Findings of Disciplinary Committee
50.—(1)  Where, upon due inquiry into a complaint or matter, a Disciplinary Committee is satisfied that the registered professional engineer concerned —
(a)has been convicted of any offence involving fraud, dishonesty or moral turpitude, or such defect in character which makes him or her unfit for his or her profession;
(b)has been guilty of any improper act or conduct which, in the opinion of the Disciplinary Committee, brings disrepute to his or her profession;
(c)has contravened any provision of the prescribed code of professional conduct and ethics;
(d)is no longer in a position to carry out the duties of a registered professional engineer effectively in Singapore; or
(e)while being a director, a manager or an employee of a licensed corporation, or a partner, a manager or an employee of a licensed partnership or limited liability partnership, had failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the corporation, partnership or limited liability partnership from acting in a manner (other than as described in section 37(1)(f)) which would warrant the Board revoking any licence granted to the corporation, partnership or limited liability partnership or imposing a penalty under section 37(2),
the Disciplinary Committee may exercise one or more of the powers mentioned in subsection (2).
[27/2005; 36/2017]
(2)  The powers that the Disciplinary Committee may exercise for the purposes of subsection (1) are as follows:
(a)by order direct the Registrar to remove the name of the registered professional engineer from the register of professional engineers;
(b)by order suspend the registered professional engineer from practice for a period of not more than 2 years;
(c)by order impose on the registered professional engineer a penalty not exceeding $50,000;
(d)by writing censure the registered professional engineer; and
(e)make any other order that the Disciplinary Committee thinks fit.
[27/2005; 36/2017]
(3)  In addition to its powers under subsection (2), the Disciplinary Committee may order the registered professional engineer concerned to pay to the Board a sum, not exceeding $50,000, that the Disciplinary Committee thinks fit in respect of the costs and expenses of and incidental to any proceedings against him or her under this Part.
[27/2005; 36/2017]
(4)  Where the Disciplinary Committee finds that the registered professional engineer has not been convicted or guilty of any of the matters mentioned in subsection (1)(a) to (e), the Disciplinary Committee must order that the complaint or information be dismissed.
[27/2005]
(5)  The costs and expenses mentioned in subsection (3) include —
(a)the costs and expenses of any advocate and solicitor appointed by the Board for proceedings before the Disciplinary Committee;
(b)any reasonable expenses that the Board may pay to witnesses; and
(c)any reasonable expenses that are necessary for the conduct of proceedings before the Disciplinary Committee,
and the General Division of the High Court has jurisdiction to tax those costs and any such order for costs is enforceable as if it were made in connection with a civil action in the General Division of the High Court.
[27/2005; 40/2019]
(6)  The Registrar must serve on the registered professional engineer concerned a notice of the order made by the Disciplinary Committee.
[27/2005]
(7)  Subject to subsection (8), an order mentioned in subsection (2) does not take effect until the expiry of 30 days after the order is made.
[27/2005]
(8)  On making an order mentioned in subsection (2)(a) or (b), the Disciplinary Committee, if satisfied that removing the name of the registered professional engineer concerned from the register of professional engineers or suspending him or her from practice (as the case may be) is necessary for the protection of members of the public or would be in the best interests of the registered professional engineer, may order that the Registrar immediately remove his or her name from the register or suspend him or her from practice, as the case may be.
[27/2005]
(9)  An order under subsection (8) takes effect from the time the order is made.
[27/2005]
(10)  While any order of suspension from practice made under subsection (2)(b) remains in force, the person to whom the order applies is not, for the purposes of this Act, to be regarded as having in force a practising certificate, but immediately on the expiry or annulment of such order, his or her privileges under this Act are revived as from the date of expiry or annulment.
[27/2005]
(11)  For the purposes of subsection (1)(e), a registered professional engineer is not to be deemed to have taken reasonable steps to prevent the doing of any act by a licensed corporation, partnership or limited liability partnership unless he or she satisfies the Disciplinary Committee that —
(a)the act was done without his or her knowledge;
(b)he or she was not in a position to influence the conduct of the corporation, partnership or limited liability partnership in relation to its action; or
(c)he or she, being in such a position, exercised all due diligence to prevent the corporation, partnership or limited liability partnership from so acting.
[27/2005]
(12)  In this section, references to acts done by a licensed corporation, partnership or limited liability partnership include references to omissions to act and to a series of acts or omissions to act.
[27/2005]
(13)  Every penalty imposed under an order by a Disciplinary Committee under subsection (2) is recoverable as a debt due to the Board.
[31G
[27/2005]