PART 2 CONTROL OF IMPORT, EXPORT, ETC.,
OF SCHEDULED SPECIES |
| Restriction on import, export, etc., of scheduled species |
4.—(1) Any person who —| (a) | imports, introduces from the sea, exports or re-exports any scheduled species without a valid permit; | | (b) | has in the person’s possession or under the person’s control, or sells, or offers, exposes or advertises for sale, or displays to the public, any scheduled species that is imported, or introduced from the sea, without a valid permit; or | | (c) | sells, or offers, exposes or advertises for sale, or displays to the public, any scheduled species that is specified by the Minister by notification in the Gazette, |
| shall be guilty of an offence. |
(2) Any person (except a person mentioned in section 5A(1) or (2)) who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c) shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | in the case where the offence is committed in respect of one or more specimens of any scheduled species specified in Appendix I of the Schedule — to a fine not exceeding $100,000 for each specimen of that scheduled species (but not exceeding $500,000 for, or the market value (at the material time of the offence) of, all the specimens of that scheduled species comprised in the offence, whichever is higher) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 years or to both; and | | (b) | in the case where the offence is committed in respect of one or more specimens of any scheduled species specified in Appendix II or III of the Schedule — to a fine not exceeding $50,000 for each specimen of that scheduled species (but not exceeding $500,000 for, or the market value (at the material time of the offence) of, all the specimens of that scheduled species comprised in the offence, whichever is higher) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 4 years or to both. |
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(3) In this section and sections 5 and 5A —| “material time”, for an offence, means the time of commission of the offence; |
| “specimen” means an animal or a plant. [Act 21 of 2022 wef 01/11/2022] |
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| Control of scheduled species in transit |
5.—(1) Every scheduled species in transit in Singapore must be accompanied by —| (a) | a valid CITES permit or certificate, or any other similar document, that is issued by the competent authority of the country of export or re-export of the scheduled species for the export or re-export of the scheduled species, and contains the prescribed information; and | | (b) | where required by the country of import or final destination of the scheduled species — a valid CITES permit or certificate, or any other similar document, that is issued by the competent authority of that country or destination for the import of the scheduled species, and contains the prescribed information. |
| (2) Different information may be prescribed under subsection (1)(a) or (b) for different classes of cases. |
(3) Without limiting the expression “valid” in subsection (1)(a) or (b) —| (a) | any document mentioned in subsection (1)(a) that is issued or purported to be issued by a competent authority for the export or re-export of any scheduled species after the date of the export or re-export (as the case may be) is not valid for the purposes of that provision unless —| (i) | the scheduled species is a scheduled species specified in Appendix II or III of the Schedule; and | | (ii) | the circumstances that led to the retrospective issue of the document were not caused or contributed to by the exporter or re-exporter (as the case may be), or the importer, of the scheduled species; and |
| | (b) | any document mentioned in subsection (1)(a) or (b) that is issued or purported to be issued by a competent authority and contains any alteration is not valid for the purposes of that provision unless the alteration is —| (i) | endorsed with the seal or stamp of the competent authority; and | | (ii) | authenticated by the signature (or signatures) of the person (or persons) who is (or are) authorised to authenticate the alteration for the competent authority. |
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| (4) Any owner, importer, exporter or re-exporter of the scheduled species who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence. |
(5) Any person (except a person mentioned in section 5A(1) or (2)) who is guilty of an offence under subsection (4) shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | in the case where the offence is committed in respect of one or more specimens of any scheduled species specified in Appendix I of the Schedule — to a fine not exceeding $100,000 for each specimen of that scheduled species (but not exceeding $500,000 for, or the market value (at the material time of the offence) of, all the specimens of that scheduled species comprised in the offence, whichever is higher) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 years or to both; and | | (b) | in the case where the offence is committed in respect of one or more specimens of any scheduled species specified in Appendix II or III of the Schedule — to a fine not exceeding $50,000 for each specimen of that scheduled species (but not exceeding $500,000 for, or the market value (at the material time of the offence) of, all the specimens of that scheduled species comprised in the offence, whichever is higher) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 4 years or to both. |
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| (6) In this section, “alteration”, for a document, includes deletion or erasure of anything in the document. [Act 21 of 2022 wef 01/11/2022] |
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| Penalty for corporate offenders, etc., for offence under section 4 or 5 |
5A.—(1) Any corporation, unincorporated association or partnership that is guilty of an offence under section 4(1)(a), (b) or (c) or 5(4) shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | in the case where the offence is committed in respect of one or more specimens of any scheduled species specified in Appendix I of the Schedule — to a fine not exceeding $200,000 for each specimen of that scheduled species (but not exceeding $1 million for, or the market value (at the material time of the offence) of, all the specimens of that scheduled species comprised in the offence, whichever is higher); and | | (b) | in the case where the offence is committed in respect of one or more specimens of any scheduled species specified in Appendix II or III of the Schedule — to a fine not exceeding $100,000 for each specimen of that scheduled species (but not exceeding $1 million for, or the market value (at the material time of the offence) of, all the specimens of that scheduled species comprised in the offence, whichever is higher). |
(2) Where a person mentioned in section 20(2) or 20A(2) in relation to a corporation, an unincorporated association or a partnership is guilty of the same offence mentioned in subsection (1) as is the corporation, unincorporated association or partnership, the person shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | in the case where the offence is committed in respect of one or more specimens of any scheduled species specified in Appendix I of the Schedule — to a fine not exceeding the amount specified in subsection (1)(a) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 8 years or to both; and | | (b) | in the case where the offence is committed in respect of one or more specimens of any scheduled species specified in Appendix II or III of the Schedule — to a fine not exceeding the amount specified in subsection (1)(b) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 years or to both. [Act 21 of 2022 wef 01/11/2022] |
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| Defence to offence under section 4 or 5 |
6.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), in any proceedings for an offence under section 4 or 5, it is a defence for the person charged to prove —| (a) | that the commission of the offence was due to the act or default of another person or to some other cause beyond the control of the person charged; and | | (b) | that the person charged took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of such an offence by the person charged or by any person under the control of the person charged. |
| (2) If in any case the defence provided by subsection (1) involves the allegation that the commission of the offence was due to the act or default of another person, the person charged is not, without the permission of the court, entitled to rely on that defence unless, within a period ending 7 clear days before the hearing, the person charged has served on the prosecutor a written notice giving such information as was then in the possession of the person charged identifying or assisting in the identification of that other person. [Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022] |
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| Permit for import, export, etc., of scheduled species |
7.—(1) Any person who wishes to import, introduce from the sea, export or re-export any scheduled species must apply to the Director-General for a permit.(2) Every application under subsection (1) must —| (a) | be made in the form and manner that the Director-General requires; and | | (b) | be supported by the documents and information that the Director-General requires to decide on the application. |
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(3) Subject to subsection (4), the Director-General may do either of the following on an application made in respect of any scheduled species under subsection (1):| (a) | issue to the applicant a permit or certificate to import, introduce from the sea, export or re-export (as the case may be) the scheduled species, subject to any condition or restriction the Director-General thinks fit; | | (b) | refuse the application. |
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(4) The Director-General must refuse an application in respect of any scheduled species made under subsection (1) that is accompanied or supported by any CITES permit or certificate, or any other similar document (called in this subsection the document), if —| (a) | the document is issued or purported to be issued by the competent authority of a country for the export or re-export of the scheduled species after the date of the export or re-export (as the case may be) and —| (i) | the scheduled species is a scheduled species specified in Appendix I of the Schedule; or | | (ii) | the circumstances that led to the retrospective issue of the document were caused by or contributed to by the exporter or re-exporter (as the case may be), or the importer, of the scheduled species; or |
| | (b) | the document is issued or purported to be issued by the competent authority of a country for the import, export or re-export of the scheduled species and contains any alteration, unless the alteration is —| (i) | endorsed with the seal or stamp of the competent authority; and | | (ii) | authenticated by the signature (or signatures) of the person (or persons) who is (or are) authorised to authenticate the alteration for the competent authority. |
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| (5) In this section, “alteration”, for a document, includes deletion or erasure of anything in the document. [Act 21 of 2022 wef 01/11/2022] |
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8.—(1) The Director‑General may at any time cancel a permit if —| (a) | any condition or restriction of the permit is contravened; or | | (b) | the Director‑General is satisfied that the permit was issued as a result of a misleading statement or a misrepresentation of a material fact. |
| (2) Where the Director‑General cancels a permit under subsection (1), the Director‑General must immediately notify the holder of the permit. |
| (3) Where the Director‑General has notified the holder of a permit under subsection (2) of the cancellation of the holder’s permit, the holder of the permit must immediately surrender the permit to the Director‑General. |
| (4) Any holder of a permit who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes subsection (3) shall be guilty of an offence. |
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