212. (1) Whenever an offence has been committed, whoever harbours or conceals a person whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the offender, with the intention of screening him from legal punishment, shall, if the offence is punishable with death, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to fine; and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment which may extend to ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine; and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to one year but less than ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one-fourth part of the longest term of imprisonment provided for the offence or with fine or with both.

(2) In this section “offence” includes any act committed at any place out of Malaysia which if committed in Malaysia would be punishable under any of the following sections, namely, 302, 304, 382, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 399, 402, 435, 436, 449, 450, 457, 458, 459 and 460, and every such act shall for the purposes of this section be deemed to be punishable as if the accused person had been guilty of it in Malaysia.

Exception—This provision shall not extend to any case in which the harbour or concealment is by the husband or wife of the offender.

ILLUSTRATION

A, knowing that B, has committed gang-robbery, knowingly conceals B in order to screen him from legal punishment. Here, as B is liable to imprisonment for life, A is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, and is also liable to fine.