6.—(1) An individual or entity that by any means —| (a) | uses any indecent, threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour; or | | (b) | makes any indecent, threatening, abusive or insulting communication, |
| towards or to a public servant or public service worker (called in this section, except subsection (1A), the victim) in relation to the execution of the duty of the public servant or public service worker, shall be guilty of an offence. |
[Act 17 of 2019 wef 01/01/2020] (1A) An individual or entity that contravenes section 3(1)(c) (in relation to a target person under section 3(1)(c) who is a public servant or public service worker) —| (a) | with the intent to prevent or deter that public servant or public service worker from discharging the duty of that public servant or public service worker; or | | (b) | in consequence of anything done or attempted to be done by that public servant or public service worker in the lawful discharge of the duty of that public servant or public service worker, |
| shall be guilty of an offence. |
[Act 17 of 2019 wef 01/01/2020] |
| (2) No offence is committed under this section unless the accused individual or accused entity (called in this section the accused) knows or ought reasonably to know that the victim was acting in his capacity as a public servant or public service worker, as the case may be. [Act 17 of 2019 wef 01/01/2020] |
| (3) Subject to section 8, an individual or entity shall be liable, on conviction for an offence under subsection (1) or (1A), to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both. [Act 17 of 2019 wef 01/01/2020] |
(4) It is a defence for the accused to prove —| (a) | in any proceedings for an offence under subsection (1), that the accused had no reason to believe that the words or behaviour used, or the communication made, by the accused would be heard, seen or otherwise perceived by the victim; or [Act 17 of 2019 wef 01/01/2020] | | (b) | in any proceedings for an offence under subsection (1) or (1A), that the accused’s conduct was reasonable. [Act 17 of 2019 wef 01/01/2020] |
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(5) In this section —| “public servant” has the same meaning as in the Penal Code (Cap. 224), and includes any person who, by virtue of any other written law, is deemed to be a public servant for the purposes of the Penal Code; |
| “public service worker” means an individual who belongs to a prescribed class of employees or workers that provides any service which is essential to the well‑being of the public or the proper functioning of Singapore, as prescribed under subsection (6). |
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| (6) For the purposes of the definition of “public service worker” in subsection (5), the Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, prescribe the classes of employees or workers and the services provided by them. |
(7) Every order made under subsection (6) shall be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication in the Gazette. | | X is unhappy that a public servant, Y, refused to waive a late payment charge. X writes several posts on an open social media platform with abusive comments about Y in relation to the incident. In a subsequent post, X posts Y’s name, home address and photograph on the same open social media platform in order to cause Y distress. Y is distressed by the subsequent post. X is guilty of an offence under this section. |
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[Act 17 of 2019 wef 01/01/2020] |
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