(6) A person who being the holder of a voting share which, to his knowledge, is for the time being subject to a restriction under section 12(3) or having a right to be issued with another voting share in the right of the first-mentioned share, or to receive any payment in respect of the firstmentioned share otherwise than in a liquidation, enters into an agreement which is void under section 12(4) or (5) commits an offence.
(7) A person who commits an offence under this section is liable on conviction to a fine of $1,000,000 and to imprisonment for 2 years.
18. Prosecution of offences and limitation on institution of proceedings
(1) Without affecting the powers of the Secretary for Justice in relation to the prosecution of criminal offences, prosecution for an offence under this Part may be instituted by the Broadcasting Authority.
(2) Notwithstanding section 26 of the Magistrates Ordinance (Cap. 227), any information or complaint relating to an offence under this Part may be tried if it is laid or made, as the case may be, at any time within 3 years beginning on the date of the commission of the offence or within 12 months beginning on the first discovery of the offence by the prosecutor, whichever period expires first.
PART 3
Restrictions on Voting Control Held by Unqualified Voting Controllers (Not Applicable in Relation to Domestic Pay Television Programme Service License)
19. Restrictions on percentage of voting control of unqualified voting controllers
(1) Subject to subsection (2), notwithstanding anything contained in the memorandum or articles of association of a licensee or any provision of any law apart from this section, where any question or matter is to be determined by a poll at any general meeting of the licensee, the following shall apply—
- (a) no vote shall be cast on the poll, whether in person or by proxy, other than by or by proxy on behalf of any person who, at the time of the general meeting, is a registered shareholder of voting shares of the licensee in respect of which a document mentioned in section 22(1)(b) has, in accordance with any direction in that behalf issued by the Broadcasting Authority under section 30, been completed and returned to the licensee;
- (b) where the total voting control exercised by unqualified voting controllers would otherwise exceed, in the aggregate, 49% of the total voting control exercised on the poll by both qualified and unqualified voting controllers, the votes cast on the poll by unqualified voting controllers shall, for the purpose of determining the question or matter, be reduced by multiplying those votes by the percentage determined by the formula specified in paragraph (c);
- (c) the formula for the purposes of paragraph (b) is—
- 1
B×(49×A)
51×100 - where A=the percentage of the total votes cast on the poll, the voting controllers of which are qualified voting controllers;
- B=the percentage of the total votes cast on the poll, the voting controllers of which are unqualified voting controllers.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the memorandum or articles of association of the licensee, this section shall not apply—
