Power to obtain information
38A.—(1)  Where an inmate of an approved institution or a community rehabilitation centre has been granted leave for the purposes of the inmate’s employment, treatment or rehabilitation or to return to the inmate’s residence or other designated places, a prison officer of or above the rank of sergeant may, for any of the purposes in subsection (2), by written notice require any person to provide, within a reasonable period specified in the notice, and in such form and manner as may be specified in the notice, all documents and information which —
(a)relate to any matter specified by the prison officer; and
(b)are —
(i)within the knowledge of that person; or
(ii)in the custody or under the control of that person.
(2)  The purposes mentioned in subsection (1) are as follows:
(a)in respect of an approved institution mentioned in section 36(1)(a) — to assist the Commissioner of Prisons, or the person appointed under section 36(2) to be the superintendent of the approved institution, to ascertain if there has been any contravention or failure to comply with any condition imposed on an inmate who is granted leave from that approved institution for the purpose of the inmate’s employment, treatment or rehabilitation outside that approved institution or to return to the inmate’s residence or other designated places;
(b)in respect of a community rehabilitation centre — to assist the Commissioner of Prisons, or the person appointed under section 36A(2)(a) or (b) to be the superintendent or manager of the community rehabilitation centre, to ascertain if there has been any contravention or failure to comply with any condition imposed on an inmate who is granted leave from that community rehabilitation centre for the purpose of the inmate’s employment, treatment or rehabilitation outside that community rehabilitation centre or to return to the inmate’s residence or other designated places.
[Act 12 of 2023 wef 01/06/2023]
(3)  The power to require a person to provide any document or information under subsection (1) includes the power —
(a)to require that person to provide an explanation of the document or information;
(b)if the document or information is not provided, to require that person to state, to the best of the knowledge and belief of that person, where it is; and
(c)if the information is recorded otherwise than in legible form, to require the information to be authenticated and made available to the prison officer concerned in legible form.
(4)  The prison officer is entitled without payment to keep for the purposes in subsection (2) any document or information, or any copy or extract thereof, provided to him or her under that subsection.
(5)  A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to do anything required of the person by a notice under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,500.
(6)  To avoid doubt, for the purposes of subsection (5), it is a reasonable excuse for a person to refuse or fail to provide any information, produce any document or answer any question if doing so might tend to incriminate that person.
(7)  In this section, “document” means anything in which information of any description is recorded.
[Act 6 of 2022 wef 02/09/2022]