Defence Act, 1957 (Act No. 44 of 1957) Chapter XI : Discipline, Legal Procedure and Offences121A. Prohibition of certain acts in connection with service as mercenaries |
| (1) | Any person who— |
| (a) | is a member of the South African Defence Force or the Reserve or an auxiliary or voluntary nursing service established in terms of this Act and who binds himself to service or renders service as a mercenary; or |
| (b) | makes any utterance or performs any act or does anything with intent to advise, encourage, assist, incite, instigate, suggest to or otherwise persuade any member referred to in paragraph (a) to bind himself to serve or to render service as a mercenary, |
shall be guilty of an offence.
| (2) | Any person convicted of a contravention of— |
| (a) | subsection (1)(a), shall be liable to a fine not exceeding R5 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both such fine and such imprisonment; |
| (b) | subsection (1)(b), shall be liable to a fine not exceeding R10 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or to both such fine and such imprisonment. |
| (3) | In any prosecution for a contravention of subsection (1)(b), it shall be presumed in the absence of proof to the contrary that the accused at the time when he made the utterance, performed the activity or acted otherwise, knew that the person in respect of whom the offence is alleged to have been committed was a member referred to in subsection (1)(a). |
| (4) | Any court of law with penal jurisdiction may try a person for a contravention of subsection (1)(a) or (b), notwithstanding the act that the whole or any part of the act constituting the offence was committed outside the Republic. |
[Section 121A inserted by section 15 of Act No. 34 of 1983]