THE UNION MILITARY POLICE ACT.
[BURMA ACT II, 1948.]
(2nd January, 1948.)

It is hereby enacted as follows : -

PART I.

1. This Act may be called the Union Military Police Act.

2. It shall come into force on such date as the President of the Union may, by notification, direct.

3. This Act applies to the Union Military Police Force and persons attached to, employed with or following, the Force, wherever they may be.

SUPERINTENDENCE AND COMMAND.

4. The superintendence and general administration of the Force shall be exercised subject to the control of the President of the Union by the Inspector¬ General of Police.

5. The President of the Union may appoint so many officers as he may deem fit, to assist the Inspector-General in the superintendence and administration of the Force. Such officers shall be subordinate to and under the control of the Inspector-General, and shall exercise and discharge such duties, powers and functions as the President of the Union by order, vest in or impose upon them.

6. Except as respects magisterial powers, orders passed by any as authority under this Act shall be subject to revision by such other authority as the President of the Union may by rule or order prescribe.

7. The President of the Union may invest any officers of the Force with any or all of the powers of the Police and may define the circumstances in which such powers may be exercised. As respects the exercise of such powers every officer shall have the privileges and protection afforded by law to police officer.

MEMBERS OF THE FORCE.

8. The term “ Member of the Force” shall mean any person who is enrolled under this Act and is a rifleman or a public follower or a Non-Commissioned Officer of the rank of Lance-Corporal, Corporal or Sergeant or of the rank of Warrant Officer I or Warrant Officer II.

ENROLMENT.

9. Any person who is qualified for enrolment in the Force in accordance with such conditions as the President of the Union may prescribe may apply to Commandant, or any other enrolling officer appointed for this purpose by the Inspector-General, to be enrolled as a member of the Force subject to provisions of this Act.

10. The enrolment paper shall be in a form prescribed by the President the Union setting forth -

(a) questions (to which the answers of the applicant shall be recorded) ascertaining the qualifications of the applicant, and

(b) a statement (to be read and explained to the applicant and signed by him) that, on enrolment, the applicant will become a member of the Force and will be subject to the provisions of this Act, that he will be, liable for service in the Union of Burma and adjacent countries, and that he will not be entitled to obtain his discharge from the Force for three years, or if on active service, or if the members of the Force are for the time being less than nine-tenths of the sanctioned strength.

11. (1) The applicant for enrolment shall present himself to the enrolling officer.

(2) The enrolling officer (after warning the applicant of the punishment provided by this Act for the offence of giving false answers on enrolment) shall put to the applicant each question on the enrolment paper and record on the paper the answer to each question and (if satisfied that the applicant is qualified for enrolment) shall read and explain (or cause to be read and explained) to the applicant the statement on the enrolment paper.

(3) The enrolling officer shall take the signature of the applicant on the enrolment paper as assenting thereto, and shall authenticate the entries in the prescribed manner; and shall inform the applicant that he has become a member of the Force.

12. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, every person who has for the space of six months been in receipt of Union Military Police pay and been borne on the rolls of any Union Military Police battalion, shall be deemed to have been duly enrolled in the Union Military Police as from the date on which his name was first borne on the rolls.

13. A member of the Force shall not be entitled to obtain his discharge for three years from the date of enrolment and in the case of Specialist personnel five years from the date of enrolment.

14. (1) At any time after the expiration of his period of service, any member of the Force who is not on active service shall, on application in routine manner, be entitled, after the expiration of two months from the date of application, to be discharged by the Commandant of his unit unless the members of the unit have fallen below nine-tenths of the sanctioned strength.

(2) Any member of the Force who is not on active service may be discharged at any time by the Inspector-General.

14A. No member of the Force or person attached to or employed with the Force shall, during a period of war, be entitled to claim his discharge.

GENERAL PROVISION.

15. No member of the Force may accept or hold any employment or office other than under this Act except with the written permission of the Inspector-General.

16. The Inspector-General of Police shall make rules (subject to the approval of the President of the Union) for the subdivision into grades of any of the ranks mentioned in section 8 and for the promotion and appointment to any of such ranks.

17. (1) Orders and rules may be issued and made by the Inspector-General of Police (subject to the approval of the President of the Union) relating to-

the places at which members of the Force shall reside, and the particular services to be performed by them, the description of arms, accoutrements and other necessaries to be furnished to them, and their inspection,

the collection and communication of information by members of the Force, and
the efficiency of the Force and preventing neglect of duty or abuse of powers.

(2) Orders and rules may be issued and made by the President of the Union relating to -

the pay, allowances, pension, leave and- other conditions of service of the personnel of the Force,

the organization, classification and distribution of the Force,

the employment of the Force on military service, and

the operation of military law in the case of personnel of the Force serving with any military force.

ESTATES OF DECEASED.

18. The provisions of the Disposal of Police Officers’ Estates Act shall apply to the estates of persons serving in the Force.

POLICE POWERS.

19. (1) Every member of the Force (except public followers) shall have the powers of a police officer appointed under section 8 of the Police Act, 1945, and shall, in the exercise of such powers, have the privileges and protection afforded by law to police officers.

(2) Orders and rules relating to the exercise of police-powers by members the Force may be issued and made by the Inspector-General, subject to the approval of the President of the Union.

COLLECTIVE FINES.

20. Whenever any weapon or part of a weapon farming part of the equipment of a company, garrison of a post, or other unit is lost or stolen, the Inspector General may, on the report of a Court of Enquiry, impose a collective fine on the members of the Force composing such unit or upon such of them as, in his judgment, should be held responsible for such loss or theft.

PART II.

UNION MILITARY POLICE DISCIPLINE.

21. This part applies (where appropriate) to every member of the Force and every person, who, on active service, in camp, on the march or at any post specified by the President of the Union in this behalf, is employed with or following any portion of the Force.

22. (a) “Active service”, as applied to a person subject to this Act, means the time during which such person is attached to, or forms part of, a force which is engaged in operations against any enemy, or is engaged in military operations in, or is on the line of march to, a country or place wholly or partly occupied by an enemy, or is in military occupation of any foreign country; it also includes service at an outpost other than an outpost in permanent occupation;

(b) “enemy” includes all armed mutineers, armed rebels, armed rioters, pirates and any person in arms against whom it is the duty of a person subject to this Act to act ;

(c) the expressions “assault”, “criminal force”, “fraudulently”, “reason to believe” and “voluntarily causing hurt” have the meanings assigned to them, respectively, in the Penal Code;

(d) “superior officer” as respects any member of the Force includes any person of higher rank in the Police, and as respects any member of the Force other than a rifleman includes any member of the Force of longer service or higher grade in the same rank.

23. (1) A Commandant, or an officer of the Force commanding a separate detachment or an outpost or in temporary command at the headquarters of a district or battalion during the absence of the aforesaid officers may, without an order from a Magistrate and without a warrant, cause to be arrested any person subject to this Act who has been concerned in any offence under this Act or against whom reasonable complaint has been made or credible information has been received or reasonable suspicion exists of having been so concerned, and ¬may cause the person so arrested to be confined in the quarter-guard or such other place as he may consider suitable.

(2) For the purpose of the detention of the person arrested and investigation of a case punishable on conviction under this Act the member of the Force for the time being in immediate charge of the place or station where the person arrested is detained in Force custody shall, except in cases speedily disposed of under section 43 or 44, be deemed to be an officer in charge of a police-station acting under the Code of Criminal Procedure and shall be bound by the provisions of sections 61, 62 and 167 of that Code.

(3) Notwithstanding anything Contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, no officer or Court shall be bound to release on bail any person arrested and confined under the powers conferred by this section.

24. (1) The Inspector-General, Commandants and officers officiating in such appointments shall have the powers of a Magistrate of the first class and may try any offences under this Act; provided that the President of the Union may impose limits upon the exercise of such powers.

(2) The President of the Union may invest any officers of the Force with like powers.

(3) Where an offence under this Act is committed at any place outside the Union of Burma and cannot adequately be dealt with at that place the offender shall, on return to the Union of Burma, be dealt with by the appropriate court in the Union of Burma having local jurisdiction at the place to which he returns.

OFFENCES PUNISHABLE ON TRIAL AND CONVICTION.

25. Any person subject to this Act who commits any of the following offences, that is to say,—
(a) shamefully abandons or delivers up any garrison, fortress, post or guard committed to his charge, or which it is his duty to defend ; or

(b) in presence of an enemy, shamefully casts away his arms or ammunition, or intentionally uses words or any other means to induce any person subject to Military or Union Military Police law to abstain from acting against the enemy, or to discourage such person from acting against the enemy, or misbehaves in such a manner as to show cowardice ; or

(c) directly or indirectly holds correspondence with, or communicates intelligence to, the enemy, or any person in arms against the State, or who, coming to the knowledge of any such correspondence or communication, omits to disclose it immediately to his commanding or other superior officer; or

(d) treacherously makes known the watch-word to any person not entitled to receive it; or

(e) directly or indirectly assists or relieves with money, victuals or ammunition, or knowingly harbors or protects any enemy or person in arms against the State; or

(f) in time of war or during any military operation, intentionally occasions a false alarm in action, camp, garrison or quarters, or spreads reports calculated to create alarm or despondency ; or

(g) being a sentry in time of war or alarm, or over any prisoner, treasure, magazine or dockyard, sleeps upon his post, or quits it without being regularly relieved or without leave; or

(h) in time of action, leaves his commanding officer or his post or party to go in search of plunder; or

(i) in time of war, quits his guard, piquet, party or patrol, without being regularly relieved or without leave; or

(j) in time of war or during any military operation, uses criminal force to, or commits an assault on, any person bringing provisions or other necessaries to the camp or quarters of any part of the forces, or forces a safe, or guard, or breaks into any house or any other place for plunder, or plunders, injures or destroys any field, garden or other property of any kind;

shall, on conviction, be liable to suffer transportation which may extend to life, or such less punishment as is provided in this Act.

26. Any person subject to this Act who commits any of the following offences, that is to say,—

(a) strikes, or forces or attempts to force, any sentry ; or

(b) in time of peace, intentionally occasions a false alarm in camp, garrison or cantonment; or

(c) being a sentry, or on guard, plunders or willfully destroys or injures any property placed under charge of his guard; or

(d) being a sentry, in time of peace, sleeps upon his post, or quits it without being regularly relieved or without leave;

shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment, which may extend to two years, or with such less punishment as is provided in this Act.

27. Any person subject to this Act who commits any of the following offences, that is to say, —

(a) begins, excites, causes or joins in any mutiny; or

(b) being present at any mutiny, does not use his utmost endeavor suppress the same ;

(c) knowing or having reason to believe in the existence of any mutiny, or of any intention to mutiny, or of any conspiracy against the State, does not, without delay, give information thereof to his commanding or other superior officer; or

(d) uses or attempts to use criminal force to, or commits an assault on, superior officer, whether on or off duty, knowing or having reason believe him to be such.; or

(e) disobeys the lawful command of his superior officer;

shall, on conviction, be punished with transportation, which may extend to life, or with such less punishment as is provided in this Act.

28. Any person subject to this Act who commits any of the following offences, that is to say, —

(a) is grossly insubordinate or insolent t0 his superior officer in the execution of his office, or

(b) refuses to superintend or assist in the making of any field-work or other, military work of any description ordered to be made either in quarters or in the field,

shall, on conviction, be liable to suffer imprisonment, which may extend to two years, or such less punishment as is provided in this Act.

29. Any person subject to this Act who deserts or attempts to desert the service shall, on conviction, be liable to suffer imprisonment or such less punishment as is provided in this Act.

30. Any person subject to this Act who commits any of the following offences, that is to say, —

(a) knowingly harbours any deserter, or who knowing, or having reason to believe, that any other person has deserted, or that any deserter has been harboured by any other person, does not without delay give information thereof to his own or some other superior officer, or use his utmost endeavours to cause such deserter to be apprehended; or

(b) knowing, or having reason to believe, that a person is a deserter, procures or attempts to procure the enrolment of such person ; or

(c) without having first obtained a regular discharge from the battalion to which he belongs, enrolls himself in the same or any other battalion; or

(d) absents himself without leave, or without sufficient cause overstays leave granted to him; or

(e) being on leave of absence and having received information from proper authority that the battalion or the portion of a battalion or any department to which he belongs has been ordered on active service, fails, without sufficient cause, to rejoin without delay; or

(f) without sufficient cause fails to appear at the time fixed at the parade or place appointed for exercise or duty ; or

(g) when on parade or on the line of march, without sufficient cause or without leave from his superior officer, quits the parade or line without leave ; or

(h) in time of peace, quits his guard, piquet or patrol without being regularly relieved or without leave ; or

(i) without proper authority is found two miles or more from camp or outpost ; or

(j) without proper authority is absent from his lines after tattoo, or from camp or outpost after retreat-beating;

shall, on conviction, be liable to suffer imprisonment, which may extend to two years, or such less punishment as is provided in this Act.

31. Any person subject to this Act who commits any of the following offences, that is to say, —

(a) dishonestly misappropriates or converts to his own use any money, provisions, forage, arms, clothing, ammunition, tools, instruments, equipments or Union Military stores of any kind, the property of Government entrusted to him ; or

(b) dishonestly receives or retains any property in respect of which an offence under clause (a) has been committed, knowing or having reason to believe the same to have been dishonestly misappropriated or converted; or

(c) willfully destroys or injures any property of Government entrusted to him; or

(d) commits theft in respect of any property of Government, or of any Force mess, band or institution, or of any person subject to this Act; or

(e) dishonestly receives or retains any such property as is specified in clause (d) knowing or having reason to believe it to be stolen ; or

(f) does any other thing with intent to defraud, or to cause wrongful gain to one person or wrongful loss to another person; or

(g) malingers or feigns or produces disease or infirmity in himself, or intentionally delays his cure or aggravates his disease or infirmity ; or

(h) with intent to render himself or any other person unfit for service, voluntarily causes hurt to himself or any other person; or

(i) commits any offence of a cruel, indecent or unnatural kind or attempts to commit any such offence and does any act towards its commission;

Shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment, which may extend to seven years, or with such less punishment as is provided in this Act.

32. Any person subject to this Act who is in a state of intoxication, whether on duty or off duty shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment, or with such less punishment as is provided in this Act.

33. Any person subject to this Act who, without proper authority, releases any State prisoner, enemy or person taken in arms against the State, placed under his charge, or who negligently suffers such prisoner, enemy or person to escape shall, on conviction, be punished with transportation or with such less punishment as is provided in this Act.

34. Any person subject to this Act who commits any of the following offences, that is to say, —

(a) being in command of a guard, picquet, or patrol, neglects duly to post a sentry at the appointed time and place; or

(b) being in command of a guard, picquet, or patrol, refuses to receive any prisoner or person duly committed to his charge; or

(c) without proper authority releases any prisoner or person placed under his charge, or negligently suffers any such prisoner or person to escape; or

(d) being in Force custody, leaves such custody before he is set at liberty by proper authority;

shall, on conviction, be liable to suffer imprisonment or such less punishment as is provided in this Act.

35. Any person subject to this Act who commits any of the following offences, that is to say, —

(a) commits extortion, or without proper authority extorts from any person, carriage, porter age or provisions; or

(b) commits house breaking for the purpose of plundering or plunders; or

(c) designedly or through neglect kills, injures, makes away with, ill-treats or loses his horse or animal used in the public service; or

(d) makes away with, or is concerned in making away with, his arms, ammunition, equipment, instruments, tools, clothing or Force necessaries; or

(e) loses by neglect anything mentioned in clause (d) ; or

(f) willfully injures anything mentioned in clause (d) or any Government property or that of any Force band, institution, mess or belonging to any person subject to this Act; or

(g) sells, pawns, defaces or destroys any medal or decoration granted to him;
shall, on conviction, be liable to suffer imprisonment or such less punishment as is provided in this Act.

36. Any person subject to this Act who commits any of the following offences, that is -to say, —

(a) makes a false accusation against any person subject to this Act, knowing such accusation to be false; or

(b) in making any complaint, knowingly makes any false statement affecting the character of any person subject to this Act, or knowingly and willfully suppresses any material fact; or

(c) obtains or attempts to obtain for himself, or for any other person, any pension, allowance or other advantage or privilege by a statement which is false, and which he either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, or by making or using a false entry in any book or record or by making any document containing a false statement, or by omitting to make a true entry or document containing a true statement ; or

(d) knowingly furnishes a false return or report of the number or state of any men under his command or charge, or of any money, arms, ammunition, clothing, equipments, stores or other property in his charge, whether belonging to such men or Government or to any person in or attached to the Force, or who, through design or culpable neglect, omits or refuses to make or send any return or report of the matters aforesaid;
shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment, which may extend to five years, or such less punishment as is provided in this Act.

37. Any person having become subject to this Act who is discovered to have made a willfully false answer to any question set forth in the prescribed form of enrolment which has been put to him by the enrolling officer before whom he appears for the purpose of being enrolled shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment, which may extend to three years, or with such less punishment as is provided in this Act.

38. Any person subject to this Act - who commits any of the following offences, that is to say, —

(a) being of the rank of Warrant Officer, behaves in a manner unbecoming his position and character; or

(b) strikes or otherwise ill-treats any person subject to this Act being his subordinate in rank or position; or

(c) being in command at any post or on the march, and receiving a compliant that any one under his command has beaten or otherwise maltreated or oppressed any person, or has disturbed any fair or markets or committed any riot or trespass, fails to have due reparation made to the injured person or to report the case to the proper authority ; or

(d) by defiling any place of worship, or otherwise, intentionally insults the religion or wounds the religious feelings of any person ; or

(e) attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence ; or

(f) being below the rank of a Warrant Officer, directly or indirectly accepts or obtains, or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain, for himself or for any other person, any gratification as a motive or reward for procuring the enrolment of any person in the service; or

(g) gambles or induces any other member of the Force to gamble; or

(h) neglects to obey any general or other orders ; or

(i) is guilty of any act or omission which, though not specified in this Act, is prejudicial to good order and Force discipline;
shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment, which may extend to two years, or with such less punishment as is provided in this Act.

PENAL DEDUCTIONS.

39. The following penal deductions may be made from the pay and allowances of a person subject to this Act, that is to say, —

(a) all pay and allowances for every day of absence either on desertion or without leave and for every day of imprisonment awarded by a criminal Court, or under this Act;

(b) all pay and allowances for every day whilst he is in custody on a charge for an offence of which he is afterwards convicted by a criminal Court or on a charge of absence without leave for which he is afterwards awarded imprisonment under this Act;

(c) all pay and allowances for every day on which he is in hospital on account of sickness or other cause certified by the proper medical officer attending on him at the hospital to have been caused by an offence under this Act committed by him;

(d) all pay and allowances ordered to be forfeited under this Act;

(e) any sum ordered to be stopped under this Act;

(f) any sum required to make good such compensation for any expenses caused by him, or for any loss or damage or destruction done by him to any arms, ammunition, equipment, clothing, instruments, battalion necessaries or military decoration, or to any building, or property, may be awarded by his commanding officer;

(g) any sum required to pay a fine awarded by a criminal Court or under this Act :

Provided that the total deductions from the pay and allowances of a person subject to this Act made under clauses (e) to (g) shall not (except in the case of a person sentenced to dismissal or whose sentence involves dismissal) exceed in any one month one-half of his pay and allowance for that month.

Explanation.—For the purpose of clauses (a) and (b)—

(i) absence or custody for six consecutive hours or upwards, whether wholly in one day or partly in one day and partly in another, may be reckoned as absence or custody for a day;

(ii) absence or custody for twelve consecutive hours or upwards may be reckoned as absence or custody for the whole of each day during portion any portion of which the person was absent or in custody, and any absence or custody for less than a day may be reckoned as absence or custody for a day if such absence or custody prevented the absentee from fulfilling any force duty which was thereby upon some other person.

PUNISHMENTS.

40. Punishments may be inflicted in respect of offences committed by persons subject to this Act, and convicted of an offence, according to the scale following, that is to say,—

(a) transportation for life or for any period exceeding seven years;

(b) imprisonment (with or without solitary confinement) for any term not exceeding fourteen years;

(c) dismissal from the service;

(d) removal from the service;

(e) fine; -

(f) the punishments mentioned in section 44;

(g) reduction in the case of a Warrant Officer to a lower rank;

(h) reduction of a Non-Commissioned Officer to a lower grade or to the ranks;

(i) forfeiture in the case of Warrant Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers of seniority of rank;

(j) in the case of Warrant. Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers reprimand and severe reprimand;

(k) forfeiture of service for the purpose of promotion, increased pay, pension or other purpose;

(1) forfeiture, in the case of any one dismissed from the service, of all arrears of pay, allowances and any public money due at the time of dismissal;

(m) stoppages of pay and allowances to make good any damage done in committing the offence of which he is convicted:

Provided that in the case of Warrant Officers the trial under this Act and the punishments provided for in this section can only be carried out with the approval of the Inspector-General.

41. Where in respect of any offence under this Act there is specified a particular punishment or such less punishment as is in this Act mentioned, there may be awarded in respect of that offence instead of such particular punishment (but subject to the other provisions of this Act as to the punishments and regard being had to the nature and degree of the offence) any one punishment lower in the above scale than the particular punishment.

42. A Non-Commissioned Officer sentenced by a Court to transportation or imprisonment or dismissal from the service shall be deemed to be reduced to the ranks.

SUMMARY PUNISHMENT.

43. (1) A Commandant of the Union Military Police, may summarily award to any Warrant Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers or other persons subject to this Act, any of the following punishments for the commission of any offence against discipline of the Force, which is not otherwise provided for in this Act, or which is not of a sufficiently serious nature to call for a trial, that is to say,—

(a) to Non-Commissioned Officers or Riflemen—

(i) reprimand;

(ii) severe reprimand;

(iii) reduction to a lower rank or grade;

(iv) removal from any office of distinction or special emolument;

(v) stoppages of pay and allowances to make good any damage done to the property of Government or the Force;

(vi) admonition;

(vii) forfeiture of pay for absence without leave;

(viii) fine up to one month’s pay;

(ix) stoppage of special pay or allowances for a period not exceeding three months to make good any loss or damage or on account of inefficiency, slackness, or other sufficient reason;

(b) to Non-Commissioned Officers only—

(i) reprimand;

(ii) severe reprimand ;

(iii) reduction to a lower rank;

(iv) reduction to a lower grade;

(v) reduction to a lower place in the rank or grade in which he is serving;

(vi) reduction to the ranks;

(c) to Riflemen—

(i) extra-guards, picquets or patrols;

(ii) confinement to the lines for any period not exceeding 30 days carrying with it punishment drill not exceeding 15 days, and thereafter fatigue duty;

(iii) imprisonment to the extent of 28 days in the quarter-guard or such other place as may be considered suitable, with forfeiture of all pay and allowance during its continuance;

(d) to public Followers—

(i) admonition;

(ii) forfeiture of pay for absence without leave;

(iii) fine up to one month’s pay;

(iv) reduction to a lower grade where two or more grades exist;

(v) confinement to the lines for any period not exceeding 30 days carrying with it fatigue duty;

(vi) imprisonment to the extent of 28 days in the quarter-guard or such other place as may be considered suitable, with forfeiture of all pay and allowances during its continuance;

(2) Any of the above punishments may be awarded separately or in combination with any one or more of the others, but the carrying out of imprisonment must precede confinement to the lines, and no award or awards including imprisonment and confinement to the lines shall exceed 30 consecutive days. When an award includes imprisonment and a minor punishment, the latter will, take effect at the termination of the imprisonment.¬

(3) Suspension may be awarded to any Warrant Officer or Non-Commissioned Officer as a preliminary to an enquiry, but it shall not he awarded as a substantive punishment.

(4) (a) An officer of the Force commanding a separate detachment or an outpost or in temporary command at the headquarters of a district or battalion during the absence of the aforesaid officers may, when in temporary command at Battalion Headquarters or when on detached duty, exercise the powers specified in sub-section (1).

(b) Subject to confirmation or revision by the Battalion Commandant, the powers specified in sub-5ection (1) may be exercised by officers when in temporary command at Battalion Headquarters or when on detached duty.

(c) An officer who is not in independent command may, if authorized by his Battalion Commandant, award to any Rifleman confinement to the lines for periods not exceeding ten days, and extra-guards not exceeding four in number.

(5) Commandants may authorize Warrant Officers to exercise the powers specified in clause (c) of sub-section (1) in respect of Riflemen under their command.

FIELD PUNISHMENT.

44. Any person subject to this Act not above the rank of Rifleman, who, while on active service, commits any offence, may, in lieu of any punishment to which he is liable thereunder, be subjected to such field punishment other than flogging as may be directed by rules to be made by the President of the Union and such field punishment shall be of the character of personal restraint or of hard labour but shall not be of a nature to cause injury to life or limb.

PLACE OF IMPRISONMENT.

45. A person sentenced under this Act to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months shall, when he is also dismissed or remove from the Force, be imprisoned in the nearest or such other jail as the President of the Union may, by general or special order, direct, but when he is not also dismissed or removed from the Force he may, if the convicting officer or Deputy Commissioner so directs, be confined in the quarter-guard or such other place as the convicting officer or the Deputy Commissioner may consider suitable.

DISCRETIONARY POWERS.

46. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act relating to conviction and punishment, the Inspector-General may dismiss or remove from the service any member of the Force.

REPEAL OF PREVIOUS ACTS.

47. The Military Police Act and the Burma Frontier Force Act are hereby repealed.