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Banishment Act 1959

2020 REVISED EDITION

This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021

An Act relating to banishment and expulsion from Singapore of persons other than citizens.

[16 September 1963]

Short title

1. This Act is the Banishment Act 1959.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“banishment order” means an order made by the Minister under section 5;

“exempted person” means a person exempted from sections 5 and 8 by an order made under section 12;

“expulsion order” means an order made by the Minister under section 8;

“warrant of arrest and detention” means a warrant issued under section 3.

Warrant of arrest and detention

3.—(1) Where it appears to the Minister, on receiving written information submitted to him by the Commissioner of Police, that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the banishment of any person whom the Minister is satisfied is not a citizen of Singapore or an exempted person is conducive to the good of Singapore, the Minister may issue a warrant for the arrest and detention of that person.

(2) A warrant of arrest and detention shall be in accordance with Form 1 in the Schedule.

Execution of warrant of arrest and detention

4.—(1) The police or prison officer executing a warrant of arrest and detention shall notify the substance thereof to the person arrested or detained and, if so required, shall show him the warrant or a copy thereof under the hand of the authority by whom it was issued.

(2) Where in execution of a warrant of arrest and detention any person is arrested or is required to be further detained in prison after the expiration of any sentence of imprisonment passed upon him, the officer executing the warrant shall without unnecessary delay, and in any case within 24 hours (excluding the time of any necessary journey) from the arrest or from the expiration of the sentence, produce the person arrested or so detained before a Magistrate who shall, upon production of the warrant duly signed and upon proof of the identity of the person arrested or detained with the person named in the warrant, by order endorsed on the warrant, commit the person to prison, there to be detained in accordance with the tenor of the warrant:

Provided that if that person proves that he is a citizen of Singapore or an exempted person the Magistrate shall order that person forthwith to be released.

Banishment order

5.—(1) Where the Minister is satisfied after such inquiry or on such written information as he may consider necessary or sufficient that the banishment from Singapore of any person not being a citizen of Singapore or an exempted person would be conducive to the good of Singapore, the Minister may make an order that the person be banished from Singapore either for the term of his natural life or for such other term as may be specified in such order.

(2) A banishment order shall be in accordance with Form 2 in the Schedule and shall be signed by the Minister.

(3) As soon as possible after the making of a banishment order against any person, a copy of the order shall be served on the person by the officer in charge of the prison in which the person may be confined or by a police officer not below the rank of sergeant; and the officer serving the copy shall notify the person against whom it is made that he may at any time within 14 days of the service apply to the General Division of the High Court for an order that the banishment order be set aside on the ground that he is a citizen of Singapore or an exempted person.

[40/2019]

Execution of banishment order

6.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a banishment order may be carried into execution at any time after the expiration of 14 days from the date of service of a copy thereof under section 5(3), upon the issue by the Minister of a warrant of execution which shall be in accordance with Form 3 in the Schedule and shall be signed by the Minister.

(2) Upon receiving the warrant of execution of a banishment order made against any person, the officer in charge of the prison in which the person is confined shall inform that person of the period for which he is banished and warn him that he is forbidden by law to return to Singapore or to enter or reside in Singapore, except as specially provided in the banishment order.

(3) As soon as possible after receiving the warrant of execution of a banishment order against any person, the officer in charge of the prison in which the person is confined or some prison officer appointed by that officer in that behalf shall hand the person ordered to be banished to a police officer not below the rank of sergeant appointed by the Commissioner of Police to receive him, and that person shall thereupon be conveyed in the custody of that or some other police officer not below the rank of sergeant on board a ship or such other means of transport as may be expedient for conveyance to the country of which he is a citizen or to such other place as may be stated in the warrant.

(4) Any banished person who is in the custody of a police officer under subsection (3) may be received into and detained in any prison or other suitable place in Singapore until he can be placed on board a ship or other means of transport in accordance with that subsection.

Suspension of banishment order on execution of a bond

7.—(1) The Minister may at his discretion at the time of making a banishment order or at any time thereafter direct that the order be suspended and that the person ordered to be banished shall execute a bond with sureties to the satisfaction of the Minister for his good behaviour in such amount and for such period (not exceeding 5 years) and subject to such conditions as to residence or otherwise as may be specified in the direction.

(2) If the Minister is satisfied that a person subject to a banishment order directed to be suspended under subsection (1) has failed to observe any condition specified in the bond executed by him under that subsection or that it is not conducive to the good of Singapore that that person should further remain therein, the Minister may at any time revoke the suspension of the banishment order and upon revocation that person may be arrested and detained without a warrant, and the original banishment order shall thereupon be executed in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(3) Where a banishment order has been suspended under subsection (1) and the suspension has not been revoked before the expiration of the period for which security for good behaviour was given under that subsection, then upon the expiration of that period the order shall lapse and cease to have effect, but nothing in this subsection shall prevent the making of a fresh banishment order against that person.

Expulsion order

8.—(1) The Minister may, if he thinks fit, in place of issuing a warrant of arrest and detention or in place of making a banishment order make an order requiring any person whom he is satisfied is not a citizen of Singapore or an exempted person to leave Singapore before the expiration of a period of 14 days from the date of service under subsection (4) of a copy of the order.

(2) An expulsion order shall be in accordance with Form 4 in the Schedule.

(3) The Minister may by an expulsion order impose such conditions as he may think fit as to the residence, occupation or conduct or police supervision or otherwise of the person against whom the order is made which shall be observed by the person so long as he remains in Singapore.

(4) A copy of the expulsion order shall be served on the person against whom it is made by a police officer not below the rank of sergeant, or by any other person authorised by the Minister to serve the order and shall be served personally on that person in the same manner as a summons is required to be served under section 116 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010; and the officer or person serving that copy shall notify the person against whom it is made that he may at any time within 14 days of the service apply to the General Division of the High Court for an order that the expulsion order be set aside on the ground that he is a citizen of Singapore or an exempted person.

[15/2010; 40/2019]

(5) A person against whom an expulsion order has been made shall on or before a date specified by the Minister in the order execute a bond with sureties to the satisfaction of the Minister for due compliance with the terms of the expulsion order and for such amount and subject to such conditions as the Minister may think fit to specify.

(6) If a person against whom an expulsion order has been made, absconds or conceals himself so that the order cannot be served or if he fails before the specified date to execute the bond required under subsection (5) to the satisfaction of the Minister or if the person fails to observe any condition of the bond or fails to leave the country in accordance with the order, the person may be arrested without a warrant by any police officer and shall without unnecessary delay and in any case within 24 hours (excluding the time of any necessary journey) of the arrest be brought before a Magistrate who upon production before him of the expulsion order and upon proof of the identity of the person arrested with the person named in the order shall commit the person to prison there to be detained pending a decision as to whether a banishment order should be made against that person:

Provided that if that person proves that he is a citizen of Singapore or an exempted person the Magistrate shall order that person forthwith to be released.

(7) Where any person has been arrested and detained under subsection (6), the Minister may thereupon cancel the expulsion order and make a banishment order against the person in accordance with section 5.

(8) Nothing in this section shall prevent the Minister at any time from cancelling any expulsion order made by him against any person and taking action against that person in accordance with section 3, 4 or 5.

(9) Where an expulsion order has been made against any person detained in accordance with a warrant of arrest and detention, that person shall upon his executing the bond required under subsection (5) be released from detention under the warrant.

Removal of detained person to mental hospital

9.—(1) Whenever a person detained under the provisions of this Act appears to the Minister, on the certificate of a registered medical practitioner, to be mentally disordered, the Minister may, by order in writing setting forth the grounds of belief that the person is mentally disordered, direct his removal to any mental hospital or other fit place of safe custody within Singapore, there to be kept and treated as the Minister directs until it appears to the Minister, on the certificate of a registered medical practitioner, that the person has ceased to be mentally disordered; and an order made under this subsection shall, notwithstanding the provisions of any written law to the contrary, be sufficient authority for the reception of that person to the mental hospital or other place mentioned in the order.

[21/2008]

(2) In this section, “registered medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner who is registered under any written law for the time being in force relating to the registration of medical practitioners.

Special provision relating to claim to citizenship

10. Any person in respect of whom a banishment or expulsion order has been made may within 14 days of the service of a copy of the banishment order under section 5(3) or of the service of a copy of the expulsion order under section 8(4), as the case may be, apply to the General Division of the High Court for an order that the banishment or expulsion order be set aside on the ground that he is a citizen of Singapore or an exempted person; and if it is proved on such application that that person is a citizen of Singapore or an exempted person the General Division of the High Court shall set aside the banishment or expulsion order, as the case may be, and direct that the applicant be set at liberty.

[40/2019]

Power to revoke banishment or expulsion order

11. A banishment or expulsion order may at any time be revoked by the Minister.

Power to grant exemption

12. The Minister may by order direct that any particular person, or persons of any specified class, shall be exempt, either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as the Minister may impose, from sections 5 and 8.

Arrest and detention

13.—(1) Any person who has committed or is reasonably suspected of having committed an offence under this Act may be arrested without warrant by any police officer.

(2) Where a person has been arrested or detained under this Act, any police officer, or any other person authorised by the Minister in that behalf, may take all such steps as may be reasonably necessary for photographing, measuring, fingerprinting and otherwise identifying that person.

Persons banished or expelled prohibited from entering Singapore

14.—(1) Every person, not being a citizen of Singapore or an exempted person, lawfully banished, deported or expelled from Singapore or from Malaysia or from any territory comprised in Malaysia under any law in force at the date of such banishment, deportation or expulsion in Singapore or Malaysia or any territory comprised in Malaysia is hereby prohibited from entering or residing in Singapore so long as the term for which he was banished, deported or expelled has not expired or the banishment, deportation or expulsion order has not been cancelled or revoked, and whether or not the order has been executed:

Provided that the Minister may in his discretion exempt any person banished, deported or expelled from Singapore or from Malaysia or from any territory comprised in Malaysia from the prohibition contained in this subsection.

(2) Any person entering or residing in any part of Singapore in contravention of the prohibition contained in subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable —

(a)	if the term for which that person was banished, deported or expelled was less than 5 years, to imprisonment for a term equal to the term of such banishment, deportation or expulsion;
(b)	if the term for which that person was banished, deported or expelled was for life or for 5 years or more, to imprisonment for a term of 5 years;
(c)	if that person has previously been convicted under the provisions of this Act or of any law in force relating to banishment, deportation or expulsion in Malaysia or any territory comprised in Malaysia of unlawfully entering or residing in Singapore or in Malaysia or in any territory comprised in Malaysia, as the case may be, after having been lawfully banished, deported or expelled from Singapore or from Malaysia or from any territory comprised in Malaysia, to imprisonment for a term of 15 years.

(3) Notwithstanding the fact that a prosecution is pending against any person under this section, the Minister may make a banishment order against the person in accordance with the provisions of this Act and thereupon the court shall order that person to be discharged not amounting to an acquittal from the charge under this section in order to enable the banishment order to be executed.

(4) If at the expiration of any sentence passed on any person under this section, the term for which the person has been banished, deported or expelled has not expired, that person shall, unless the Minister otherwise orders, be removed from Singapore, and section 6(3) and (4) shall mutatis mutandis apply to that person as if a banishment order had been made in his case under section 5.

Concealing or harbouring a banished or expelled person

15. Any person who knowingly conceals or harbours any other person —

(a)	against whom a warrant of arrest and detention has been issued but has not yet been executed;
(b)	against whom an expulsion order has been made but has not yet been served; or
(c)	who is liable to be arrested and detained under any of the provisions of this Act,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of $500 and imprisonment for 6 months:

Provided that this section shall not apply to a wife harbouring or concealing her husband or a husband harbouring or concealing his wife.

Duty of all persons to give information concerning person banished or expelled

16.—(1) Any person aware of the presence in Singapore of any person described in section 15(a), (b) or (c) shall forthwith give full and accurate information thereof to the nearest Magistrate or police officer.

(2) Any person failing without reasonable excuse (the proof whereof shall be on him) to give such information shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of $250 and imprisonment for 3 months:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply to a wife failing to give information relating to her husband or a husband failing to give information relating to his wife.

Onus of proof of citizenship

17. If in any proceedings under this Act or with reference to anything done or proposed to be done under this Act, any question arises whether any person is a citizen of Singapore or an exempted person, the onus of proving that he is a citizen of Singapore or an exempted person lies upon that person.

Presumption relating to banishment and expulsion orders

18.—(1) Subject to section 10, a banishment or expulsion order shall, until it has been set aside or revoked under the provisions of this Act, or until it has expired, as the case may be, be conclusive evidence in all courts and for all purposes that the person thereby ordered to be banished or expelled is not a citizen of Singapore or an exempted person.

(2) An endorsement on a banishment or expulsion order that it has been executed by placing the person named therein on a ship or aircraft shall be conclusive evidence until the contrary is proved that the person ordered to be banished or expelled has been sent out of Singapore.

Presumption of residence

19. If it is proved in any prosecution under this Act that any person has remained in Singapore for more than 24 hours, the court shall presume until the contrary is proved that that person has voluntarily resided therein.

Proof of instruments

20. Every document purporting to be a warrant, order, direction or other instrument made or issued by the Minister in pursuance of any provision contained in or having effect under this Act and to be signed by him or on his behalf shall be received in evidence and shall, until the contrary is proved, be deemed to be an instrument made or issued by him.

Protection to persons acting under this Act

21. Subject to this Act no suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.

Power to make rules

22.—(1) The Minister may from time to time make rules for carrying this Act into effect.

(2) In making any rules under subsection (1), the Minister may add to, vary or revoke all or any of the forms set out in the Schedule.

Prosecution or proceeding under this Act

23. For the purposes of any prosecution or proceeding under this Act, any order of banishment, deportation or expulsion issued under any law in force at the date of the banishment, deportation or expulsion —

(a)	in Singapore before 9 August 1965; and
(b)	in Malaysia or in any territory comprised in Malaysia,

shall have effect, for the purposes of this Act, in all respects as if the order had been validly issued under the provisions of this Act.