PART 3 | PRIVILEGES OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS |
15.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person must not, in Singapore, engage in any of the prescribed branches of professional engineering work, or draw or prepare any plan, sketch, drawing, design, specification or other document relating to any of the prescribed branches of professional engineering work, unless the person —| (a) | is a registered professional engineer who has in force a practising certificate authorising the person to engage in that prescribed branch of professional engineering work; | | (b) | is working under the direction or supervision of a person mentioned in paragraph (a); | | (c) | being a foreign engineer, is authorised by the Board to engage in such professional engineering work in collaboration with a person mentioned in paragraph (a); | | (d) | is a licensed professional engineering practice licensed to supply professional engineering services relating to that prescribed branch of professional engineering work; or | | (e) | is a partnership consisting wholly of registered professional engineers —| (i) | each of whom has in force a practising certificate; and | | (ii) | one or more of whom is authorised to engage in that prescribed branch of professional engineering work. [36/2017] |
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| (2) The Board may, upon the payment of the prescribed fee, grant its authorisation to any person under subsection (1)(c) subject to any conditions that the Board thinks fit to impose. [27/2005; 36/2017] |
(3) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person must not sign and submit to a building authority or to a public authority (as defined in section 3(2)) —| (a) | any plan, sketch, drawing, design, specification or other document relating to any of the prescribed branches of professional engineering work in Singapore; or | | (b) | any report on or a certificate or other document relating to any of the prescribed branches of professional engineering work in Singapore which is required by any written law to be signed by a professional engineer, |
| unless the person is a registered professional engineer who has in force a practising certificate authorising the person to engage in such professional engineering work; and any document that is signed in contravention of this subsection is invalid. |
[4/95; 27/2005;36/2017] |
(4) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person must not use verbally or otherwise —| (a) | the words “professional engineer” or any additions to or abbreviation or derivative of those words in connection with the person’s designation; | | (b) | the word “engineer” or the abbreviation “Er.” or “Engr.” as a title before the person’s name; or | | (c) | any word, name or designation that will lead to the belief that the person is a registered professional engineer, |
| unless the person is a registered professional engineer. |
[4/95] |
| (5) Where the Board has authorised any person under subsection (1)(c) to work in collaboration with a registered professional engineer, the Board may allow that person to use such addition to or derivative of the words “professional engineer” as may be approved by the Board. [27/2005] |
(6) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person must not advertise or hold himself, herself or itself out, or conduct himself, herself or itself in any way or by any means, as a person who is authorised to supply in Singapore, professional engineering services relating to any of the prescribed branches of professional engineering work, unless the person is —| (a) | a registered professional engineer who has in force a practising certificate authorising the person to engage in that prescribed branch of professional engineering work to which those services relate; | | (b) | a licensed professional engineering practice licensed to supply professional engineering services relating to that prescribed branch of professional engineering work; or | | (c) | a partnership consisting wholly of registered professional engineers —| (i) | each of whom has in force a practising certificate; and | | (ii) | one or more of whom is authorised to engage in that prescribed branch of professional engineering work. [36/2017] |
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| (7) Nothing in subsection (6) prevents a licensed professional engineering practice from carrying on any activity necessary to the winding up of that practice. [36/2017] |
(8) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person must not —| (a) | supply in Singapore, professional engineering services relating to any of the prescribed branches of professional engineering work unless the person is —| (i) | a licensed professional engineering practice licensed to supply professional engineering services relating to that prescribed branch of professional engineering work; or | | (ii) | a registered professional engineer who has in force a practising certificate authorising him or her to engage in the prescribed branch of professional engineering work to which those services relate, and is doing so —| (A) | on the person’s own account or as a director, partner or employee (as the case may be) of a licensed professional engineering practice mentioned in sub‑paragraph (i); or | | (B) | as a partner in a partnership consisting wholly of registered professional engineers who each has in force a practising certificate; or |
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| | (b) | offer to supply in Singapore, professional engineering services relating to any of the prescribed branches of professional engineering work unless the person is —| (i) | a person mentioned in paragraph (a)(i) or (ii); | | (ii) | an allied professional who is doing so only by reason of being a partner in a licensed partnership or licensed limited liability partnership; or | | (iii) | a foreign engineer authorised under subsection (1)(c) to engage in the prescribed branch of professional engineering work to which those services relate. [36/2017] |
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(9) Despite subsection (8), a builder may in connection with any building works which the builder undertakes to carry out, supply or offer to supply in Singapore, professional engineering services relating to any of the prescribed branches of professional engineering work if —| (a) | the professional engineering services are provided by a person mentioned in subsection (8)(a); or | | (b) | the professional engineering services —| (i) | are provided by a registered professional engineer employed by the builder, and the registered professional engineer has in force a practising certificate authorising him or her to engage in the professional engineering work to which those services relate; and | | (ii) | relate to any of the prescribed works necessary for the progress of the building works. [36/2017] |
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(10) Any person who contravenes subsection (1), (3), (4), (6) or (8) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | in the case of a natural person —| (i) | to a fine not exceeding $5,000; and | | (ii) | if the person is a repeat offender, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both; and |
| | (b) | in the case of a body corporate —| (i) | to a fine not exceeding $5,000; and | | (ii) | if the body corporate is a repeat offender, to a fine not exceeding $10,000. [36/2017] |
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(11) In this section, a person is a repeat offender if the person who is convicted, or found guilty, of an offence under subsection (10) has (whether before, on or after 15 January 2018) been convicted or found guilty on at least one other earlier occasion of —| (a) | an offence under subsection (10) for contravening subsection (1), (3), (4), (6) or (8); or | | (b) | an offence under section 10(6) of this Act as in force immediately before that date for contravening section 10(1), (2), (3), (4) or (5) of this Act as in force immediately before that same date. [10 [36/2017] |
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| Recognition to carry out professional engineering work outside Singapore |
| 16.—(1) Any person in Singapore seeking to carry out professional engineering work in a country or territory outside Singapore (called in this section an applicant), may apply to the Board to be recognised for that purpose accompanied by the prescribed fee. [36/2017] | (2) The Board may grant an application under subsection (1) if it is satisfied that the applicant is eligible to be recognised under this section. [36/2017] |
| (3) The Board may allow the applicant to whom recognition is granted to use a specified title, denoting that recognition. [10A [36/2017] |
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| Employment of unregistered professional engineer prohibited |
| 17.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person must not employ as a professional engineer any person who is not a registered professional engineer. [27/2005] | (2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 and, in the case of second or subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding $5,000. [11 |
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| Remuneration for professional engineering services |
| 18.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person is not entitled to demand, claim or sue for or recover any charge, fee or remuneration for any professional engineering services supplied by the person in Singapore, or for any offer by the person to supply professional engineering services in Singapore, in connection with any arbitration, suit or matter, unless the person supplying or offering to supply professional engineering services is authorised by this Act to supply those services. [36/2017] | (2) Any person, who has made any payment to another person for that other person engaging in conduct which is in contravention of section 15, may recover the money in a court of competent jurisdiction if the person did not know or have reason to believe, when making payment, that the conduct by that other person was in contravention of that section. [12 [36/2017] |
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| 19. Nothing in this Act is to be construed to prohibit or prevent any person not registered under this Act from carrying out work in respect of the construction of or repairs to any building or part of any building in any case in which plans are not required by any written law to be submitted to a building authority or to a public authority (as defined in section 3(2)). [13 [27/2005] |
| Relationship with architects, etc. |
20.—(1) This Part does not prevent —| (a) | an architect who has in force a practising certificate issued under the Architects Act 1991 or any person under the direction or supervision of such an architect; or | | (b) | a corporation, partnership or limited liability partnership which is licensed under that Act to supply architectural services in Singapore, |
| from carrying on any activity within the practice of architecture which he, she or it is authorised to carry out under that Act where to do so does not constitute a substantial part of services within the practice of professional engineering. |
[27/2005] | (2) Nothing in this Act is to be construed to prohibit or prevent any person not registered under this Act and who is a member of any class of persons specified in the Schedule from carrying on any activity which the person is authorised to carry out under any written law. |
| (3) The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, amend the Schedule; and every such notification must be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication in the Gazette. [14 |
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