385 Prosecution of corporations and members of associations
(1) In this section—
“director”, in relation to a corporate body, means a person who—
(a) controls or governs that corporate body, whether lawfully or otherwise; or
(b) is a member of a body or group of persons which controls or governs that corporate body,
whether lawfully or otherwise; or
(c) where there is no body or group such as is referred to in paragraph (b), who is a member of the
corporate body.
[Subsection as substituted by Act No. 23 of 2004]
(2) ……
[Subsection repealed by Act No. 23 of 2004]
(3) In any criminal proceedings against a corporate body, a director or employee of that corporate body shall
be cited, as representative of that corporate body, as the offender, and thereupon the person so cited may, as such
representative, be dealt with as if he were the person accused of having committed the offence in question:
Provided that—
(i) if the said person pleads guilty, the plea shall not be valid unless the corporate body authorized him to
plead guilty;
(ii) if at any stage of the proceedings the said person ceases to be a director or employee of that corporate
body or absconds or is unable to attend, the court or magistrate concerned may, at the request of the
prosecutor, from time to time substitute for the said person, any other person who is a director or employee of the corporate body at the time of the said substitution, and thereupon the proceedings shall
continue as if no substitution had taken place;
(iii) if the said person, as representing the corporate body, is committed for trial, he shall not be committed to
prison but shall be released on his own recognizance to stand trial;
(iv) if the said person, as representing the corporate body, is convicted, the court convicting him shall not
impose upon him in his representative capacity any punishment, whether direct or as an alternative,
other than a fine, even if the relevant enactment makes no provision for the imposition of a fine in respect of the offence in question, and such fine shall be payable by the corporate body and may be recovered by attachment and sale of any property of the corporate body in terms of section three hundred and
forty-eight;
(v) the citation of a director or employee of a corporate body to represent that corporate body in any criminal proceedings instituted against it shall not exempt that director or employee from prosecution for that
offence in his personal capacity.
[Paragraph amended by Act No. 23 of 2004]
(4) In any criminal proceedings against a corporate body, any record which was made or kept by a director,
employee or agent of the corporate body within the scope of his activities as such director, employee or agent, or
any document which was at any time in the custody or under the control of any such director, employee or agent
within the scope of his activities as such director, employee or agent, shall be admissible in evidence against the
accused.
(5) For the purposes of subsection (4), any record made or kept by a director, employee or agent of a corporate body or any document which was at any time in his custody or control shall be presumed to have been made
or kept by him or to have been in his custody or control within the scope of his activities as such director, employee or agent, unless the contrary is proved.
(6) …..
[Subsection repealed by Act No. 23 of 2004]
(7) In any proceedings against a director or employee of a corporate body in respect of an o ffence—
(a) any evidence which would be or was admissible against that corporate body in a prosecution for that
offence shall be admissible against the accused;
(b) whether or not such corporate body is or was liable to prosecution for the offence, any document,
memorandum, book or record which was drawn up, entered up or kept in the ordinary course of that
corporate body’s business or which was at any time in the custody or under the control of any director,
employee or agent of the corporate body in his capacity as director, employee or agent, shall be prima
facie evidence of its contents and admissible in evidence against the accused, unless he is able to prove
that at all material times he had no knowledge of the document, memorandum, book or record in so far
as its contents are relevant to the offence charged, and was in no way party to the drawing up of the
document or memorandum or making of any relevant entries in such book or record.
(8) When a member of an association of persons, other than a corporate body, has, in carrying on the business or affairs of that association or in furthering or endeavouring to further its interests, committed an offence,
whether by the performance of an act or by the failure to perform any act, any person who was, at the time of the
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