PART 2 | LICENSING OF ESTABLISHMENT FOR MASSAGE |
| No carrying on business of providing massage services in establishment for massage without licence, etc. |
5.—(1) A person must not carry on the business of providing massage services in an establishment for massage unless the person is authorised to do so at those premises by a licence under this Act.| (2) A person must not advertise or otherwise hold out that the person is carrying on the business of providing massage services in an establishment for massage unless the person holds a valid licence to do so at those premises. |
| (3) An owner or occupier of any premises must not allow the premises, or any part of the premises, to be used by any person whom the owner or occupier knows is carrying on the business of providing massage services in an establishment for massage without a valid licence to do so at those premises. |
(4) A person who contravenes subsection (1), (2) or (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both; and | | (b) | where the person is a repeat offender, to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both. |
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(5) For the purposes of subsection (4), a person is a repeat offender in relation to an offence under subsection (4) if the person who is convicted of —| (a) | an offence under subsection (4) for contravening subsection (1) has been convicted on at least one other earlier occasion of —| (i) | an offence under subsection (4) for contravening subsection (1); or | | (ii) | an offence under section 9(a) of the repealed Act, whether the conviction was before, on or after 1 March 2018; or |
| | (b) | an offence under subsection (4) for contravening subsection (2) has been convicted on at least one other earlier occasion of —| (i) | an offence under subsection (4) for contravening subsection (2); or | | (ii) | an offence under section 9(e) of the repealed Act, whether the conviction was before, on or after 1 March 2018. |
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6.—(1) An application for a licence must —| (a) | be made to the Licensing Officer in the form and manner required by the Licensing Officer; | | (b) | be accompanied by a non‑refundable application fee (if prescribed) paid in the manner required by the Licensing Officer; and | | (c) | be accompanied by any information that the Licensing Officer requires to determine the application. |
| (2) If a person intends to carry on the business of providing massage services at more than one premises, a separate application must be made in respect of each of the premises. |
(3) The Licensing Officer may, in order to properly consider an application under subsection (1) —| (a) | carry out any inquiries and investigations in relation to the application as are necessary; and | | (b) | request the applicant to provide, within a specified time, any additional information. |
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(4) The Licensing Officer may refuse an application —| (a) | that is incomplete or otherwise not made in accordance with this section; or | | (b) | if the applicant fails to provide the additional information requested under subsection (3)(b). |
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7.—(1) After considering an application for a licence, the Licensing Officer may —| (a) | on payment of a licence fee, grant the licence; or | | (b) | refuse to grant the licence. |
| (2) A person may be granted more than one licence. |
(3) In determining whether to grant a licence to a person, the Licensing Officer must consider, and give such weight as the Licensing Officer considers appropriate to, all of the following matters:| (a) | whether the person is below 21 years of age; | | (b) | whether the person is, in the opinion of the Licensing Officer, a fit and proper person to hold a licence; | | (c) | whether the carrying on by the person of the business of providing massage services at the premises in the application is, in the opinion of the Licensing Officer, likely to affect public order or public safety, or to cause annoyance or inconvenience to the public or any class of the public; | | (d) | whether using the premises in the application as an establishment for massage conforms with the Master Plan or any Certified Interpretation Plan under the Planning Act 1998 or any authorisation under section 21(6) of that Act; | | (e) | whether any written permission (if required) has been obtained under the Planning Act 1998 for any development of, or works on, the land that constitutes the premises in which the business of providing massage services in an establishment for massage is carried on; | | (f) | whether a person who administers the massage in an establishment for massage possesses the necessary qualifications which the Licensing Officer may approve; | | (g) | whether it is likely that the business of providing massage services in an establishment for massage will be carried on in contravention of any requirement of the Act. |
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| (4) For the purposes of subsection (3)(b), in determining whether a person is a fit and proper person to hold a licence, the Licensing Officer may consider any criteria and requirements that the Licensing Officer may publish on a prescribed website. |
| (5) The criteria and requirements mentioned in subsection (4) may include criteria and requirements relating to any responsible officer of the applicant for a licence and any person having substantial interest in, or control or direction over, the business of the applicant. |
| (6) The Licensing Officer may publish different criteria or requirements for different classes of applicants. |
| (7) To avoid doubt, the Licensing Officer is not confined to consideration of the matters in subsection (3) or the criteria and requirements published on a prescribed website under subsection (4), and may take into account any other matters and evidence that may be relevant. |
| (8) The Licensing Officer must, if so required by the applicant, provide the applicant, within 7 days after being so required, with the grounds of refusal in writing. |
(9) Any person who is aggrieved by the refusal of the Licensing Officer to grant a licence to the person may appeal in writing against the refusal to the Minister —| (a) | within 14 days after being notified of the refusal; or | | (b) | if the person requires (within the period mentioned in paragraph (a)) the Licensing Officer to provide the grounds of refusal, within 14 days after being provided with the grounds of refusal, |
| and the Minister’s decision is final. |
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| Form and validity of licence |
8.—(1) Every licence must specify the premises at which the business of providing massage services may be carried on and must be in the form determined by the Licensing Officer.| (2) Every licence continues in force for the period specified in the licence unless it is earlier revoked under section 12. |
| (3) A licence is not renewable. |
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9.—(1) In granting a licence, the Licensing Officer may impose any conditions that the Licensing Officer considers requisite or expedient, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act and any prescribed condition of the licence.(2) Without affecting subsection (1), a licence to carry on the business of providing massage services in an establishment for massage may include conditions —| (a) | relating to the operation and operating hours of the establishment for massage; | | (b) | relating to the conduct of the employees of the licensee; and | | (c) | requiring the licensee to notify the Licensing Officer if there is a change in any of the particulars in the licence. |
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| Modification of conditions of licence |
10.—(1) The Licensing Officer may modify the conditions of a licence in accordance with this section without compensating the licensee to whom the licence is granted.(2) Before modifying any conditions of a licence, the Licensing Officer must give notice to the licensee concerned —| (a) | stating that the Licensing Officer proposes to make the modification in the manner as specified in the notice; and | | (b) | specifying the time within which the licensee may make written representations to the Licensing Officer with respect to the proposed modification. |
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| (3) The time specified by the Licensing Officer in the notice given under subsection (2) must not be less than 14 days after the date of the notice. |
(4) Despite subsection (3), the Licensing Officer may specify a time, being less than 14 days after the date of the notice mentioned in subsection (2), if —| (a) | the Licensing Officer is of the opinion that it is in the public interest for the licence conditions to be modified as soon as possible; or | | (b) | the licensee is contravening, or has contravened, any requirement of the Act. |
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(5) Upon receiving any written representation from the licensee concerned, the Licensing Officer must consider that representation and may —| (a) | reject the representation; | | (b) | amend the proposed modification in such manner as the Licensing Officer thinks fit having regard to the representation; or | | (c) | withdraw the proposed modification. |
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(6) Where —| (a) | the Licensing Officer rejects any written representation under subsection (5)(a); | | (b) | the Licensing Officer amends any proposed modification to the conditions of the licence under subsection (5)(b); or | | (c) | no written representation is received by the Licensing Officer within the time specified by the Licensing Officer, or any written representation made by the licensee is subsequently withdrawn, and the licensee has not given immediate effect to the modification, |
| the Licensing Officer must issue a direction to the licensee requiring the licensee, within the time specified by the Licensing Officer, to give effect to the modification as specified in the notice given under subsection (2), or as amended by the Licensing Officer, as the case may be. |
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| (7) Where the Licensing Officer has issued a direction mentioned in subsection (6) to a licensee, the licensee may, within 14 days after the date of the direction, appeal in writing against the issuance of the direction to the Minister, whose decision is final. |
| (8) The direction mentioned in subsection (6) takes effect on the date specified in the direction despite an appeal being made to the Minister under subsection (7), unless the Minister otherwise specifies. |
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11.—(1) The Licensing Officer may, without compensation, immediately suspend a licence if proceedings for an offence specified in the Schedule have commenced and are pending against the licensee, a responsible officer of the licensee, or a person having substantial interest in, or control or direction over, the business of the licensee.| (2) The suspension of a licence has effect until the conclusion of the proceedings mentioned in subsection (1). |
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12.—(1) The Licensing Officer may, without compensation, revoke the licence of any licensee if —| (a) | the licence was procured by fraud or misrepresentation; | | (b) | the licensee is in the opinion of the Licensing Officer no longer a fit and proper person to hold a licence, having regard to the criteria and requirements mentioned in section 7(4) and (5); | | (c) | the licensee, a responsible officer of the licensee, or a person having substantial interest in, or control or direction over, the business of the licensee, is convicted of an offence specified in the Schedule; | | (d) | the carrying on of the business of providing massage services in the licensee’s establishment for massage is, in the opinion of the Licensing Officer, likely to cause annoyance or inconvenience to the public or any class of the public; | | (e) | any massage is or may be administered by any person in the licensee’s establishment for massage who does not possess the necessary qualification approved by the Licensing Officer under section 7(3)(f); or | | (f) | the business of providing massage services in the licensee’s establishment for massage is or is likely to be carried on in contravention of any requirement of the Act. |
(2) Before revoking the licence, the Licensing Officer must give notice to the licensee concerned —| (a) | stating that the Licensing Officer intends to revoke the licence; and | | (b) | specifying the time within which written representations may be made to the Licensing Officer. |
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| (3) The time specified by the Licensing Officer in the notice given under subsection (2) must not be less than 14 days after the date of the notice. |
(4) Despite subsection (3), the Licensing Officer may specify a time, being less than 14 days after the date of the notice mentioned in subsection (2), if —| (a) | the Licensing Officer is of the opinion that it is in the public interest for the licence to be revoked as soon as possible; or | | (b) | the licensee is contravening, or has contravened, any requirement of the Act. |
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| (5) The Licensing Officer may, after considering any written representation made by the licensee concerned, revoke the licence and notify the licensee of the revocation. |
| (6) The Licensing Officer must, if so required by the licensee concerned, provide the licensee, within 7 days after being so required, with the grounds of revocation of the licence in writing. |
(7) Any person who is aggrieved by the revocation of the person’s licence by the Licensing Officer may appeal in writing against the revocation to the Minister —| (a) | within 14 days after being notified of the revocation; or | | (b) | if the person requires (within the period mentioned in paragraph (a)) the Licensing Officer to provide the grounds of revocation, within 14 days after being provided with the grounds of revocation, |
| and the Minister’s decision is final. |
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| (8) A decision of the Licensing Officer to revoke the licence takes effect despite an appeal against that decision being made to the Minister under subsection (7), unless the Minister otherwise specifies. |
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