PART 2 PROHIBITION OF COMMUNICATION OF
FALSE STATEMENTS OF FACT IN SINGAPORE |
| Communication of false statements of fact in Singapore |
7.—(1) A person must not do any act in or outside Singapore in order to communicate in Singapore a statement knowing or having reason to believe that —| (a) | it is a false statement of fact; and | | (b) | the communication of the statement in Singapore is likely to —| (i) | be prejudicial to the security of Singapore or any part of Singapore; | | (ii) | be prejudicial to public health, public safety, public tranquillity or public finances; | | (iii) | be prejudicial to the friendly relations of Singapore with other countries; | | (iv) | influence the outcome of an election to the office of President, a general election of Members of Parliament, a by‑election of a Member of Parliament, or a referendum; | | (v) | incite feelings of enmity, hatred or ill‑will between different groups of persons; or | | (vi) | diminish public confidence in the performance of any duty or function of, or in the exercise of any power by, the Government, an Organ of State, a statutory board, or a part of the Government, an Organ of State or a statutory board. |
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(2) Subject to subsection (3), a person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both; or | | (b) | in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $500,000. |
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(3) Where an inauthentic online account or a bot is used —| (a) | to communicate in Singapore the statement mentioned in subsection (1); and | | (b) | for the purpose of accelerating such communication, |
| the person who is guilty of an offence under that subsection shall be liable on conviction — |
| (c) | in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to both; or | | (d) | in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $1 million. |
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(4) Subsection (1) does not apply to the doing of any act for the purpose of, or that is incidental to, the provision of —| (a) | an internet intermediary service; | | (b) | a telecommunication service; | | (c) | a service of giving the public access to the internet; or | | (d) | a computing resource service. |
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| Making or altering bots for communication of false statements of fact in Singapore |
8.—(1) A person must not, whether in or outside Singapore, make or alter a bot with the intention of —| (a) | communicating, by means of the bot, a false statement of fact in Singapore; or | | (b) | enabling any other person to communicate, by means of the bot, a false statement of fact in Singapore. |
(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding $30,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both; or | | (b) | in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $500,000. |
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(3) However, if the communication of the false statement of fact under subsection (1) is likely to —| (a) | be prejudicial to the security of Singapore or any part of Singapore; | | (b) | be prejudicial to public health, public safety, public tranquillity or public finances; | | (c) | be prejudicial to the friendly relations of Singapore with other countries; | | (d) | influence the outcome of an election to the office of President, a general election of Members of Parliament, a by‑election of a Member of Parliament, or a referendum; | | (e) | incite feelings of enmity, hatred or ill‑will between different groups of persons; or | | (f) | diminish public confidence in the performance of any duty or function of, or in the exercise of any power by, the Government, an Organ of State, a statutory board, or a part of the Government, an Organ of State or a statutory board, |
| the person who is guilty of an offence under that subsection shall be liable on conviction — |
| (g) | in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding $60,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 years or to both; or | | (h) | in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $1 million. |
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| Providing services for communication of false statements of fact in Singapore |
9.—(1) A person who, whether in or outside Singapore, solicits, receives or agrees to receive any financial or other material benefit as an inducement or reward for providing any service, knowing that the service is or will be used in the communication of one or more false statements of fact in Singapore, shall be guilty of an offence if the service is in fact used in such communication.(2) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | in the case of any individual, to a fine not exceeding $30,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both; or | | (b) | in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $500,000. |
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(3) However, if the communication of the false statement of fact under subsection (1) is likely to —| (a) | be prejudicial to the security of Singapore or any part of Singapore; | | (b) | be prejudicial to public health, public safety, public tranquillity or public finances; | | (c) | be prejudicial to the friendly relations of Singapore with other countries; | | (d) | influence the outcome of an election to the office of President, a general election of Members of Parliament, a by‑election of a Member of Parliament, or a referendum; | | (e) | incite feelings of enmity, hatred or ill‑will between different groups of persons; or | | (f) | diminish public confidence in the performance of any duty or function of, or in the exercise of any power by, the Government, an Organ of State, a statutory board, or a part of the Government, an Organ of State or a statutory board, |
| the person who is guilty of an offence under that subsection shall be liable on conviction — |
| (g) | in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding $60,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 years or to both; or | | (h) | in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $1 million. |
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(4) Subsection (1) does not apply to any act carried out for the purpose of, or that is incidental to, the provision of —| (a) | an internet intermediary service; | | (b) | a telecommunication service; | | (c) | a service of giving the public access to the internet; or | | (d) | a computing resource service. |
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| (5) Where a court convicts any person of an offence under subsection (1), the court must, in addition to imposing on that person the punishment under subsection (2) or (3), order the person to pay as a penalty, within the time specified by the court, a sum equal to the amount of any financial or other material benefit received or is, in the opinion of the court, the value of such financial or other material benefit, and any such penalty is recoverable as a fine. |
| (6) Subsection (5) does not apply if the court determines that the value of the financial or other material benefit cannot be assessed. |
(7) Where —| (a) | a person charged with 2 or more offences under subsection (1) is convicted of one or more of those offences; and | | (b) | the other outstanding offences are taken into consideration by the court under section 148 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 for the purpose of passing sentence, |
| the court may increase the penalty mentioned in subsection (5) by an amount not exceeding the total amount or value of the financial or other material benefit received for the offences so taken into consideration. |
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