§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]

Cross References

Classification of offenses and authorized punishment, see §§701-107, 706-610(2), 640, 660, 663.