A penalty of incarceration or a fine shall be imposed on any public servant in charge of detecting and seizing crimes, who fails or defers to report a crime that comes to his knowledge. A penalty of incarceration for a period not exceeding one year or a fine shall be imposed on any official who is not in charge of detecting or seizing crimes, and fails or defers to notify the concerned authority of a crime that comes to his knowledge, in the course of or in respect of the performance his job. No penalties shall be imposed if filing a lawsuit in either of the cases stated in the preceding two paragraphs, is dependent on a complaint. Exemption from the penalty stipulated in the second paragraph of this Article may be granted if the public servant is a spouse, descendant, ascendant, sibling, or an in-law with the same degree of relationship, of the perpetrator.
Interpretation and application must be checked against the official text and current version.