or deposited, in any part of any town or into any canal, river, creek or caye in or adjacent to any town, or leaves or causes the same to be left upon the shores thereof; Failure to clean (xxxiii) being the occupier of any premises or place within any town, or the owner of any such premises or place if unoccupied, neglects to keep clean all private avenues, passages, yards, privies and ways within the said premises, so as by such neglect to cause a nuisance by offensive smell or otherwise; Removing boat, etc., in harbour without permission. (xxxiv) in any river, estuary, creek or harbour, without lawful authority removes any boat from its usual anchorage or mooring, or from the place where it was last left by the owner or person in charge thereof, or his boatmen or servants, or removes out of any boat any mast, sail or other boat-furniture, or uses such boat or boat-furniture, without the consent of the owner or other lawful authority; Harbouring police constable. (xxxv) knowingly harbours or entertains any member of the Police Department, or permits such member to abide or remain, on any premises licensed for the sale of fermented or 23 spirituous liquors or in any house, shop, room or other place during any part of the time appointed for his being on duty elsewhere; (xxxvi) sells or delivers or permits any other Selling spirits to child. to sell or deliver any description of fermented or spirituous liquor to any person apparently under the age of fourteen years; Sending false telegram. (xxxvii) knowingly sends any false telegram to any person with intent to aggrieve or annoy any person; Unauthorised signature. (xxxviii) signs the name of any other person to any petition, prospectus or testimonial, knowing that he has no authority for so doing and with intent to aggrieve or annoy any person; (xxxix) in any street or public place without Following passenger about. lawful authority or excuse (the proof whereof shall be on the party accused) accosts a passenger or follows him about; (xl) willfully or wantonly shouts or Boisterous behaviour. vociferates or makes any other loud or unseemly noise near any inhabited house after being required to depart; (xli) loiters or carouses in any street or Loitering in street. public place or in any open space of ground in the immediate neighbourhood of such street or public place or in or about any shop or store and does not quietly leave or move away when desired so to do by 24 any police constable or by the owner of such shop or store; Insulting passerby while loitering. (xlii) while loitering or carousing as provided in paragraph (xli) above, threatens, insults or causes annoyance to a passerby; Annoying entry. (xliii) unlawfully enters in an insulting, annoying or threatening manner upon any premises belonging to or in the possession of any other person; Entry after being forbidden. (xliv) unlawfully enters upon any premises belonging to or in the possession of any other forbidden so to do; Remaining on premises after request to depart. (xlv) unlawfully enters and remains on any premises belonging to or in the possession of any other person after being required to depart therefrom; Misconduct after lawful entry. (xlvi) having lawfully entered upon any premises belonging to or in the possession of any other person, misconducts himself by behaving thereon in an insulting, annoying or threatening manner; Remaining after request to depart. (xlvii) having lawfully entered upon any premises belonging to or in the possession of any other person, remains thereon after being lawfully required to depart therefrom, or Pulling down posting-bill, etc. (xlviii) without lawful authority or excuse, willfully and wantonly pulls down, tears, defaces, soils or otherwise 25 damages any posting-bill or notice affixed upon any building, wall, fence, pile or tree, is guilty of a petty offence. (2) In relation to paragraph (xxiii) of subsection (1) of this section, it shall be lawful for the convicting magistrate to allow a reasonable time at his discretion to the person convicted for the removal of such nuisance, within which time no further conviction shall be made on account of such nuisance. (3) In relation to paragraph (xxv) of subsection (1) of this section, if any tenement is empty or unoccupied, the owner thereof shall be deemed the occupier with reference to that enactment. (4) The provisions of paragraphs (xxiii) to (xxvi) of subsection (1) of this section, shall only extend and be applicable to matters which occur within the limits of any town by law established. (5) In relation to paragraph (xxxi) of subsection (1) of this section, no person shall be deemed to be an offender under that paragraph by reason of any such begging or gathering of alms as aforesaid, or by reason of his causing or procuring or encouraging any child so to do, unless it is made to appear to the satisfaction of the magistrate before whom he is charged with such offence, that the offender could by his own labour or other lawful means, or from any public funds appointed for that purpose, have been provided with the necessaries of life. (6) In respect of breaches of the provisions of paragraphs (xxviii) to (xxxi) imprisonment, for any term not exceeding two months, may be imposed instead of a fine. (7) In relation to paragraph (xxxii) of subsection (1) of this section, the owner of any animal, the carcass of which is deposited or thrown as in that paragraph described shall be 26 deemed to have so thrown or deposited such carcass unless such owner proves affirmatively that it was deposited or thrown without his knowledge, consent, connivance or default. (8) In relation to paragraphs (xliii) to (xlvii) of subsection (1) of this section, an information for any of those offences shall be laid by the owner or occupier of such premises. (9) Every person who is guilty of a petty offence shall be liable as follows, (a) for the first offence, to a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months; (b) for a second or subsequent offence (whether it be the same or any other petty offence or petty misdemeanour), to a fine not exceeding four hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, Provided that where a person is convicted of an offence under paragraphs (xx), (xxi) or (xxii) of subsection (1) of this section (hereinafter referred to as a ‘littering offence’) he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months, Provided further that where a person is issued with a Violation Ticket for a littering offence in accordance with the regulations made under this Act and who does not request a court hearing, the fine stated on the Violation Ticket (which shall not exceed the maximum fine specified in the foregoing proviso) shall be the penalty for that offence. (10) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, a person guilty of an offence under paragraph (xxxix) (following passerby), (xli) (loitering in public place) or (xlii)(a) (insulting passerby while loitering) may be arrested without warrant by a police officer and shall be liable on summary conviction to a 27 fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months. (11) The Minister to whom responsibility for Environment is assigned may make regulations for the issue of Violation Tickets for littering offences and all matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, such regulations may provide for all or any of the following matters, (a) the form of the Violation Ticket; (b) subject to the maximum fine specified in subsection (9) of this section, the fine to be stated on the Violation Ticket; (c) persons by whom a Violation Ticket may be issued; (d) the place or places where the fine stated on the Violation Ticket may be paid; (e) the time for paying such fines; (f) the penalty for failure to pay such fine within the time specified; (g) the procedure for requesting a court hearing by a person who has been issued with a Violation Ticket. (12) A conductor of an omnibus carrying passengers who permits or suffers any of his passengers while in such omnibus to throw refuse, litter or rubbish upon any public road or street, or upon the seashore or canal bank, contrary to the provisions of this section, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to the same penalties as prescribed for a littering offence in subsection (9) of this section. 28 (13) A person who has been served with a summons to appear in court for a littering offence may plead guilty by letter addressed to the clerk of the court which issued the summons, and the court may, in its discretion, in lieu of any other proceedings, enter a plea of guilty and deal with the case in the like manner, including the reading in open court of the letter containing the plea, mutatis mutandis as if the defendant had appeared before the court in person and had pleaded guilty, Provided that the court shall not impose in respect of any offence dealt with under this subsection a fine exceeding one hundred dollars or any term of imprisonment. (14) In sentencing a person convicted of a littering offence under this section, the court shall take into consideration not only the purpose of these provisions in preventing the defacement by litter of public roads and of public places but also the nature of the litter and any resulting risk of injury to persons or animals or of damage to property.