32.—(1) All fees payable under this Act shall be paid to the Board to be applied in the first place to defraying expenses of registration and other expenses of the administration of this Act, including any expenses of the Board that may be allowed under any rules and thereafter to providing scholarships and the promotion of learning and education in connection with engineering.
(2) The Registrar shall take and receive all moneys payable to the Board under this Act.
(3) All fees and other moneys payable to the Board under this Act shall be paid forthwith into a bank account approved by the Board.
(4) The Board shall keep proper accounts and records of its transactions and affairs and shall do all things necessary to ensure that all payments out of its moneys are correctly made and properly authorised and that adequate control is maintained over the assets of, or in the custody of, the Board and over the expenditure incurred by the Board.
(5) The Board may from time to time invest any moneys not immediately required by the Board in such trustee securities as the Board may determine.
(6) The accounts of the Board shall be audited by an auditor approved by the Minister.
(7) The Board shall, as soon as practicable after the end of each accounting year but not later than 3 months from the end of that year unless the Minister otherwise authorises in writing, submit to the Minister a report of its functions, proceedings and activities during the preceding year.
Powers of Board and Investigation Committee to require attendance of witnesses, etc.
33.—(1) For the purposes of any investigation by Investigation Committee or any hearing under section 27 or 29 by the Board, the Investigation Committee or the Board may —
(a)
require evidence to be given on oath and for that purpose the Chairman of the Investigation Committee or the President or other member of the Board presiding at the hearing may administer an oath; and
(b)
require any person to attend and give evidence before it and to produce all books, documents and papers in the custody of that person or under his control relating to the subject-matter of the investigation or hearing.
(2) Every person who without lawful excuse refuses or fails —
(a)
to attend and give evidence when required to do so by the Investigation Committee or the Board;
(b)
to answer truly and fully any question put to him by a member of the Investigation Committee or the Board; or
(c)
to produce to the Investigation Committee or the Board any book, document or paper required of him,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000.
Penalty for wilful falsification of register and for wrongfully procuring registration, etc.
34. Any person who —
(a)
wilfully makes or causes to be made any false entry in or falsification of any register kept and maintained under this Act;
(b)
wilfully procures or attempts to procure —
(i)
for any corporation or partnership any licence; or
(ii)
for himself or any other person a practising certificate or to be registered as a professional engineer under this Act,
by making or producing or causing to be made or produced any false or fraudulent representation or declaration, either verbally or in writing, or by intentionally suppressing any material fact and furnishing information which is misleading; or
(c)
knowingly aids or assists in any of the acts mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b),
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 6 months or to both.
35. Where a corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association of persons is guilty of an offence under this Act and that offence is proved to have been committed with the authority, consent or connivance of any director, manager, partner, secretary or other similar officer of the corporation, partnership or association or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he, as well as the corporation, partnership or association, shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
36.—(1) The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act and for any matter which is required under this Act to be prescribed.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Board may, with the approval of the Minister, make rules —
(a)
prescribing forms of applications under this Act and certificates of registration, practising certificates and licences;
(b)
prescribing the fees payable under this Act;
(c)
prescribing the subject-matter of examinations to be conducted by or under the direction of the Board in the case of applicants or class of applicants for registration;
(d)
prescribing the form of the register of professional engineers, register of practitioners and register of licensees to be kept and the particulars to be entered therein;
(e)
prescribing a code of professional conduct and ethics;
(f)
requiring all or any of the following to take out and maintain insurance against liability for breach of professional duty in the course of supplying professional engineering services:
(i)
any partnership consisting wholly of registered professional engineers;
(ii)
any partnership or unlimited corporation applying for a licence;
(iii)
any registered professional engineer applying for a practising certificate for the purpose of engaging in professional engineering practice on his own account;
(iv)
any registered professional engineer applying for a practising certificate who is employed or about to be employed by any person or body referred to in sub-paragraphs (i) to (iii);
(v)
any other registered professional engineer applying for a practising certificate;
(g)
prescribing the terms and conditions of insurance against professional liability under this Act or rules, including a minimum limit of indemnity; and
(h)
generally providing for such other matters as may be necessary or expedient for carrying out the provisions of this Act.
(3) All rules made under this section shall be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication in the Gazette.
Exemption
37.—(1) The Minister may, by order and subject to such conditions as he thinks fit, exempt any person or class of persons from all or any of the provisions of this Act.
(2) Any order made under this section shall be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication in the Gazette.
No action in absence of bad faith or malice
38. No action or proceedings shall lie against the Board or an Investigation Committee or any member thereof for any act or thing done under this Act unless it is proved to the court that the act or thing was done in bad faith or with malice.