PART V
MISCELLANEOUS
Appointment of assistants
34.  The Authority may authorise or appoint any person to assist it in the exercise of its functions and duties under this Act, either generally or in any particular case.
Exemption
35.—(1)  For the purposes of this Act, no person acting for —
(a)a society registered under the Societies Act (Cap. 311);
(b)an organisation registered under the Mutual Benefit Organisations Act (Cap. 191); or
(c)a company engaged primarily in the business of export credit insurance,
shall be deemed to be an insurance intermediary.
(2)  No reference in this Act to a contract of insurance shall apply to any contract whereby an insurance is effected with any society, organisation or company referred to in subsection (1).
(3)  Sections 3, 16 and 28 shall not apply to any financial institution licensed under the Banking Act (Cap. 19), Finance Companies Act (Cap. 108), Futures Trading Act (Cap. 116), Monetary Authority of Singapore Act (Cap. 186) or Securities Industry Act (Cap. 289) and such other person as may be prescribed.
(4)  The Authority may, subject to such conditions as it may think fit, exempt any person or class of persons from all or any of the provisions of this Act.
(5)  An exemption granted under subsection (4) may be withdrawn by the Authority at any time.
Service of documents
36.—(1)  Unless otherwise expressly provided in this Act, any notice, order or document required or authorised by this Act or any regulations made thereunder to be given to or served on any person may be given to or served on the person —
(a)by delivering it to the person or to some adult member or employee of his family at his last known place of residence;
(b)by leaving it at his usual or last known place of residence or business in a cover addressed to him;
(c)by affixing it to some conspicuous part of his last known place of residence;
(d)by sending it by registered post addressed to the person at his usual or last known place of residence or business; or
(e)where the person is a body corporate —
(i)by delivering it to the secretary or other like officer of the body corporate at its registered or principal office; or
(ii)by sending it by registered post addressed to the body corporate at its registered or principal office.
(2)  Any notice, order or document sent by registered post to any person in accordance with subsection (1) shall be deemed to be duly served on the person to whom the letter is addressed at the time when the letter would, in the ordinary course of post, be delivered and in proving service of the same it shall be sufficient to prove that the envelope containing the notice, order or document was properly addressed, stamped and posted by registered post.
Duty not to furnish false information to Authority
37.—(1)  Any person who —
(a)signs any document lodged with the Authority under section 28; or
(b)furnishes the Authority with any information under or for the purposes of any other provision of this Act,
shall use due care to secure that the document or information is not false in any material particular.
(2)  Any person who contravenes subsection (1) 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 2 years or to both.
(3)  For the purpose of any proceedings under subsection (1)(a), a document purporting to be signed by any person shall be presumed to have been signed by him, unless the contrary is proved.
Offence by body corporate
38.—(1)  Where an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder is committed by any company or body corporate, any person who, at the time of the commission of the offence, is a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of that company or body corporate, or is purporting to act in that capacity, shall be guilty of the offence unless he proves that he exercised all such diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as he ought to have exercised, having regard to the nature of his functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances.
(2)  Where an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder is committed by a company or body corporate, being an offence consisting in the breach of a duty imposed only on companies and bodies corporate, any individual guilty of the offence (whether by virtue of subsection (1) or otherwise) shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months in addition to or in substitution for any fine.
Jurisdiction of Courts
39.  A District Court or a Magistrate’s Court shall, notwithstanding the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68), have jurisdiction to try any offence under this Act and may impose the full penalty or punishment in respect of such offence.
Immunity of Authority and its employees, etc.
40.  No suit or other legal proceedings shall lie against the Authority or any officer or employee of the Authority or any person acting under the direction of the Authority for any act done in good faith in the performance, or intended performance, of any duty, or in the exercise of any power under this Act or any regulations made thereunder, or for any neglect or default in the performance or exercise in good faith of such duty or power.
Regulations
41.—(1)  The Authority may make regulations for carrying into effect the objects of this Act, and for prescribing anything which under this Act is to be prescribed.
(2)  The Authority may issue such directions, notices and circulars as it may consider necessary for carrying into effect the objects of this Act.
(3)  Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations made under this section may provide —
(a)for the collection by or on behalf of the Authority, at such intervals or on such occasions as may be prescribed, of statistical information as to such matters relevant to insurance as may be prescribed; and
(b)for the collection and use of such information for any purpose, whether or not connected with insurance.
(4)  Such regulations may make provision for requiring insurance intermediaries to furnish to the Authority, in the prescribed form, such information as may be prescribed.
(5)  No use shall be made of any information obtained by or on behalf of the Authority by virtue only of subsection (3) except in a form which does not disclose the affairs of any particular person.
Transitional provision
42.  Notwithstanding anything in this Act, every person who immediately before the date of commencement of this Act had been carrying on business as an insurance broker shall, on that date, be deemed to be a registered insurance broker —
(a)for a period of 6 months from that date; and
(b)if, before the expiry of that period, he applies for registration under section 16, until the date on which he is registered or his application is refused or withdrawn.