Cap. 409 Art. 43Offences and penalties.

(1) Any person who -

(a) not being in possession of a licence, carries on any tourism operation or allows any tourism operation to be carried on from or in property of which he is the owner or a co-owner or from or in which he could have carried on such operation if he were in possession of a licence; or

(b) being in possession of a licence fails to comply with any applicable provision of this Act or with any condition, restriction or other limitation to which the licence is subject; or

(c) having been served with an enforcement notice or other order under article 41, fails to comply with any of the requirements of such notice within the time therein specified or forthwith as the case may be; or

(d) hinders, obstructs, molests or interferes with, or attempts to hinder, obstruct, molest, or interfere with, any officer, employee or agent of the Authority, or any police officer, in the execution of his duties under the law, or fails to comply with any reasonable requirement demanded of him by any such officer, employee, agent or police officer as aforesaid or otherwise to assist him in the carrying out of the said of this Act which is false, misleading or incorrect in any material respect; or *

(f) fails to comply with the provisions of article 31, shall be guilty of an offence against this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine (multa) of not less than one thousand and one hundred and sixty-four euro and sixty-nine cents (1,164.69) and not more than twenty-three thousand and two hundred and ninety-three euro and seventy-three cents (23,293.73), and in the case of an offence under paragraph (b) of this subarticle, or in respect of an offence under paragraph (c) of this subarticle, if the offender persists in the offence for more than three months, also to imprisonment for a term of not less than three months and not more than three years.

(2) The court, besides awarding the punishment referred to in subarticle (1), shall order the offender to remove the causes of the offence and to undo anything which was done without a licence or to comply with the conditions imposed in the licence, as the case may be, within a time sufficient for the purpose, but in any case not exceeding three months from the date of the judgement, to be fixed by the court; and if the offender fails to comply with any order within the time so fixed, he shall be liable to a fine (multa) of not less than one thousand and one hundred and sixty-four euro and sixty-nine cents (1,164.69) and not more than eleven thousand and six hundred and forty-six euro and eighty-seven cents (11,646.87), as the court may fix, for every day the default continues after the expiration of the said time.

(3) The provisions of the Probation Act shall not apply in relation to the offences mentioned in subarticle (1).

(4) Proceedings against any person for any offence as is mentioned in subarticle (1) shall be taken before the Court of Magistrates (Malta) or the Court of Magistrates (Gozo), as the case may be, as courts of criminal judicature in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Code:

Provided that, notwithstanding the provisions of article 376(1)(b) of the Criminal Code, the court shall, at the request of the prosecution or of the accused, take down evidence given by the witnesses in the manner provided for in article 390(6) of the said Code or in any other law.

(5) In any prosecution against a person charged with running or operating a hotel, guest house, hostel, or holiday premises without a licence as is provided for in article 18(1), or charged with providing accommodation to tourists, other than bona fide friends or relatives who are provided with such accommodation without any payment, without a licence as provided for in article 18(2), it

*In force only as relating to the provisions of article 31(1). such tourist or tourists were found on such premises; and that the premises were not duly licensed, and it shall not be required to produce such tourist or tourists as witnesses or such personal effects as evidence, and the court shall deem such charge to be proved unless the accused proves that such tourist or tourists had been duly accommodated in licensed premises or that such tourist or tourists were bona fide friends or relatives as aforesaid.

(6) In any prosecution against a person charged with being an accomplice in any one or more of the offences listed in subarticle

(5) it shall be sufficient for the prosecution to prove that the premises to which the charge relates were not duly licensed as is provided for in article 18(1) or (2), as the case may be; that, upon inspection of the premises, a tourist was found thereon; that such premises had sleeping facilities; that personal effects of such person were found on the premises; and that the accommodation in the premises was procured by or for such person through the intervention, however effected, of the accused, and the prosecution shall not be required to produce such tourist as a witness or such personal effects as evidence, and the court shall deem such charge to be proved unless the accused proves that prior to intervening in the procurement of the accommodation he made diligent enquiries as to the licensing of the premises or that, in the circumstances, he could not reasonably have been expected to know that the premises were not duly licensed.