ARMS ACT 1960

LAWS OF MALAYSIA ONLINE VERSION OF UPDATED TEXT OF REPRINT Act 206 ARMS ACT 1960 As at 4 July 2023 This text is ONLY AN UPDATED TEXT of the Arms Act 1960 by the Attorney General’s Chambers. Unless and until reprinted pursuant to the powers of the Commissioner of Law Revision under subsection 14(1) of the Revision of Laws Act 1968 [Act 1], this text is NOT AN AUTHENTIC TEXT. 2 ARMS ACT 1960 First enacted … … … … 1960 (Act No. 21 of 1960) Revised … … … … 1978 (Act 206 w. e. f. 15 November 1978) Latest amendment made by Act 846 which came into operation on … … … … 4 July 2023 PREVIOUS REPRINTS First Reprint … … … … 2001 Second Reprint … … … … 2006 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 206 ARMS ACT 1960 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I PRELIMINARY Section 1. Short title 2. Interpretation PART II LICENCES AND PERMITS Arms Licences and Arms Permits 3. No person to possess, carry or use arms or ammunition without an arms licence or an arms permit 4. Grant and renewal of arms licences and arms permits 5. Restrictions on the grant of arms licences and arms permits 6. Exemptions from requirements to hold arms licences or arms permits 7. Loss or destruction of, or obliteration, etc., of marks on, arms and ammunition 8. Penalty for possessing or carrying arms and ammunition without an arms licence or arms permit, etc. Dealers’ Licences, Repairers’ Licences, and Combined Dealers’ and Repairers’ Licences 9. Licences to deal in and repair arms and ammunition 10. Boards to be affixed at dealers and repairers shops 4 Laws of Malaysia ACT 206 Licences to Purchase, Obtain or Transfer Arms and Ammunition Section 11. Restrictions on the sale and transfer of arms and ammunition; licences to purchase, obtain or transfer arms and ammunition Licences to Manufacture Arms and Ammunition 12. No person to manufacture arms or ammunition without licence 13. Boards to be affixed at place of manufacture 14. Penalty for manufacturing without licence and for breach of conditions of licence Import and Export of Arms and Ammunition and Licences therefor 15. Licence to import 16. Marking of cases and notice of importation 17. Declaration of arms and ammunition 18. Permit to land or tranship arms and ammunition 19. Licence to export 20. Ports and places of import and export 21. Minister may prohibit importation or exportation 22. Penalty in respect of vessel, aircraft or vehicle used for illegal importation or exportation 23. Penalty for unlawful importation or exportation 24. Concealing unlawfully imported arms or ammunition General 25. Inspection of stock-in-trade 26. Returns of arms and ammunition and production of arms and ammunition, etc., to police 27. Deposit of arms and ammunition at police station 28. Lost, destroyed, etc., licences and permits 29. Where licensee under disability Arms Section 30. Refusal and revocation of licences and permits 31. Minister’s power to order revocation of licences and permits PART III OTHER OFFENCES, PENALTIES AND PROCEEDINGS 32. Penalty for use and possession of arms and imitation arms in certain cases 33. Possession of arms and ammunition for unlawful purpose 34. Carrying a firearm while drunk or disorderly 35. Loss of firearms or ammunition 36. Possession of and importation of imitation arms 37. Causing injury with an arm without lawful excuse 38. Provisions as to shortening arms and converting imitation arms 39. Arms not to be discharged except at shooting range, etc. 40. Finding of arms or ammunition 41. Abetment and attempt 42. Offences by bodies of persons, servants and agents 43. General penalty 44. Rewards to informers 45. Presumption 46. (Deleted) PART IV SEARCH, SEIZURE AND ARREST 47. Search for arms or ammunition under warrant 48. Search warrant against persons 49. Entry and search by Magistrate, etc. 50. Entry on place where arms or ammunition are used 51. Search of trains, vessels, aircraft and vehicles 52. Power to stop and search for arms, etc., in the street 53. Seizures and forfeitures 5 6 Laws of Malaysia ACT 206 Section 54. Persons conveying arms or ammunition may be apprehended without warrant 55. Arrest by police without warrant 56. Persons arrested to be taken to police station PART V GENERAL 57. Power of Chief Police Officer to delegate 58. Fees 59. Regulations 60. Minister’s powers to exempt 61. Repeal and saving FIRST SCHEDULE SECOND SCHEDULE THIRD SCHEDULE 7 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 206 ARMS ACT 1960 An Act relating to arms, imitation arms and ammunition. [Peninsular Malaysia—1 March 1962, L.N. 63/1962; Sabah and Sarawak—1 September 1977, P.U. (A) 260/1977] PART I PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Arms Act 1960. Interpretation 2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “ammunition” means ammunition (including blank ammunition) for any arm as hereinafter defined, and includes grenades, bombs and other like missiles, whether capable of use with arms or not, and any ammunition containing, or designed or adapted to contain, any noxious liquid, gas or other thing; “arm” means any lethal barrelled weapon of any description from which any shot, bullet or other missile can be discharged, or which can be adapted for the discharge of any such shot, bullet or other missile, and any weapon of whatever description designed or adapted or which can be adapted for the discharge of any noxious liquid, gas or other thing, and includes an air gun, air pistol, automatic gun, pistol and any component parts of any such weapon, and any accessory to those 8 Laws of Malaysia ACT 206 weapons designed or adapted to diminish the noise or flash caused by firing the weapon; “arms licence” means a licence granted under section 4; “arms permit” means a permit to carry and use arms and ammunition granted under section 4; “Chief Police Officer” includes a Commissioner of Police vested with the control of the Royal Malaysia Police in respect of any area or State; “dealer’s licence” means a licence to deal in arms and ammunition granted under section 9; “imitation arm” means anything which has the appearance or is intended to give the impression of being an arm, whether it is capable of discharging any shot, bullet, missile, noxious liquid, gas or other thing, or not; “licensed dealer” means a person holding a valid dealer’s licence; “licensed manufacturer” means a person who holds a valid licence to manufacture arms or ammunition under section 12; “licensed repairer” means a person licensed only to repair arms and ammunition under section 9; “manufacture”— (a) in relation to arms includes making or assembling an arm; and (b) in relation to ammunition includes making or assembling of ammunition and the loading or reloading of cartridge cases or other ammunition cases but does not include the manufacture of the gunpowder or any other propellants and explosives used for the loading or reloading; “Officer in Charge of a Police District” and “police officer” shall have the same meanings as in the Police Act 1967 [Act 344]; Arms 9 “pistol” means any arm of which the length of the barrel measured from the muzzle to the point at which the charge is exploded on firing does not exceed nine inches; “proper officer of customs” has the same meaning as in the Customs Act 1967 [Act 235]; “repair” in relation to arms or ammunition includes proving or testing the arms or ammunition; “repairer’s licence” means a licence to repair arms and ammunition granted under section 9; “senior police officer” means a police officer of any rank from and including the Inspector General down to and including an Assistant Superintendent; “superior police officer” means an Inspector of any grade other than a Sub-Inspector; “transfer” includes hiring, lending, giving or parting with possession. (2) In relation to an area which is administered by a Chief Police Officer other than the Chief Police Officer of the State within which the area is situate references in this Act to the Chief Police Officer of a State shall be construed as references to the Chief Police Officer administering the area. PART II LICENCES AND PERMITS Arms Licences and Arms Permits No person to possess, carry or use arms or ammunition without an arms licence or an arms permit 3. (1) Subject to this Act and any regulations made thereunder, no person shall have in his possession, custody or control any arms or ammunition unless he is the holder of an arms licence in that behalf granted to him under section 4. 10 Laws of Malaysia ACT 206 (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a person may carry and use arms or ammunition in accordance with the terms of a valid permit granted to him under section 4: Provided that there is in force an arms licence in respect of those arms and ammunition granted to some other person. Grant and renewal of arms licences and arms permits 4. (1) An application for an arms licence or arms permit shall be made in the prescribed form to the Chief Police Officer of the State in which the applicant resides, and shall state such particulars as may be required by the said form. (2) Subject to this Act and any regulations made thereunder, a Chief Police Officer may grant to an applicant an arms licence or arms permit, as the case may be, if he is satisfied that the applicant has a good reason for having in his possession, custody or control, or for carrying and using, as the case may be, the arms and ammunition in respect of which the application is made, and that he can be authorized in that behalf without danger to the public safety or the public interest. (3) An arms licence or arms permit shall be in such form as may be prescribed, and shall specify the conditions and restrictions subject to which it is held, the nature and number or other identification mark of the arms to which it relates and, as respects ammunition, the quantities authorized to be held at any one time thereunder, and such other matters as may be prescribed. (4) An arms licence or arms permit shall, unless previously revoked or cancelled, expire on 30 June next following the date of issue, but may be renewed by the Chief Police Officer of the State in which the holder resides for a further period of one year from the said 30 June, and so on, from time to time; and the provisions of this section shall apply to the renewal of an arms licence or permit as they do to the grant thereof. (5) The particulars of every arms licence or arms permit granted or renewed under this section shall be entered in a register to be kept by the Chief Police Officer of a State in such form and manner and at such place as may be prescribed. Arms 11 (6) If application is made for a licence in respect of any arms or ammunition not marked with letters or figures or in such other manner that the same may be readily identified, the officer to whom application is made may, before issuing the licence, cause the arms or ammunition, as the case may be, to be marked with some permanent mark whereby the same may be afterwards known and identified, but in such manner as not to injure or deface the same. Restrictions on the grant of arms licences and arms permits 5. (1) No arms licence shall be granted or renewed for— (a) a pump or repeating shot gun of any kind, unless the magazine of the gun is so constructed or permanently plugged as to render it incapable of firing more than one cartridge at each pressure of the trigger or, in the case of a double-barrelled gun, one cartridge from each barrel; (b) an arm that is so designed or adapted that if pressure is applied to the trigger missiles continue to be discharged until pressure is removed from the trigger or the magazine containing the missiles is empty; (c) any arm of any description designed or adapted for the discharge of any noxious liquid, gas or other thing; (d) any grenade or bomb or other like missile; (e) any ammunition containing or designed or adapted to contain any noxious liquid, gas or other thing. (2) No arms licence or arms permit sha