PART V | OFFENCES RELATING TO SINGAPORE PASSPORTS AND TRAVEL DOCUMENTS |
| Division 1 — Application and definitions |
| Geographical application of this Part |
34. This Part (except section 47) shall apply —| (a) | whether or not the conduct constituting the alleged offence occurred within Singapore; and | | (b) | whether or not a result of the conduct constituting the alleged offence occurred in Singapore. |
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| Interpretation of this Part |
35.—(1) In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires —“gain” means —| (a) | a gain in property or a supply of services (whether temporary or permanent); or | | (b) | an opportunity to earn remuneration or greater remuneration or to gain a financial advantage otherwise than by way of remuneration; |
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“loss” means —| (a) | a loss of property or a supply of services (whether temporary or permanent); or | | (b) | any deprivation of an opportunity to earn remuneration or greater remuneration or an opportunity to gain a financial advantage otherwise than by way of remuneration; |
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“public duty” means a function that is given to —| (a) | a public officer; | | (b) | an employee or a member of a public authority, board or tribunal established by or under written law for the purposes of a public function; or | | (c) | a contractor who exercises a function or performs work for the Government or public authority referred to in paragraph (b), |
| as such, and includes every person who is in actual possession of the situation of a person referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c), whatever legal defect there may be in his right to hold that situation. |
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| (2) A person shall be treated for the purposes of this Part as making a false Singapore passport, a false Singapore travel document or a false foreign travel document if he alters a document so as to make it false in any respect (whether or not it was already a false document before the alteration or is false in some other respect apart from that alteration). |
| (3) In this Part, any reference to inducing a person to accept a false document as genuine, or a copy of a false document as a copy of a genuine one, includes a reference to inducing a machine to respond to the document or copy as if it were a genuine document or copy of a genuine one. |
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| Falsifying Singapore passports, etc. |
36.—(1) If a person —| (a) | makes a false Singapore passport or a false Singapore travel document; or | | (b) | makes a copy of a document which he knows, or ought reasonably to know, to be a false Singapore passport or a false Singapore travel document, |
| with the intention of dishonestly inducing another person to accept it as genuine, and by reason of the other person so accepting it as genuine, dishonestly — |
| (i) | obtains a gain (whether for himself or someone else); | | (ii) | causes a loss to the other person or someone else; or | | (iii) | influences the exercise of a public duty, |
| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
(2) If a person —| (a) | uses a false Singapore passport or a false Singapore travel document which he knows, or ought reasonably to have known, to be a false Singapore passport or a false Singapore travel document; or | | (b) | uses a copy of a document which he knows, or ought reasonably to have known, to be a copy of a false Singapore passport or a false Singapore travel document, |
| with the intention of dishonestly inducing another person to accept it as genuine, and by reason of the other person so accepting it as genuine, dishonestly — |
| (i) | obtains a gain (whether for himself or someone else); | | (ii) | causes a loss to the other person or someone else; or | | (iii) | influences the exercise of a public duty, |
| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
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(3) If a person —| (a) | makes or adapts; or | | (b) | has in his possession or under his control, |
| a device, machine, paper, material or other thing — |
| (i) | knowing that the device, machine, paper, material or other thing is or has been specially designed or adapted for the making of a false Singapore passport or a false Singapore travel document; and | | (ii) | with the intention that the person or someone else will use the device, machine, paper, material or other thing, to make a false Singapore passport or a false Singapore travel document, or a copy of a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document, |
| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
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(4) If a person —| (a) | makes or adapts; or | | (b) | has in his possession or under his control, |
| a device, machine, paper, material or other thing knowing that the device, machine, paper, material or other thing is or has been specially designed or adapted for the making of a false Singapore passport or a false Singapore travel document, or a copy of a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document, the person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both. |
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| (5) Subsections (3)(b) and (4)(b) shall not apply if the person has a reasonable excuse. |
| (6) In this section, any reference to a machine shall include a reference to any disk, tape, drive or other device on or in which a program is recorded or stored by mechanical, electronic or other means, being a program designed or adapted to enable a document to be made or to assist in its making. |
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| Possessing false Singapore passports, etc. |
37.—(1) If —| (a) | a person has possession or control of a false Singapore passport or a false Singapore travel document; and | | (b) | the person knows or ought reasonably to have known that the document is a false Singapore passport or a false Singapore travel document, |
| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
| (2) Subsection (1) shall not apply if the person has a reasonable excuse. |
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| Bringing, taking or sending false Singapore passports, etc., across international borders |
38.—(1) If —| (a) | a person —| (i) | brings a document into a country; | | (ii) | takes a document out of a country; or | | (iii) | sends a document to or from a country; and |
| | (b) | the person knows or ought reasonably to have known that —| (i) | the document is a false Singapore passport or a false Singapore travel document; or | | (ii) | the document is a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document that is not issued to that person, |
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| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
| (2) Subsection (1) shall not apply if the person has a reasonable excuse. |
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| Making or giving false or misleading statements or information |
39.—(1) If —| (a) | a person makes a statement (whether orally, in writing or any other way) or gives information to another person; | | (b) | the statement or information —| (i) | is false or misleading; or | | (ii) | omits any matter or thing without which the statement or information, as the case may be, is misleading; |
| | (c) | the person knows that the statement or information is as described in paragraph (b); and | | (d) | the statement is made or the information is given in, or in connection with —| (i) | an application for a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document (whether for that person or for another); | | (ii) | an application for an endorsement or extension of a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document (whether for that person or for another); or | | (iii) | a report of the loss, theft or destruction of a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document (whether or not belonging to that person), |
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| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply —| (a) | if the statement or information is not false or misleading in a material particular; or | | (b) | if the statement or information did not omit any matter or thing without which the statement or information, as the case may be, is misleading in a material particular. |
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| (3) In this section, “information” includes any personal identifier. |
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| Furnishing false or misleading documents |
40.—(1) If —| (a) | a person furnishes a document to another person; | | (b) | the document is false or misleading; | | (c) | the person knows that the document is false or misleading; and | | (d) | the document is furnished in, or in connection with, an application for a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document (whether for that person or for another), |
| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
| (2) Subsection (1) shall not apply if the document is not false or misleading in a material particular. |
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| Improper use or possession of Singapore passports, etc. |
41.—(1) If —| (a) | a person uses a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document in connection with travel or identification; | | (b) | the Singapore passport or Singapore travel document has been cancelled; and | | (c) | the person knows or ought reasonably to have known that the Singapore passport or Singapore travel document has been cancelled, |
| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
(2) If —| (a) | a person uses a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document in connection with travel or identification; | | (b) | the Singapore passport or Singapore travel document was not issued to that person; and | | (c) | the person knows or ought reasonably to have known that the Singapore passport or Singapore travel document was not issued to him, |
| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
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(3) If —| (a) | a person furnishes another person with a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document that was issued to the first-mentioned person; and | | (b) | the person is reckless as to whether the document is or will be used by the other person in connection with travel or identification, |
| the person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both. |
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(4) If —| (a) | a person has or retains possession or control of a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document; and | | (b) | the person knows that the Singapore passport or Singapore travel document was not issued to him, |
| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
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| (5) Subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4) shall not apply if the person has a reasonable excuse. |
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| Selling Singapore passport, etc. |
42.—(1) A person who sells a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document 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 10 years or to both.| (2) A person who engages in the business or trade of selling Singapore passports or Singapore travel documents shall be guilty of an offence and shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of not less than 2 years but not more than 15 years and shall also be punished with a fine not exceeding $20,000. |
| (3) In this section, “sell” includes barter and exchange, offering or attempting to sell, exposing for sale, or receiving or sending or delivering for sale. |
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| Damaging Singapore passport, etc. |
| 43. If a person, without reasonable excuse, damages or destroys a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document, the person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $3,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both. |
| Dishonestly obtaining Singapore passport, etc. |
44.—(1) If a person —| (a) | buys or offers to buy a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document; or | | (b) | obtains a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document dishonestly, or by threats, |
| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
(2) In this section —“obtain” includes —| (a) | obtain for another person; and | | (b) | induce a third person to do something that results in another person obtaining; |
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| “threat” includes a threat that is express or implied, conditional or unconditional. |
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| Failure to notify loss of Singapore passport, etc. |
45.—(1) A person to whom a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document is issued shall be guilty of an offence if —| (a) | the Singapore passport or Singapore travel document issued to the person is lost, stolen or destroyed; | | (b) | the person knows that the Singapore passport or Singapore travel document has been either lost, stolen or destroyed; and | | (c) | the person fails to report the loss, theft or destruction to an authorised officer within 14 days after the first time the person knows that the Singapore passport or Singapore travel document has been either lost, stolen or destroyed. |
(2) In the case where the person to whom a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document is issued is a child, any person who has parental responsibility for the child shall be guilty of an offence if —| (a) | the Singapore passport or Singapore travel document issued to the child is lost, stolen or destroyed; | | (b) | the person who has parental responsibility for the child knows that the Singapore passport or Singapore travel document has been either lost, stolen or destroyed; and | | (c) | the person who has parental responsibility for the child fails to report the loss, theft or destruction to an authorised officer within 14 days after the first time the person knows that the Singapore passport or Singapore travel document has been either lost, stolen or destroyed. |
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| (3) Any person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $3,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both. |
| (4) Subsections (1) and (2) shall not apply if the person, or the person who has parental responsibility for the child, as the case may be, has a reasonable excuse. |
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| Failure to surrender cancelled or invalid Singapore passport, etc. |
46.—(1) If —| (a) | the person to whom a Singapore passport or a Singapore temporary travel document ceases to be a citizen of Singapore; | | (b) | the person knows that he has ceased to be a citizen of Singapore; and | | (c) | the person fails to surrender his Singapore passport or Singapore temporary travel document to an authorised officer within 24 hours after the first time the person knows that he ceased to be a citizen of Singapore, |
| the person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $3,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both. |
(2) In the case where the person to whom a Singapore passport or a Singapore temporary travel document is issued is a child, any person who has parental responsibility for the child shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $3,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both if —| (a) | the child ceases to be a citizen of Singapore; | | (b) | the person who has parental responsibility for the child knows that the child has ceased to be a citizen of Singapore; and | | (c) | the person who has parental responsibility for the child fails to surrender the child’s Singapore passport or Singapore temporary travel document to an authorised officer within 24 hours after the first time the person knows that the child ceased to be a citizen of Singapore. |
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| (3) Subsections (1) and (2) shall not apply if the person, or the person who has parental responsibility for the child, as the case may be, has a reasonable excuse. |
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| Offences relating to false foreign travel documents |
47.—(1) If —| (a) | a person makes a false foreign travel document in Singapore, or furnishes a false foreign travel document to another person in Singapore; | | (b) | the person does so with the intention of dishonestly inducing another person to use or accept the false foreign travel document as if it were a genuine foreign travel document; and | | (c) | by reason of the other person so using or accepting the false foreign travel document as genuine, the person dishonestly —| (i) | obtains a gain (whether for himself or someone else); | | (ii) | causes a loss to the other person or someone else; or | | (iii) | influences the exercise of a public duty, |
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| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
(2) If —| (a) | a person uses in Singapore a foreign travel document in connection with travel or identification; | | (b) | the foreign travel document has been cancelled; and | | (c) | the person knows or ought reasonably to have known that the foreign travel document has been cancelled, |
| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
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(3) If —| (a) | a person uses in Singapore a foreign travel document in connection with travel or identification; | | (b) | the foreign travel document was not issued to that person; and | | (c) | the person knows or ought reasonably to have known that the foreign travel document was not issued to him, |
| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
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(4) If —| (a) | a person furnishes another person in Singapore with a foreign travel document that was issued to the first-mentioned person; and | | (b) | the person is reckless as to whether the document is or will be used by the other person in connection with travel or identification, |
| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
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(5) If —| (a) | a person has or retains possession or control in Singapore of a foreign travel document; and | | (b) | the person knows that the foreign travel document was not issued to him, |
| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
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(6) If —| (a) | a person has possession or control of a document; and | | (b) | the person knows or ought reasonably to have known that the document is a false foreign travel document, |
| the person 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 10 years or to both. |
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| (7) Subsections (2) to (6) shall not apply if the person has a reasonable excuse. |
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| Unauthorised issue of Singapore passports, etc. |
48. If —| (a) | the Controller; or | | (b) | an authorised officer to whom the Controller has delegated the function of issuing Singapore passports or Singapore travel documents, |
| does any of the following acts, the Controller or authorised officer, as the case may be, 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 10 years or to both: |
| (i) | issuing a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document or part thereof knowing that the issue of the Singapore passport or Singapore travel document or that part thereof is contrary to a provision of this Act; or | | (ii) | endorsing a Singapore passport or a Singapore travel document knowing that the endorsement of the Singapore passport or Singapore travel document is contrary to a provision of this Act. |
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| Obstructing authorised officer, etc. |
| 49. Any person who refuses to give access to, or obstructs, hinders or delays any authorised officer, police officer or customs officer in the performance and execution of his duty or of anything he is required to do by virtue or in consequence of or under this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both. |
| Division 3 — General provisions |
| Offences by bodies corporate, etc. |
50.—(1) Where an offence under this Act committed by a body corporate is proved —| (a) | to have been committed with the consent or connivance of an officer; or | | (b) | to be attributable to any act or default on his part, |
| the officer as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. |
| (2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate. [2/2012 wef 01/03/2012] |
(3) Where an offence under this Act committed by a partnership is proved —| (a) | to have been committed with the consent or connivance of a partner; or | | (b) | to be attributable to any act or default on his part, |
| the partner as well as the partnership shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. |
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| (4) Where an offence under this Act committed by a limited liability partnership is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a partner or manager of the limited liability partnership, the partner or manager (as the case may be) as well as the partnership shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. |
(5) Where an offence under this Act committed by an unincorporated association (other than a partnership) is proved —| (a) | to have been committed with the consent or connivance of an officer of the unincorporated association or a member of its governing body; or | | (b) | to be attributable to any act or default on the part of such an officer or a member, |
| the officer or member as well as the unincorporated association shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. |
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(6) In this section —| “body corporate” and “partnership” exclude a limited liability partnership within the meaning of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act (Cap. 163A); |
“officer” —| (a) | in relation to a body corporate, means any director, member of the committee of management, chief executive, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate and includes any person purporting to act in any such capacity; and | | (b) | in relation to an unincorporated association (other than a partnership), means the president, the secretary or any member of the committee of the unincorporated association, or any person holding a position analogous to that of the president, secretary or member of the committee and includes any person purporting to act in any such capacity; |
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| “partner” includes a person purporting to act as a partner. |
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| (7) The regulations may provide for the application of any provision of this section, with such modifications as the Minister considers appropriate, to any body corporate or unincorporated association formed or recognised under the law of a territory outside Singapore. |
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| 51. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68), a District Court shall have jurisdiction to try any offence under this Act and shall have power to impose the full penalty or punishment in respect of the offence. |
52.—(1) The Controller may, in his discretion, compound such offence under this Act as may be prescribed as being an offence which may be compounded by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding $500.| (2) On payment of such sum of money under subsection (1), no further proceedings shall be taken against that person in respect of the offence. |
| (3) All sums collected under this section shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund. |
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