Penal Code - Singapore Statutes Online

Chapter XXII

Criminal intimidation, insult and annoyance

Criminal intimidation

503. Whoever threatens another with any injury to his person, reputation or property, or to the person or reputation of any one in whom that person is interested, with intent to cause alarm to that person, or to cause that person to do any act which he is not legally bound to do, or to omit to do any act which that person is legally entitled to do, as the means of avoiding the execution of such threat, commits criminal intimidation.

Explanation.—A threat to injure the reputation of any deceased person in whom the person threatened is interested, is within this section.

Illustrations

A, for the purpose of inducing B to desist from prosecuting a civil suit, threatens to burn B’s house. A is guilty of criminal intimidation.

[Indian PC 1860, s. 503]

Intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace

504. Whoever intentionally insults, and thereby gives provocation to any person, intending or knowing it to be likely that such provocation will cause him to break the public peace, or to commit any other offence, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years, or with fine, or with both.

[Indian PC 1860, s. 504]

Statements conducing to public mischief

505. Whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report in written, electronic or other media —

(a)	with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause any officer or serviceman in the Singapore Armed Forces or any visiting forces lawfully present in Singapore, or any person to whom section 140B refers, to mutiny or otherwise disregard or fail in his duty as such;
(b)	with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public, whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquillity; or
(c)	with intent to incite, or which is likely to incite, any class or community of persons to commit any offence against any other class or community of persons,

shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years, or with fine, or with both.

[51/2007]

Exception.—It does not amount to an offence within the meaning of this section, when the person making, publishing or circulating any such statement, rumour or report in written, electronic or other media has reasonable grounds for believing that such statement, rumour or report is true and makes, publishes or circulates it without any such intent as aforesaid.

[51/2007]

[Indian PC 1860, s. 505]

Punishment for criminal intimidation

506. Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years, or with fine, or with both; and if the threat is to cause death or grievous hurt, or to cause the destruction of any property by fire, or to cause an offence punishable with death or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 7 years or more, or impute unchastity to a woman, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, or with fine, or with both.

[51/2007]

[Indian PC 1860, s. 506]

Criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication

507. Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication, or by having taken precautions to conceal the name or abode of the person from whom the threat comes, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years, in addition to the punishment provided for the offence by section 506.

[Indian PC 1860, s. 507]

Act caused by inducing a person to believe that he will be rendered an object of divine displeasure

508. Whoever voluntarily causes or attempts to cause any person to do anything which that person is not legally bound to do, or to omit to do anything which he is legally entitled to do, by inducing or attempting to induce that person to believe that he, or any person in whom he is interested, will become or will be rendered by some act of the offender an object of divine displeasure if he does not do the thing which it is the object of the offender to cause him to do, or if he does the thing which it is the object of the offender to cause him to omit, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

Illustration

(a) A performs a ceremony at Z’s door with the intention of causing it to be believed that by so doing he renders Z an object of divine displeasure, unless Z does something he is not legally bound to do. A has committed the offence defined in this section.

(b) A threatens Z that unless Z performs a certain act, A will kill one of A’s own children, under such circumstances that the killing would be believed to render Z an object of divine displeasure. A has committed the offence defined in this section.

[Indian PC 1860, s. 508]

Word or gesture intended to insult the modesty of a woman

509. Whoever, intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen by such woman, or intrudes upon the privacy of such woman, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

[Indian PC 1860, s. 509]

510. [Repealed by Act 5 of 2015 wef 01/04/2015]

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