2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —
“approved warehouse” means any warehouse approved by the Board for the purposes of sections 12 and 13;
“Board” means the Board of Film Censors established under this Act;
“certificate” means a certificate issued under section 15(3);
“Chairman” means the Chairman of the Board;
“child” means a person who is below the age of 14 years;
“distribute” means to sell, hire out and supply and “distribution” shall be construed accordingly;
“election” means an election under the Parliamentary Elections Act (Cap. 218) or the Presidential Elections Act (Cap. 240A);
“electronic transmission” includes facsimile transmission, electronic mail or other similar kinds of communication but excludes broadcasting;
“exhibition” includes the production of any music, speech, noise, or other sound which accompanies the projection of a film and “exhibit” shall be construed accordingly;
“film” means —
(a)
any cinematograph film;
(b)
any video recording, including a video recording that is designed for use wholly or principally as a game;
(c)
any other material record or thing on which is recorded or stored for immediate or future retrieval any information that, by the use of any computer or electronic device, is capable of being reproduced or displayed as wholly or partly visual moving pictures,
and includes any part of a film, and any copy or part of a copy of the whole or any part of a film;
“licence” means a licence granted under section 7;
“Licensing Officer” means the officer appointed by the Minister under section 3(3) and includes an Assistant Licensing Officer;
“obscene”, in relation to a film, means a film the effect of which or (where the film comprises 2 or more distinct parts or items) the effect of any one of its parts or items is, if taken as a whole, such as to tend to deprave or corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to see or hear the film;
“owner” or “owner of a film” means any person who is for the time being entitled, either as owner or agent for the owner, or otherwise, to the possession of a film, but does not include a bank through which a film is bona fide consigned for the sole purpose of collecting a trade debt;
“party political film” means a film —
(a)
which is an advertisement made by or on behalf of any political party in Singapore or any body whose objects relate wholly or mainly to politics in Singapore, or any branch of such party or body; or
(b)
which is made by any person and directed towards any political end in Singapore;
“place” means any building or part thereof, enclosure, ground or open-air space and includes a ship, boat or other vessel and any vehicle;
“Secretary” means the Secretary of the Board;
“supply”, in relation to a film, includes —
(a)
supply not only in its physical form but also by means of the electronic transmission of the contents of the film;
(b)
supply by way of exchange or loan; or
(c)
in relation to a film comprising a material record or thing on which is recorded or stored any information for immediate or future retrieval by the use of any computer or other electronic device, transferring or reproducing or enabling another to transfer or reproduce by electronic transmission the whole or part of the contents of the film onto another such material record or thing for immediate or future retrieval by such similar means;
“video recording” means any disc, magnetic tape or solid state recording device containing information by the use of which one or more series of visual images may be produced electronically and shown as a moving picture;
“young person” means a person who is 14 years of age or above but below the age of 16 years.
[10/98]
(2) For the purposes of this Act, a film is directed towards a political end in Singapore if the film —
(a)
contains wholly or partly any matter which, in the opinion of the Board, is intended or likely to affect voting in any election or national referendum in Singapore; or
[13/2009 wef 26/05/2009]
(b)
contains wholly or partly references to or comments on any political matter which, in the opinion of the Board, are either partisan or biased; and “political matter” includes but is not limited to any of the following:
(i)
an election or a national referendum in Singapore;
(ii)
a candidate or group of candidates in an election;
(iii)
an issue submitted or otherwise before electors in an election or a national referendum in Singapore;
(iv)
the Government or a previous Government or the opposition to the Government or previous Government;
(v)
a Member of Parliament;
(vi)
a current policy of the Government or an issue of public controversy in Singapore; or
(vii)
a political party in Singapore or any body whose objects relate wholly or mainly to politics in Singapore, or any branch of such party or body.
[13/2009 wef 26/05/2009]
[10/98]
(3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), none of the following films shall be regarded for the purposes of this Act as a party political film:
(a)
a film which is made solely for the purpose of reporting of news by a broadcasting service licensed under any written law;
(b)
a film which is made solely for the purpose of informing or educating persons on the procedures and polling times for any election or national referendum in Singapore;
(c)
a film which records live the whole or a material proportion of any performance, assembly of persons or procession that is held in accordance with the law and that does not depict any event, person or situation in a dramatic way;
(d)
a film designed to provide a record of an event or occasion that is held in accordance with the law for those who took part in the event or occasion or are connected with those who did so;
(e)
a documentary film without any animation and composed wholly of an accurate account depicting actual events, persons (deceased or otherwise) or situations, but not a film —
(i)
wholly or substantially based on unscripted or “reality” type programmes; or
(ii)
that depicts those events, persons or situations in a dramatic way;
(f)
a film without animation and dramatic elements —
(i)
composed wholly of a political party’s manifesto or declaration of policies or ideology on the basis of which candidates authorised by the political party to stand will seek to be elected at a parliamentary election; and
(ii)
made by or on behalf of that political party; and
(g)
a film without animation and dramatic elements —
(i)
composed wholly of a candidate’s declaration of policies or ideology on the basis of which the candidate will seek to be elected at a parliamentary or presidential election; and
