49.—(1) For the purpose of the administration and enforcement of this Act, an enforcement officer may —| (a) | at any time and without warrant enter, inspect and search any premises that are being used, or that the enforcement officer has reason to suspect are being used, for or in connection with any purpose that is in contravention of this Act; | | (b) | at any time and without warrant stop, board, inspect and search any conveyance that is being used, or that the enforcement officer has reason to suspect is being used, for or in connection with any purpose that is in contravention of this Act; | | (c) | in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed and without payment, take for testing, examination or analysis a sample of any health product or active ingredient that is found pursuant to an inspection or a search under paragraph (a) or (b); | | (d) | seize —| (i) | any health product or active ingredient, wherever found, if the enforcement officer knows or has reason to suspect that the health product or active ingredient is a non-compliant health product or active ingredient; or | | (ii) | any other substance or article which the enforcement officer has reasonable cause to believe to be a substance or an article in relation to which, or by means of which, an offence under this Act is being or has been committed; |
| | (e) | by written notice require any person to attend at a reasonable time and at a place specified by the enforcement officer to answer any question or to provide a signed statement in writing concerning any suspected contravention of this Act; | | (f) | arrest, without warrant, any person whom the enforcement officer has reason to believe has committed any offence under this Act if —| (i) | the name and address of that person are unknown; | | (ii) | the person refuses to furnish his or her name or address; | | (iii) | the person furnishes an address out of Singapore; | | (iv) | the enforcement officer has reasonable grounds for believing that the person has furnished a false name or address; or | | (v) | the enforcement officer has reasonable grounds for believing that the person is likely to abscond; |
| | (g) | require any person —| (i) | to furnish any information within the person’s knowledge; or | | (ii) | to produce for inspection any document or record within the person’s possession, |
| that the enforcement officer believes on reasonable grounds to be connected with any suspected contravention of this Act or to be otherwise relevant to the administration or enforcement of this Act; |
| | (h) | retain the original copy of any document or record that the enforcement officer believes on reasonable grounds to be connected with any suspected contravention of this Act or to be otherwise relevant to the administration or enforcement of this Act, or make or cause to be made, without payment, copies of or extracts from such document or record; and | | (i) | by written notice require any person having in the person’s possession any health product or active ingredient that is intended for supply to submit, at the person’s own expense, a sample of such health product or active ingredient to an analyst for analysis. |
(2) In exercising the power under subsection (1)(a) or (b), an enforcement officer may —| (a) | require the owner or occupier of any premises or conveyance being inspected to provide all reasonable assistance to the enforcement officer for the purpose of the inspection; and | | (b) | if the circumstances so warrant, with such assistance as he or she thinks necessary, break open any door, window, lock, fastener, hold, compartment, box, container, receptacle or any other thing, |
| and any person who fails to comply with any requirement of an enforcement officer under paragraph (a) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both. |
|
| (3) The Authority may, by written notice, require any person who has supplied any health product or active ingredient to recall, within the period specified in the notice, all such health products or active ingredients if the Authority knows or has reason to believe that the health product or active ingredient is a non-compliant health product or active ingredient. |
(4) The Authority may, by written notice, require any person who manufactures, imports or supplies any health product or active ingredient to cease (whether immediately or within such time as the Authority may specify) the manufacture, import or supply of such health product or active ingredient if —| (a) | the Authority knows or has reason to believe that such health product or active ingredient is a non-compliant health product or active ingredient; or | | (b) | a sample of the health product or active ingredient has been taken or obtained under subsection (1)(c) or (i) and sent for analysis and pending the result of the analysis, the Authority is of the opinion that it is necessary to prevent any more of such health product or active ingredient from further being manufactured, imported or supplied. |
|
(5) Where any item has been seized under subsection (1)(d) —| (a) | the enforcement officer who seized the item must immediately give written notice of the seizure to the person from whom the item was seized, if the name and address of that person are known; | | (b) | any person claiming the item seized may within 48 hours after the seizure complain of the seizure to a Magistrate, and the complaint may be heard and determined by the Magistrate who may —| (i) | confirm the seizure wholly or in part; | | (ii) | disallow the seizure wholly or in part; | | (iii) | order that the item seized be restored to its owner, subject to such condition which the Magistrate may think fit to impose to ensure that the item is preserved for any purpose for which it may subsequently be required; or | | (iv) | order payment to be made to the owner of the item seized of an amount that the Magistrate considers will compensate the owner for any loss or depreciation resulting from the seizure; |
| | (c) | in the absence of any claim under paragraph (b) or pending the determination of any such claim, the item may be kept or stored in the premises or conveyance where it was seized or may, at the direction of the enforcement officer, be removed to any other place to be kept or stored there; | | (d) | the enforcement officer may —| (i) | mark, seal or label the item in such manner as he or she thinks fit for the purpose of indicating that the item is under detention; and | | (ii) | lock or seal the premises or conveyance in which the item is being detained; and |
| | (e) | any person who, without the authority of the enforcement officer —| (i) | interferes, tampers with, removes, distributes, sells or otherwise disposes of the item; | | (ii) | alters, counterfeits, defaces, destroys, erases or removes any mark, seal or label placed by the enforcement officer on the item under paragraph (d)(i); or | | (iii) | opens, breaks or otherwise tampers with the lock or seal placed by the enforcement officer on any premises or conveyance or part thereof under paragraph (d)(ii), |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both. |
|
|
| (6) A person arrested under subsection (1)(f) must not be detained longer than is necessary for bringing him or her before a court unless the order of a court for his or her detention is obtained. |
(7) For the purposes of subsection (1)(g), where any document or record required by an enforcement officer is kept in electronic form, then —| (a) | the power of the enforcement officer to require the document or record to be produced for inspection includes the power to require a copy of the document or record to be made available for inspection in legible form (and subsection (1)(h) applies accordingly in relation to any copy so made available); and | | (b) | the power of the enforcement officer to inspect such document or record includes the power to require any person on the premises in question to give the enforcement officer such assistance as the enforcement officer may reasonably require to enable him or her to inspect and make copies of the document or record in legible form or to make records of the information contained in the document or record. |
|
| (8) Any copy of or extract from any document or record made under subsection (1)(h) and certified as such by the enforcement officer is admissible as evidence in any proceedings under this Act. |
| (9) Any person who, when required by an enforcement officer under subsection (1)(g) to furnish any information or produce any document or record, without reasonable excuse refuses or fails to furnish the information or to produce the document or record within the time allowed by the enforcement officer shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both. |
(10) Any person who, when required by an enforcement officer —| (a) | under subsection (1)(e) to answer any question or to provide any signed statement in writing; or | | (b) | under subsection (1)(g) to furnish any information or produce any document or record, |
| in compliance or purported compliance with such requirement, furnishes the enforcement officer with any information, document or record which the person knows is false or misleading, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both. |
|
(11) Any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with any written notice given to the person —| (a) | by an enforcement officer under subsection (1)(e) or (i); or | | (b) | by the Authority under subsection (3) or (4), |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both. |
|
|
