PART XII | Unlawful operation of information communication |
62.—(1) Any person who —| (a) | establishes, installs, maintains, provides or operates a telecommunication system or service within Singapore or otherwise infringes the privilege conferred upon the Corporation by section 20 or commits a breach of any condition in the licence granted by the Corporation under section 22(1)(a); | | (b) | conveys otherwise than by post any letter or postcard within the exclusive privilege conferred upon the Corporation by section 20 or performs any service incidental to such conveyance; | | (c) | collects, sends, tenders or delivers in order to be sent otherwise than by post a letter or postcard within the exclusive privilege conferred by section 20; or | | (d) | collects, conveys, tenders, delivers or receives any letter or postcard in contravention of section 21(3), |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction for — |
| (i) | an offence under paragraph (a) to a fine not exceeding $3,000 and in the case of a continuing offence to a further fine not exceeding $500 for every day or part thereof during which such telecommunication system or service is maintained or operated or the breach of the condition of any licence is continued after conviction; and | | (ii) | an offence under paragraph (b), (c) or (d) to a fine not exceeding $200 for every such letter or postcard. |
| (2) In the case of an offence in relation to a telecommunication system or service not extending beyond Singapore, every person operating the system or service (or, if different people run different parts of it, each of them) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to the penalty under subsection (1)(i) and in the case of an offence in relation to a telecommunication system or service extending beyond Singapore, the person or every person operating that portion of such system or service within Singapore (or, if different people operate different parts of the system or service, each of them) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be similarly liable. |
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| Prohibitions in respect of radio-communication and telecommunication equipment |
63.—(1) No person shall —| (a) | offer for sale, sell or possess for sale any telecommunication equipment; or | | (b) | possess any radio-communication equipment, |
| except and in accordance with a licence granted under section 22 or any regulations made under this Act. |
| (2) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence. |
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| Penalty for unlicensed station and conveyance of letters |
64.—(1) Any person who —| (a) | establishes, installs, maintains, provides or operates a radio-communication system or service or any radio-communication equipment in any place or on board any vessel, aircraft or in any vehicle in Singapore; or | | (b) | makes a collection of letters for transmission or distribution to or from any place through the Corporation, |
| without a licence granted under section 22 or any regulations made under this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction for — |
| (i) | an offence under paragraph (a), in addition to the penalty provided for in section 62(1)(i), to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year and any radio-communication equipment used in the commission of the offence shall be liable to forfeiture; and | | (ii) | an offence under paragraph (b) to a fine not exceeding $200 for every such letter. |
| (2) Any person who is in possession of any radio-communication equipment shall be deemed, until the contrary is proved, to have operated the same. |
| (3) The occupier of any dwelling-house or premises in which is installed any radio-communication equipment in respect of which a licence is not in force shall be guilty of an offence. |
| (4) It shall be a defence to a prosecution for an offence under subsection (3) that the occupier was not aware and could not with reasonable diligence have become aware of the existence in the dwelling-house or premises of the radio-communication equipment. |
(5) Any police officer not below the rank of sergeant or any employee authorised by the Corporation may, if he has reasonable grounds for believing that a telecommunication system or service has been established, installed, maintained, operated or provided in contravention of this Act or any regulations made thereunder or in breach of any licence issued by the Corporation —| (a) | in the case of any telecommunication system or service, other than any radio-communication system or service, enter and inspect any place in which such telecommunication system or service is established, installed, maintained, operated or provided and may seize any equipment or attachment found therein which appears to be used for or in connection with telecommunications; and | | (b) | in the case of any radio-communication system or service, enter any place in Singapore or stop or board any vessel, aircraft or vehicle and inspect any place therein and may seize any radio-communication equipment found therein which appears to be used for or in connection with radio-communications. |
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| (6) If there is no prosecution with regard to any equipment or attachment seized under this section, the equipment or attachment shall be taken and deemed to be forfeited to the Corporation at the expiration of two months from the date of seizure unless a claim thereto is made before that date in the manner provided under subsection (7). |
| (7) Any person asserting that he is the owner of the equipment or attachment may personally or by his authorised agent give written notice to the Corporation that he claims the same. |
| (8) On receipt of the notice, the Corporation may direct that the equipment or attachment be released or may refer the matter to a District or Magistrate’s Court. |
| (9) The District or Magistrate’s Court may proceed to the examination of the matter and upon examination shall order that the equipment or attachment be forfeited or released. |
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| Powers of arrest and search in respect of offences |
65.—(1) The chief executive or any employee of the Corporation deputed by him to act under this section may arrest without warrant —| (a) | any person found committing or attempting to commit or employing or aiding any person to commit a seizable offence under this Act; or | | (b) | any person against whom a reasonable suspicion exists that he has been guilty of a seizable offence under this Act, |
| and may search any person so arrested, provided that no female shall be searched except by a female. |
| (2) Every person so arrested shall, together with any article as to which an offence may have been committed, or attempted to be committed, be taken to a police station. |
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| Powers of search and arrest in respect of offences under sections 20 and 21 |
66.—(1) Whenever it appears to the chief executive or any employee of the Corporation authorised to act for him under this section that an offence under section 20 or 21 is being committed or is about to be committed or attempted or whenever it appears that any article is concealed or deposited or contained in or on any vessel, aircraft or vehicle or premises in contravention of those sections, the chief executive or the employee may, if he has reasonable grounds for believing that by reason of the delay in obtaining a search warrant the article is likely to be removed —| (a) | stop and examine the vessel, aircraft or vehicle or enter the premises and there search for and take possession of any article and of any book or document which is reasonably believed to have a bearing on the case; and | | (b) | arrest any person being in the vessel, aircraft or vehicle or premises in whose possession the article may be found or whom the chief executive or employee may reasonably suspect to have concealed or deposited the article and may search any person so arrested, provided that no female shall be searched except by a female. |
| (2) Every person so arrested shall, together with any such article, be taken to a police station. |
| (3) Any person who intentionally obstructs the chief executive or any employee of the Corporation authorised to act for him in the execution of his duty under this section or section 64 shall be guilty of an offence. |
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| No costs or damages or other relief arising from seizure to be recoverable unless seizure without reasonable or probable cause |
| 67. No person shall, in any proceedings before any court in respect of any equipment, attachment, article, book or document seized in the exercise or the purported exercise of any power conferred under this Act, be entitled to the costs of the proceedings or to any damages or other relief other than an order for the return of the equipment, attachment, article, book or document or the payment of their value unless the seizure was made without reasonable or probable cause. |
| Using unlawful telecommunication system or service |
| 68. Any person who knowing or having reason to believe that a telecommunication system or service has been established, maintained or operated in contravention of this Act, uses the system or service for communication or for performing any service incidental thereto or delivers any message for transmission by the system or service or accepts delivery of any message sent shall be guilty of an offence. |
| Intrusion, trespass or obstruction |
69. Any person who —| (a) | enters any part of any premises of the Corporation, requiring permission for entry thereto, without the permission of an employee of the Corporation in charge; | | (b) | enters a fenced enclosure, building or room belonging to the Corporation in contravention of any regulation, rule or notice not to do so; | | (c) | refuses to quit any fenced enclosure, building or room belonging to the Corporation on being requested to do so by any employee of the Corporation; or | | (d) | intentionally obstructs or incites anyone to obstruct or impedes any employee of the Corporation in the performance of his duties under this Act, |
| shall be guilty of an offence. |
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| Intentional damage to message |
70. Any person who intending —| (a) | to prevent or obstruct the transmission or delivery of any message; | | (b) | to intercept or to acquaint himself with the contents of any message; or | | (c) | to commit mischief, |
| damages, removes, tampers with or touches any installation or plant belonging to the Corporation or the contents of the installation or plant or interferes with the radio-communication service of the Corporation, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both. |
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| Offences by employee or agent of Corporation |
71. Any employee or agent of the Corporation who —| (a) | wilfully secretes, makes away with or alters any message or record of any message; | | (b) | except in obedience to an order of the Minister or an employee specially authorised by him to make the order, wilfully omits to transmit or intercepts or acquaints himself with or detains any message or part thereof or deliberately causes a call or connection to be disconnected or not to be connected; | | (c) | destroys or throws away any postal article in the course of transmission by post or anything contained therein; | | (d) | commits theft in respect of or dishonestly misappropriates or secretes any postal article in the course of transmission by post or anything contained therein; | | (e) | except in obedience to an order of the Minister or the chief executive or the direction of a court, wilfully opens or causes to be opened contrary to his duty any mail bag or postal article in the course of transmission by post or wilfully detains or delays or causes to be detained or delayed the mail bag or postal article; | | (f) | issues a document prescribed for use in connection with the remittance of money with fraudulent intent; | | (g) | fraudulently puts any wrong official mark on a postal article; | | (h) | fraudulently alters, removes or causes to disappear any official mark on a postal article; | | (i) | being entrusted with the delivery of any postal article, knowingly demands or receives any sum of money which is not chargeable under this Act; | | (j) | sends by post, or puts into any mail bag any postal article upon which postage has not been paid or charged intending thereby to defraud the Corporation of the postage on the postal article; | | (k) | being entrusted with the preparation or custody of any document relating to the Corporation, fraudulently prepares the document incorrectly, or alters, or secretes or destroys the document; or | | (l) | being employed to carry or deliver any mail bag or postal article in the course of transmission by post and required while so employed to keep any register, makes or causes to be made any false entry in the register with intent to induce the belief that he has visited a place, or delivered a postal article or mail bag, which he has not visited or delivered, |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction for — |
| (i) | an offence under paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f) to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both; and | | (ii) | an offence under paragraph (g), (h), (i), (j), (k) or (l) to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both. |
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| Fraudulently using information communication service or sending postal article |
72. Any person who —| (a) | dishonestly uses or permits another person to use any information communication service provided by the Corporation with intent to avoid payment; or | | (b) | sends any postal article bearing any facsimile, imitation or representation of postage stamps or purporting to be prepaid with any postage stamp which has previously been used to prepay any other postal article or which has otherwise been previously used, |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both. |
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| 73. Any person who transmits or causes to be transmitted a message which he knows to be false or fabricated shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both. |
| Fraudulent retention of message or postal article |
74.—(1) Any person who —| (a) | fraudulently retains or wilfully secretes, makes away with or detains a message or record of a message which ought to have been delivered to some other person or being required by an employee of the Corporation to deliver up any such message or record thereof neglects or refuses to do so; | | (b) | except in accordance with this Act or unless authorised by the Corporation, wilfully retains or secretes or makes away with or keeps or detains or, when required by an employee of the Corporation, neglects or refuses to deliver up in the course of transmission by post any postal article or any mail bag containing any postal article; or | | (c) | except in accordance with this Act or unless authorised by the Corporation, wilfully opens or causes to be opened any letter which ought to have been delivered, or does any act whereby the due delivery of a letter to any person is prevented or impeded, |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both. |
| (2) Nothing in subsection (1)(c) shall apply to a person who does any act to which that subsection applies where he is a parent, or in the position of a parent or guardian, of the person to whom the letter is addressed and the addressee is a minor or his ward. |
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| Protection of installation or plant used by Corporation for information communication |
75.—(1) No person shall, without the written approval of the Corporation —| (a) | lay or carry any mains, pipes, conduits, circuits or wires in, along, through, across, over or under any street or place in a manner which is likely to interfere with or cause damage to any installation or plant belonging to the Corporation; | | (b) | make any alteration or connect any device whether physically, electronically, acoustically, inductively or otherwise, to any equipment or telecommunication system belonging to the Corporation; | | (c) | perform any work of laying, installing, constructing or maintaining any telecommunication line or equipment used or intended for use with any equipment or telecommunication system belonging to the Corporation; or | | (d) | affix any placard, advertisement, notice or other thing in or on, or paint, tar or in any way disfigure any installation or plant belonging to the Corporation. |
| (2) Any approval under subsection (1) may be granted or withheld at the discretion of the Corporation, or may be granted upon such terms and conditions as the Corporation thinks fit to impose. |
| (3) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction for an offence under paragraph (a) or (b) of that subsection to a fine not exceeding $5,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $500 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after conviction. |
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| Charging for use of services provided by Corporation |
76.—(1) No person for whom the Corporation has provided any information communication service shall without the written approval of the Corporation demand, collect or receive payment from any other person for the use of the service by that person.| (2) Any person who has been granted any approval under subsection (1) shall only demand, collect or receive such charges, rates or fees as may be approved by the Corporation for the use of the service by any other person. |
| (3) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence. |
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| Prohibition of anything indecent, etc., in information communication |
77. Any person who sends by post —| (a) | any indecent or obscene article or any postal article having any words, marks or designs of an indecent, obscene, seditious, scurrilous, threatening, or grossly offensive character; | | (b) | anything which is likely to damage any postal article in the course of transmission by post or any postal equipment or injure any employee or agent of the Corporation; or | | (c) | except as otherwise provided by any regulations made under this Act, any explosive, inflammable, dangerous, filthy, noxious or deleterious substance, any sharp instrument not properly protected, or any living creature which is noxious or likely to damage any postal article in the course of transmission by post or any postal equipment or to injure any employee or agent of the Corporation, |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both. |
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| Penalty for taking excess money in provision of services |
| 78. Any person who, being appointed to provide any information communication service on behalf of the Corporation, by himself or by his agent levies charges, rates or fees higher than those prescribed or approved by the Corporation shall be guilty of an offence. |
| Penalty for making any facsimile, imitation or representation of any postage stamp |
79.—(1) No person shall —| (a) | make, deal in, distribute, or sell; | | (b) | knowingly use for postal purposes or for the purpose of remitting or paying any money; | | (c) | have in his possession without any lawful excuse; or | | (d) | make or, without any lawful excuse, have in his possession, any die, plate, instrument or material for making, |
| any facsimile, imitation or representation of any postage stamp or any document used by the Corporation in connection with the remittance or payment of money. |
| (2) No person shall make, issue or send by post any stamped or embossed envelope, wrapper, card, form or paper in imitation of one issued by the Corporation. |
| (3) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both. |
| (4) Any stamp, die, plate, instrument or material found in the possession of any person who has contravened or failed to comply with subsection (1) or (2) may be seized by any employee of the Corporation and forfeited by a Magistrate’s Court, and shall be dealt with as the Court directs and the proceeds (if any) shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund. |
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| Penalty for erasure with fraudulent intent of mark denoting that postage stamp has been used |
| 80. Any person who, with fraudulent intent, erases or removes from a postage stamp any mark put or impressed upon the postage stamp denoting that the same has been used, or sells or uses any such postage stamp for postal purposes shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both. |
| Prohibition of false notice relating to Corporation’s installation or plant |
| 81. Any person who, without the permission of the Corporation, places or maintains in or on any house or place, belonging to him or under his control, any word, letter or mark which signifies or implies or may reasonably lead the public to believe that the house or place is a Corporation’s installation or plant shall be guilty of an offence. |
| Furnishing of information |
82.—(1) The Corporation or any person authorised by the Corporation in that behalf may by notice —| (a) | require any person to furnish to the Corporation or the person so authorised, within such period as shall be specified in the notice, all such returns or information relating to all such matters as may be required by the Corporation for the purposes of this Act and as are within the knowledge of that person or in his custody or under his control; or | | (b) | require the addressee or sender of a postal article, or his agent to appear before the chief executive or such authorised person at such place and time as may be specified by the Corporation, where the Corporation has reason to believe that the postal article contains anything in respect of which an offence is being committed under this Act. |
| (2) Any person who on being required by notice under this section to furnish any returns or information or to appear before the chief executive or a person authorised by him in that behalf fails to comply with any requirement of the notice shall be guilty of an offence. |
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83.—(1) Except for the purpose of the performance of his duties or the exercise of his functions or when lawfully required to do so by any court or under the provisions of any written law, no member, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation shall disclose any information relating to the affairs of the Corporation or of any person which has been obtained by the member, officer, employee or agent in the performance of his duties or the exercise of his functions.| (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 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both. |
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