159-52. Penalties; prosecution
(a) Whenever any carcass, part of a carcass, or meat or meat product of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines or any product exempted from the definition of a meat or meat product or any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased cattle, sheep, swine, goat, or equine is found by any authorized representative of the board upon any premises where it is held for purposes of, or during or after distribution in, intrastate commerce and there is reason to believe that any meat or meat product is adulterated or misbranded and is capable of use as human food, or that it has not been inspected in violation of this chapter, the Federal Meat Inspection Act, or the Hawaii or Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or that the meat or meat product or animal has been or is intended to be distributed in violation of any provisions, it may be detained by the representative for a period not to exceed twenty days, pending action or notification of any federal authorities having jurisdiction over the meat or meat product or animal, and shall not be moved by any person from the place at which it is located when detained unless released by the representative. All official marks may be required by the representative to be removed from the meat or meat product or animal before it is released unless it appears to the satisfaction of the board that the meat or meat product or animal is eligible to retain the marks.
(b) Any carcass, part of a carcass, or meat or
meat product of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, or other equines or
any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased cattle, sheep, swine, goat, or equine
that is being transported in commerce or is held for sale in the State after
being so transported and that (1) is or has been prepared, sold, transported,
or otherwise distributed or offered or received for distribution in violation
of this chapter, or (2) is capable of use as human food and is adulterated or
misbranded, or (3) in any other way is in violation of this chapter, shall be
liable to be proceeded against and seized and condemned, at any time, in any
court within the jurisdiction of which the meat or meat product or animal is
found. If the meat or meat product or animal is condemned, it shall, after
entry of the decree, be disposed of by destruction or sale as the court may
direct and the proceeds, if sold, less the court costs and fees and storage and
other proper expenses, shall be paid into the general fund of the State, but
the meat or meat product or animal shall not be sold contrary to this chapter,
the Federal Meat Inspection Act, or the Hawaii or Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act; provided that upon the execution and delivery of a good and
sufficient bond issued on the condition that the meat or meat product or animal
shall not be sold or otherwise disposed of contrary to this chapter or the laws
of the United States, the court may direct that the meat or meat product or
animal be delivered to the owner thereof subject to supervision by authorized
representatives of the board as is necessary to ensure compliance with the
applicable laws. When a decree of condemnation is entered against the meat or
meat product or animal and it is released under bond, or destroyed, court costs
and fees and storage and other proper expenses shall be awarded against the
person, if any, intervening as claimant of the meat or meat product or animal.
(c) The circuit courts of the State are vested
with jurisdiction specifically to enforce and to prevent and restrain
violations of this chapter and shall have jurisdiction in all other kinds of
cases arising under this chapter; provided that the district courts of the
State shall have jurisdiction over misdemeanors committed under this chapter.
(d) Any person who forcibly assaults, resists,
opposes, impedes, intimidates, or interferes with any person engaged in the
performance of, or on account of, official duties under this chapter shall be
fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
(e) Any person who violates any provision of
this chapter for which no other criminal penalty is provided by this chapter
shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or
both, but if the violation involves intent to defraud or any distribution or
attempted distribution of meat or meat product that is adulterated, the person
shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than five
years, or both; provided that no person shall be subject to penalties under this
section for receiving for transportation any meat or meat product or animal in
violation of this chapter if the receipt was made in good faith, unless the
person refuses to furnish on request of a representative of the board the name
and address of the person from whom the meat or meat product or animal was
received and copies of all documents, if any there be, pertaining to the
delivery of the meat or meat product or animal.
(f) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed
as requiring the board to issue citations and summons or to report for
prosecution or injunction proceedings minor violations of this chapter whenever
it believes that the public interest will be adequately served by a suitable
written notice of warning. In determining whether the public interest will be
adequately served by a written notice of warning, the board shall take into
account, among other factors:
(1) The compliance history of those persons;
(2) The magnitude of the violation;
(3) Whether compliance with this chapter would likely
result from that notice; and
(4) Whether the violation is of a minor or technical
nature.
(g) Any person who neglects or refuses to
attend and testify or to answer any lawful inquiry or to produce documentary
evidence, if in that person's power to do so in obedience to the subpoena or
lawful requirement of the board, shall be guilty of an offense and, upon
conviction thereof by a court of competent jurisdiction, shall be fined not
more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
(h) Any person who wilfully makes, or causes
to be made, any false entry or statement of fact in any report required to be
made under this chapter, or who wilfully makes, or causes to be made, any false
entry in any account, record, or memorandum kept by any person subject to this
chapter, or wilfully neglects or fails to make, or causes not to be made, full,
true, and correct entries in the accounts, records, or memoranda of all facts
and transactions appertaining to the business of the person, or wilfully
removes out of the jurisdiction of the State, or wilfully mutilates, alters, or
by any other means falsifies any documentary evidence of any person, or
wilfully refuses to submit to the board or to any of its authorized agents, for
the purpose of inspection and taking copies, any documentary evidence of any
person in the person's possession or within the person's control, shall be
fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
(i) If any person required by this chapter to
file any annual or special report fails to do so within the time fixed by the
board and the failure continues for thirty days after notice of default, that
person shall forfeit to the State the sum of $100 for each day of the
continuance of the failure, which forfeiture shall be payable into the state
general fund and shall be recoverable in a civil suit in the name of the State
brought in the county where the person's principal office is located or in any county
in which the person does business. It shall be the duty of the county
attorneys or corporation counsel of the respective counties within the State,
upon request of the attorney general, to prosecute for the recovery of the
forfeitures.
(j) Any officer or employee of the State who
makes public any confidential information obtained by the board, unless
directed by a court, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more
than one year, or both.
[L 1969, c 214, pt of §1; gen ch 1985; am L 1986, c
206, §3; am L 1990, c 139, §§14, 15; am L 1991, c 88, §1]
