Registration of Criminals Act

(CHAPTER 268)

(Original Enactment: Ordinance 20 of 1949)

REVISED EDITION 1985

(30th March 1987)

An Act to provide for the registration of criminals.

[29th June 1949]

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Registration of Criminals Act.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“crime” means any offence included for the time being in the First or Second Schedule;

“finger impression” includes thumb impression and palmar impression;

“police officer” includes an officer of the Customs and Excise Department in any case concerning an offence or alleged offence against any law or provision of law which it is the function of that Department to enforce;

“principal registration area” means Singapore and Malaysia;

“register” means the register of criminals maintained in accordance with section 4;

“registrable particulars” means the particulars of any conviction, sentence, banishment, expulsion or deportation, and any name, description, photograph, or finger impression of, or document relating to, any person so convicted, sentenced, banished, expelled or deported, as the case may be, and includes particulars of any outstanding offence, whether that offence be a crime or not, taken into consideration in determining and passing sentence on any conviction for a crime;

“Registrar” means the Registrar of Criminals appointed under section 3, and includes an Assistant Registrar of Criminals.

Appointment of Registrar of Criminals and Assistant Registrars

3.—(1) The President may appoint a Registrar of Criminals and such Assistant Registrars as he may consider necessary for the purposes of this Act.

(2) The President may, with the concurrence of the government of Malaysia, appoint an officer in the service of that government to be a Registrar of Criminals or an Assistant Registrar for the purposes of this Act.

4.—(1) The Registrar shall keep a register of —

(a)	persons convicted of any crime within Singapore;
(b)	persons convicted of any offence committed within, and registrable under the law of, Malaysia;
(c)	persons ordered to be banished, expelled or deported from Singapore or Malaysia;
(d)	persons convicted of any offence in, or banished, deported or expelled from, any place outside the principal registration area, whose registration may be approved under section 5,

and shall record therein registrable particulars as hereinafter provided.

(2) The register shall be kept at such place or places within or without Singapore and in such manner as the Minister may direct.

Registration of persons convicted in or banished from places outside principal registration area

5.—(1) The Minister may approve the registration under this Act of any person convicted of any offence in, or banished, deported or expelled from, any place outside the principal registration area in respect of whom any registrable particulars are furnished to the Registrar by the officer in charge of any criminal records, register of criminals or person in such place.

(2) Any approval given under this section may be either general, in respect of any place or of any class of case, or special in respect of a particular case.

(3) Every general approval given under this section shall be signified by notification in the Gazette.

Particulars to be recorded in register

6. Subject to section 7, the Registrar shall record in the register any registrable particulars which are forwarded to him —

(a)	under section 9, 11 or 12;
(b)	by any officer of Malaysia who is authorised by the law of that territory to forward those particulars for registration; or
(c)	by the officer in charge of any criminal records, register of criminals or prison in any place outside the principal registration area and which relate to a person whose registration has been approved under section 5.

Discretionary power to dispense with registration

7.—(1) The Commissioner of Police may in his discretion direct, either generally or in particular cases, that any person who —

(a)	has been convicted of an offence included in the Second Schedule;
(b)	has upon such conviction been sentenced to a fine not exceeding $1,000 and not to imprisonment except in default of payment of the fine; and
(c)	has not previously been registered as a criminal,

need not be registered as hereinbefore provided.

[17/80]

(2) When any such direction has been given, the Registrar shall retain the registrable particulars of that person for 6 months from the date of receipt thereof and shall then destroy them:

Provided that the Commissioner of Police may, at any time before the expiration of that period of 6 months, revoke the direction, and thereupon the Registrar shall enter that person in the register, together with the registrable particulars relating to him, in accordance with sections 4 and 6.

Finger impressions and photograph of persons under arrest

8. Any police officer may take or cause to be taken the finger impressions and photograph of any person under arrest who is accused of any crime, and may send those impressions and photograph to the Registrar for identification and report.

Finger impressions and photograph of convicted persons

9. When any person has been convicted of a crime, the police officer in charge of the case shall —

(a)	take or cause to be taken the finger impressions and photograph of the person so convicted, unless this has already been done;
(b)	endorse particulars of the conviction and sentence or order upon the sheet upon which the finger impressions have been made;
(c)	authenticate the endorsement with his signature; and
(d)	forward to the Registrar the sheet, duly endorsed and authenticated as aforesaid, and also, if required by the Registrar, one copy of any photograph of the person taken under section 8.

Finger impressions and photograph of discharged persons

10.—(1) When any person whose finger impressions and photograph or either have been taken under section 8 is acquitted or discharged without a conviction being recorded against him, the police officer in charge of the case shall —

(a)	endorse particulars of the acquittal or discharge upon the sheet upon which the finger impressions have been made;
(b)	authenticate the endorsement with his signature; and
(c)	forward the sheet, duly endorsed and authenticated as aforesaid, together with the negative and all copies of any photograph of the person taken under section 8, to the Registrar.

(2) The Registrar shall, upon the application of the person so discharged or acquitted, deliver to him the sheet upon which his finger impressions have been made together with the negative and all copies of any photograph taken of him and forwarded to the Registrar as aforesaid, or, if no such application is received within 3 months from the date of acquittal or discharge, shall destroy the sheet and every negative and photograph.

Finger impressions of prisoners and banishees

11.—(1) The officer in charge of any prison shall cause the finger impressions and photograph of every prisoner convicted of a crime or ordered to be banished, expelled or deported to be taken as soon as possible, and shall attach a description of the prisoner, including his sex, age or apparent age, bodily appearance, height and any distinctive marks appearing on the person, together with the name or names by which the prisoner is or is believed to have been known, and any other available information as to the personal identity of the prisoner, and also particulars of the crime of which the prisoner has been convicted or of the order of banishment, expulsion or deportation made against him.

(2) Such officer shall forthwith record in his own office one copy of such photograph, finger impressions and description, and shall forward to the Registrar —

(a)	in the case of a prisoner convicted of a crime, one copy of those finger impressions and description and, if required by the Registrar, one copy of the photograph;
(b)	in the case of a prisoner ordered to be banished, expelled or deported, 3 copies, or such greater number of copies as the Registrar may require, of the photograph, finger impressions and description.

(3) Every copy of a photograph, finger impressions or description recorded or forwarded under subsection (2) shall be authenticated with the signature of the officer recording or forwarding the same.

(4) This section shall not apply in the case of any prisoner in respect of whom the Commissioner of Police may have given any general or particular direction under section 7.

Particulars of removal of banishee

12.—(1) When a person is removed from Singapore or from any part thereof in execution of an order of banishment, expulsion or deportation, the police officer responsible for the execution of the order shall —

(a)	take or cause to be taken on the warrant of execution (if any) or on the order of banishment, expulsion or deportation, if no warrant of execution thereof has been issued, a thumb impression of the person being removed;
(b)	endorse on the warrant of execution (if any) or on the order of banishment, expulsion or deportation if no warrant of execution thereof has been issued, particulars of the date, place and manner of removal;
(c)	authenticate the endorsement with his signature; and
(d)	return forthwith to the Minister the order of banishment, expulsion or deportation and the warrant of execution thereof (if any) duly endorsed and authenticated as aforesaid.

(2) The Minister shall cause every such order and warrant which is returned to him as aforesaid to be forwarded as soon as possible to the Registrar.

Duty to submit to taking of photograph and finger impressions

13.—(1) Every person under arrest accused of a crime and every person convicted of a crime or ordered to be banished, expelled or deported shall be legally bound to submit to the taking of his photograph and finger impressions as provided in this Act, and may be compelled thereto by the use of such force as may be necessary.

(2) Any person who, being legally bound under subsection (1) to submit to the taking of his photograph or finger impressions, refuses or fails to submit thereto on demand by a police officer or by an officer in charge of a prison, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $250 or to imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month or to both.

Evidence

14.—(1) Every photograph, finger impression, description or other document recorded in the register, if duly produced from proper custody, and every certificate or report purporting to have been compiled from particulars recorded in the register under the provisions of this Act shall, if authenticated by the signature of the Registrar, be admissible in evidence in any court, and shall be sufficient proof of that facts thereon stated or appearing unless the same is disproved.

(2) Any document purporting to be a report under the hand of the Registrar upon any matter or thing relating to finger impressions duly submitted to him for report shall be admissible in evidence in any court unless the court requires the Registrar to be called as a witness:

Provided that in any trial before the High Court the accused may require that the Registrar shall be called as a witness, in which case he shall give notice to the Deputy Public Prosecutor not less than 3 clear days before the commencement of the trial.

Power to vary Schedules

15. The President may by order delete any provision from, or add to or vary the provisions of, the Schedules.

Saving

16. The Registrar shall have the custody of all records of criminals and particulars which would be registrable particulars under this Act held immediately before the commencement of this Act by any Registrar of Criminals in Singapore, and such records and particulars whether taken, received or registered in accordance with the provisions of any written law for the time being in force or not, shall be deemed to have been duly taken or received and, when registered, shall, for all purposes of this Act, be deemed to be comprised in and form part of the register maintained under this Act.

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