3. Section 8 of the Probation of Offenders Act is amended by deleting the full-stop at the end of subsection (1) and substituting a colon, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following proviso:
“Provided that where a person is convicted of an offence for which a specified minimum sentence or mandatory minimum sentence of imprisonment or fine or caning is prescribed by law, the court may make an order discharging a person absolutely or an order for conditional discharge if the person —
(a)
has attained the age of 16 years but has not attained the age of 21 years at the time of his conviction; and
(b)
has not been previously convicted of any such offence referred to in this proviso, and for this purpose section 11(1) shall not apply to any such previous conviction.”.