rangement of Provisions

1. Short title and
commencement
2. Principal Act
3. Sale to and possession by
young persons of firearms
and ammunition
4. Registration of firearms
5. Certificate of registration
may be refused or existing
certificate revoked
6. Possession of unlawful
weapons
7. Search of suspected persons
and seizure of arms,
ammunition or explosives
8. Search of land or buildings
for arms, ammunition or
explosives
9. Insertion of new sections
10. Forfeiture


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2006, No. 4

AN ACT to amend the Arms Ordinance 1960.
[1st March 2006]

BE IT ENACTED by the Legislative Assembly of Samoa
in Parliament assembled as follows:

1. Short title and commencement-(1) This Act may be
cited as the Arms Amendment Act 2006.
(2) This Act shall come into force on the date of assent of
the Head of State.
(3) Notice of commencement of this Act shall be published
in Samoan and English in the Savali and one other newspaper
circulating in Samoa.
8 Arms Amendment Act 2006, No.4

2. Principal Act - In this Act, “Principal Act” means the
Arms Ordinance 1960.

3. Sale to and possession by young persons of firearms
and ammunition - Section 8 of the Principal Act is amended:
(a) by omitting from subsection (1) “16” and
substituting “21”; and
(b) by omitting from subsection (2) “16” and
substituting “21”.

4. Registration of firearms - Section 9 of the Principal Act
is amended by inserting after subsection (7):

“(7A) For the avoidance of doubt, every certificate of
registration expires on the 31st day of March each year and,
subject to subsection (1), it is an offence under subsection
(11) for a person other than a licensed dealer to fail to renew
a certificate of registration or to be in possession of a
firearm without a certificate of registration after that date.”.

5. Certificate of registration may be refused or existing
certificate revoked - Section 10 of the Principal Act is
amended by inserting after subsection (1):

“(1A) For the purposes of the Ordinance, a person is not
a fit and proper person if the person:
(a) has within the last 5 years been convicted of an
offence for which a term of imprisonment of
more than 2 years but less than 5 years may be
imposed; or
(b) has at any time been convicted of an offence for
which a term of imprisonment of 5 years or more
may be imposed; or
(c) is a person who, in the opinion of the Arms officer,
is otherwise not a fit and proper person.”.

6. Possession of unlawful weapons - Section 12 of the
Principal Act is amended:
2006, No.4 Arms Amendment Act 9

(a) by inserting after subsection (2A):

“(2AA) The Minister may not authorise a person under
subsection (2) if that person:
(a) has within the last 5 years been convicted of
an offence for which a term of
imprisonment of more than 2 years but
less than 5 years may be imposed; or
(b) has at any time been convicted of an offence
for which a term of imprisonment of 5
years or more may be imposed.”; and

(b) by omitting from subsection (3) “100 penalty units”
and substituting “250 penalty units”.

7. Search of suspected persons and seizure of arms,
ammunition or explosives - Section 20 of the Principal Act is
amended by omitting from subsection (1) “being in a public
place”.

8. Search of land or buildings for arms, ammunition or
explosives - Section 21 of the Principal Act is amended by
omitting “any offence against this Ordinance” and substituting
“an offence under any Act”.

9. Insertion of new sections - After section 21 of the
Principal Act the following sections are inserted:

“21A. Confiscation and forfeiture of tainted
property-(1) Police may seize and detain tainted property
and, upon conviction for the offence, such property is
forfeited to the Government of Samoa and may be disposed
in such way as the Minister acting on the advice of Cabinet
directs.
(2) In this section:
„property‟ includes currency, investments, holdings,
possessions, assets and all other property real or
personal, heritable or moveable including things in
action and other intangible or in corporeal property
10 Arms Amendment Act 2006, No.4

wherever situate, whether in Samoa or elsewhere,
and includes any interest in such property;
„tainted property‟, in relation to an offence involving the
use of a firearm, means -
(a) property that was used, or was intended by
an offender to be used, in relation to the
commission of the offence; or
(b) property that was derived either wholly or in
part by anyone from the commission of
the offence; or
(c) property that was derived by anyone from
property mentioned in paragraph (a) or
(b);
and includes an amount of money held in an account with a
financial institution that represents the value of property
mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) that has been directly
or indirectly credited to the account.
(3) For paragraph (2)(a), any property found in the
possession of an offender at the time of, or immediately
after, the commission of the offence is taken to be property
that was used, or was intended by the offender to be used, in
relation to the commission of the offence, unless the
contrary is established by the offender.
(4) Examples of tainted property for paragraph (2)(c)
are:
(a) a car used as a getaway car for an armed
robbery;
(b) money and jewellery stolen during the
commission of the armed robbery
offence;
(c) a house in relation to which a mortgage is
partly or completely discharged using
money stolen during the commission of
the armed robbery offence, or a mixture
of that money and money unconnected
with the offence;
(d) money or other property received from the
sale of the car, jewellery or house
mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c);
2006, No.4 Arms Amendment Act 11

(e) other property purchased using the money
mentioned in paragraph (d);
(f) shares or negotiable instruments bought
using money stolen during the
commission of the armed robbery
offence, or a mixture of that money and
money unconnected with the offence;
(g) loans, gifts or other transfers or dispositions
to any person using money stolen during
the commission of the armed robbery
offence, or a mixture of that money and
money unconnected with the offence.

21B Mandatory reporting of wound caused by
firearm-(1) If a doctor or nurse reasonably suspects that a
person they are treating has recently suffered a wound
caused by a firearm, the doctor or nurse must as soon as
practicable report to a police officer the name of the person
they are treating and the grounds of their suspicion.
(2) A doctor or nurse who fails to report to a police
officer as required under subsection (1), commits an offence
and is liable to a fine not exceeding 100 penalty units or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both.”.

10. Forfeiture - Section 24 of the principal Act is amended
by omitting “the convicting Court may” and substituting “the
convicting Court shall”.

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The Arms Amendment Act 2006 is administered in the Ministry
of Police, Prison and Fire Services