PART IV | EXCLUSIVE PRIVILEGE AND LICENSING, ETC., OF POSTAL SERVICES |
| Exclusive privilege with respect to conveyance, etc., of letters |
40.—(1) As from the appointed day and subject to this Act, the Authority shall continue to have the exclusive privilege of conveying from one place to another letters and postcards and performing all incidental services of receiving, collecting, sending, despatching and delivering letters and postcards.| (2) No letter or postcard shall, unless exempt by this Act or any other written law, be conveyed into or out of Singapore from or to any place between which and Singapore posts or postal communications are established, or from one place to another, or be delivered or distributed in Singapore otherwise than by or through the post. |
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41.—(1) The privilege conferred by section 40 shall not be infringed by —| (a) | letters or postcards or both not exceeding 3 in number sent by a person for delivery by the person to another without hire, reward or other profit for receiving, carrying or delivering them; | | (b) | any letter or postcard solely concerning the affairs of the sender or receiver thereof, sent by a messenger employed for that purpose; and | | (c) | any letter or postcard solely concerning any goods or other property which is to be delivered with the letter or postcard, without hire, reward or other profit for receiving, carrying or delivering the letter or postcard, if the letter or postcard is open to inspection and has thereon the words “Consignee’s letter” or other words to the same effect. |
(2) The following persons shall not collect, carry, tender or deliver any letter or postcard for the purpose of carrying or delivering it, whether or not for hire, reward or other profit:| (a) | a common carrier of passengers or goods and his drivers, employees or agents except as regards letters or postcards solely concerning goods in his vehicles or conveyances; and | | (b) | owners or masters of vessels or aircraft passing to or from any port or place within Singapore from or to any port or place and their employees or agents, except as regards letters or postcards solely concerning goods on board, the letters or postcards being open to inspection and having the words “Consignee’s letter” or other words to the same effect superscribed thereon, and except letters or postcards tendered to a master of a vessel or aircraft by any employee or agent of a public postal licensee for conveyance. |
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| Power to license conveyance of letters, etc. |
42.—(1) A licence may with the consent of or in accordance with the terms of a general authority given by the Minister be granted by the Authority either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as the Authority may impose and specify in the licence and either irrevocably or subject to revocation as therein specified for the conveyance from one place to another of such letters and postcards and the performance of such incidental services of receiving, collecting, sending, despatching and delivering letters and postcards as are specified in the licence.| (2) A licence granted under subsection (1) may be granted either to any person, class of persons or a particular person and may include (without prejudice to the power to impose conditions conferred by that subsection) conditions requiring the payment to the Authority of a fee on the grant of the licence or the payment to it of periodic fees during the currency of the licence or both of such amount as may be determined by or under the licence. |
| (3) A payment required by subsection (2) to be rendered to the Authority may be recovered by it in any court of competent jurisdiction as if it were a simple contract debt. |
| (4) No person shall question whether the grant of a licence under subsection (1) was, or was not, effected with the consent of or in accordance with the terms of a general authority given by the Minister, and the validity of a licence granted under that subsection shall not be impugned on the ground that it was granted neither with the consent of nor in accordance with the terms of a general authority given by the Minister. |
| (5) The grant and renewal of licences under this section shall be at the discretion of the Authority. |
| (6) Nothing in this section shall prevent the Minister from directing the Authority to grant a licence in any specific case and any person aggrieved by a refusal of the Authority to grant a licence may within 14 days of the refusal appeal to the Minister whose decision shall be final. |
| (7) Anything done under and in accordance with a licence granted under subsection (1) shall not constitute an infringement of the privilege conferred by section 40. |
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| Designation of public postal licensees |
| 43. The Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, designate any person who has been granted a licence under section 42 as a public postal licensee to perform all or any of the functions relating to the provision of postal services within the exclusive privilege of the Authority under this Act. |
| Modification of licence conditions |
44.—(1) Subject to this section, the Authority may modify the conditions of a licence granted under section 42.(2) Before making modifications to the conditions of a licence of a public postal licensee under this section, the Authority shall give notice to the licensee —| (a) | stating that it proposes to make the modifications in the manner as specified in the notice and the compensation payable for any damage caused thereby; and | | (b) | specifying the time (not being less than 28 days from the date of service of notice on such licensee) within which written representations with respect to the proposed modifications may be made. |
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(3) Upon receipt of any written representation referred to in subsection (2), the Authority shall consider such representation and may —| (a) | reject the representation; or | | (b) | amend the proposed modifications or compensation payable in accordance with the representation, or otherwise, |
| and, in either event, it shall thereupon issue a direction in writing to such licensee requiring that effect be given to the proposed modifications specified in the notice or to such modifications as subsequently amended by the Authority within a reasonable time. |
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| (4) Any public postal licensee aggrieved by the decision of the Authority under subsection (3) may, within 14 days of the receipt by it of the direction of the Authority, appeal to the Minister whose decision shall be final. |
(5) The Authority shall not enforce its direction —| (a) | during the period referred to in subsection (4); and | | (b) | whilst the appeal of the public postal licensee is under consideration by the Minister. |
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| (6) If no written representation is received by the Authority within the time specified in subsection (2) or if any written representation made under subsection (2) is subsequently withdrawn, the Authority may forthwith carry out the modifications as specified in the notice given under subsection (2). |
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| Suspension or cancellation of licence, etc. |
45.—(1) If the Authority is satisfied that a person who is granted a licence under section 42 or any regulations made under this Act is contravening, or has contravened and is likely again to contravene, any of the conditions of the licence or the provisions of this Act or any regulations made thereunder, the Authority may, by notice in writing and without any compensation, do either or both of the following:| (a) | cancel the licence or suspend the licence for such period as it thinks fit; or | | (b) | require the payment of a fine in such amount as it thinks fit. |
| (2) Any person who is aggrieved by any decision of the Authority under this section may, within 14 days after such person has been given the notice in writing referred to in subsection (1), appeal to the Minister whose decision shall be final. |
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| Vesting of postal undertaking in postal successor company |
46.—(1) On the transfer date, all the property, rights and liabilities comprised in the Authority’s postal undertaking (other than the designated postal property) to which the Authority was entitled or subject immediately before that date shall become, by virtue of this section and without further assurance, the property, rights and liabilities of a company nominated for the purposes of this section by the Minister (referred to in this Act as the postal successor company) which shall be designated in accordance with section 43 as a public postal licensee.| (2) In this Act, “designated postal property” means property of any description, whether movable or immovable, which the Minister for Finance may designate as necessary to be retained by the Authority for the exercise of its duties and functions relating to postal matters under this Act. |
| (3) Any immovable property to be transferred to and vested in the postal successor company under subsection (1) shall be held by the company upon such tenure and subject to such terms and conditions as the President may determine. |
| (4) If any question arises as to whether any particular property, right or liability has been transferred to or vested in the postal successor company under this Act, a certificate under the hand of the Minister for Finance shall be conclusive evidence that the property, right or liability was or was not so transferred or vested. |
(5) It is hereby declared for the avoidance of doubt that —| (a) | any reference in this Act to property comprised in the Authority’s postal undertaking is a reference to such property (other than the designated postal property) of the Authority whether situated in Singapore or elsewhere; and | | (b) | any such reference to rights and liabilities comprised in the Authority’s postal undertaking is a reference to such rights to which the Authority is entitled or, as the case may be, such liabilities to which the Authority is subject, whether under the laws of Singapore or any country outside Singapore and includes rights and liabilities arising under loans raised in relation to the Authority’s postal undertaking. |
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| (6) It shall be the duty of the Authority and of the postal successor company to take all such steps as may be requisite to secure that the vesting in the company by virtue of this section of any foreign property, right or liability is effective under the relevant foreign law and until such time it shall be the duty of the Authority to hold that property or right for the benefit of, or to discharge that liability on behalf of, the company. |
| (7) Nothing in subsection (6) shall be taken as prejudicing the effect under the law of Singapore of the vesting in the postal successor company by virtue of this section of any foreign property, right or liability. |
| (8) Any expenses incurred by the Authority under subsection (6) shall be paid by the postal successor company. |
| (9) In subsections (6) and (7), references to any foreign property, right or liability are references, respectively, to any property, right or liability comprised in the Authority’s postal undertaking as respects which any issue arising in any proceedings would have been determined (in accordance with the rules of conflict of laws) by reference to the law of a country or territory outside Singapore. |
| (10) Before the transfer date, the Authority shall take steps to separate its postal undertaking from the remainder of its undertaking. |
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| Initial Government holding in postal successor company |
47.—(1) As a consequence of the vesting in the postal successor company by virtue of section 46 of the property, rights and liabilities comprised in the Authority’s postal undertaking (other than the designated postal property) —| (a) | the postal successor company shall issue such securities of the company as the Minister for Finance may from time to time direct to the telecommunication successor company; and | | (b) | the telecommunication successor company shall issue such securities of the company as the Minister for Finance may from time to time direct to any company wholly owned by the Government. |
| (2) The Minister for Finance shall not give a direction under subsection (1) at a time when the postal successor company has ceased to be wholly owned by the telecommunication successor company or, as the case may be, when the telecommunication successor company has ceased to be wholly owned by the Government. |
| (3) Securities required to be issued in pursuance of this section shall be issued or allotted at such time and on such terms as to allotment as the Minister for Finance may direct. |
(4) Shares issued in pursuance of this section —| (a) | shall be of such nominal value as the Minister for Finance may direct; and | | (b) | shall be issued as fully paid and treated for the purposes of the Companies Act (Cap. 50) as if they had been paid up by virtue of the payment to the postal successor company or the telecommunication successor company, as the case may be, of their nominal value. |
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| (5) Section 69 of the Companies Act (which provides that where a company issues shares for which a premium is received by the company whether in cash or in the form of other valuable consideration a sum equal to the aggregate amount or value of the premiums on those shares shall be transferred to a share premium account) shall not apply in relation to the issue of shares by the postal successor company in pursuance of this section, notwithstanding that such shares may be regarded as having been issued by the company at a premium. |
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| Transfer of employees to postal successor company |
48.—(1) As from the transfer date, every person employed by the Authority in connection with the Authority’s postal undertaking immediately before that date (other than the excepted postal employees) shall be transferred to the service of the postal successor company on terms no less favourable than those enjoyed by him immediately prior to his transfer.| (2) In this Act, “excepted postal employees” means any officer or employee which the Authority may specify as necessary or expedient to be retained by the Authority for the exercise of its duties and functions relating to postal matters under this Act and any other officer or employee who is not transferred to the postal successor company on the transfer date by virtue of section 38(1) as made applicable by section 49. |
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| Application of sections 37, 38 and 39 to postal successor company and persons transferred to its service |
49. Sections 37, 38 and 39 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the postal successor company and to any person transferred to the service of that company as they apply to the telecommunication successor company and to any person transferred to the service of that company and the references in those sections to —| (a) | telecommunication successor company shall be read as references to postal successor company; | | (b) | telecommunication undertaking shall be read as references to postal undertaking; | | (c) | designated telecommunication property shall be read as references to designated postal property; | | (d) | excepted telecommunication employees shall be read as references to excepted postal employees; and | | (e) | sections 31 and 36 shall be read as references to sections 46 and 48. |
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| Duty of master of vessel or aircraft departing from Singapore to convey mail bags |
| 50. The master of a vessel or aircraft about to depart from Singapore shall receive on board any mail bag tendered to him by any employee or agent of a public postal licensee for conveyance, granting a receipt therefor in such form as the licensee may approve, and shall without delay deliver the same at the place of destination. |
| Duty of master of vessel or aircraft arriving in Singapore for postal articles and mail bags |
51.—(1) The master of a vessel or aircraft arriving in Singapore shall, without delay, cause every postal article or mail bag on board which is directed to any place in Singapore to be delivered at such place as may be specified by a public postal licensee or to any employee or agent of the licensee authorised to receive the same.| (2) The master of a vessel or aircraft arriving in Singapore shall not unload or load any cargo from or into the vessel or aircraft until he has complied with this section. |
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| Penalty for failing to comply with section 50 or 51 |
52. The master of any vessel or aircraft who —| (a) | contravenes or fails to comply with section 50 or 51; or | | (b) | refuses or neglects, if in quarantine, to deliver any postal article or mail bag in his possession which is directed to any place in Singapore to the person appointed by a public postal licensee to receive it, |
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| Notice to be given of departure of vessel or aircraft |
53.—(1) Every owner or agent of a vessel or aircraft proposing to despatch the vessel or aircraft from Singapore shall give a public postal licensee —| (a) | reasonable notice of —| (i) | the day and hour of the intended departure of the vessel or aircraft; and | | (ii) | every place at which the vessel or aircraft is to call; and |
| | (b) | immediate notice of any alteration in the day or hour of departure or of the place of call. |
| (2) Any owner or agent of a vessel or aircraft who contravenes or fails to comply with this section shall be guilty of an offence. |
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| Gratuities to master or owner of vessel or aircraft for conveyance of mail bags and postal articles |
54.—(1) A public postal licensee shall pay the agreed rates of gratuities to the master, owner or agent of a vessel or aircraft for the conveyance of any mail bag or postal article.| (2) Before any payment is made, a public postal licensee may require the master of the vessel or aircraft to produce a certificate from the postal authority of destination that the mail bag or postal article has been duly received from him. |
(3) No gratuity shall be payable under this section —| (a) | unless an application for payment is made within 12 months of the date of despatch of the mail bag or postal article to the postal authority of destination; | | (b) | if there has been unreasonable delay on the part of the master in delivering the mail bag or postal article to the postal authority of destination; or | | (c) | if the mail bag or postal article has been damaged in transit, unless the master proves to the satisfaction of the public postal licensee that the damage is not due to any fault on his part. |
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| Liability of master, owner or agent of vessel or aircraft for theft, loss or damage to registered or insured postal articles or parcels |
55.—(1) The master, owner or agent of any vessel or aircraft shall be liable for the theft or loss of or damage to any registered or insured postal article or parcel tendered for conveyance or conveyed by the vessel or aircraft.| (2) In the event of any such theft, loss or damage, the master, owner or agent of the vessel or aircraft shall be liable to pay to the public postal licensee, in respect of such registered or insured postal article or parcel, such amount of money as shall be equal to the amount of the compensation payable by the licensee to the sender or addressee of the postal article or parcel under this Act. |
| (3) Any amount required to be paid under this section shall be recoverable as a debt due to the public postal licensee from the master, owner or agent of the vessel or aircraft. |
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| Power to specify documents and terms and conditions for remittance of money |
| 56. A public postal licensee may provide for the remittance of any sum of money and may specify the documents to be used in connection with the remittance of money in accordance with any regulations made under this Act. |
| Recovery of money paid in excess or wrongly paid |
57. If any person neglects or refuses to refund in respect of a document issued in connection with the remittance of money through a public postal licensee —| (a) | any amount paid by an employee of the licensee in excess of what ought to have been paid to him; or | | (b) | any amount paid by an employee of the licensee directly to him as the payee or through him acting as an agent for the payee instead of to some person to whom it ought to have been paid, |
| the amount shall be recoverable before a Magistrate. |
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| Documents to be deemed valuable securities |
| 58. Any document specified by a public postal licensee to be used for the remittance of money through the licensee shall be deemed to be a valuable security within the meaning of the Penal Code (Cap. 224). |
| Examination of postal articles |
| 59. All postal articles received from outside Singapore may be examined while in the custody of a public postal licensee by the Director-General of Customs and Excise or any senior officer of customs, and may be opened by an employee of the licensee in the presence of the Director-General of Customs and Excise or the senior officer of customs for the purpose of the examination. |
| Forfeiture of postal articles |
| 60. Any postal article found upon any examination under section 59 to contain any dutiable goods, that postal article not having affixed thereto a true declaration of those goods, shall be liable to forfeiture by order of the Director-General of Customs and Excise. |
| Presumption as to importer |
| 61. The addressee of any postal article containing any dutiable goods shall be presumed until the contrary is proved to have imported the same. |
| Import and export control of franking machines |
62.—(1) Any person intending to apply to the Controller of Imports and Exports for a permit to import, export or tranship any franking machine shall, before the application is made, obtain the written approval of the Authority.| (2) The Authority may require the person making the application for the import, export or transhipment of any franking machine to produce the machine for testing by the Authority, and all expenses incurred in connection therewith shall be borne by the person. |
| (3) Where any franking machine has been imported without the approval of the Authority, it shall be re-exported or disposed of by the person who imported it in such manner as the Authority may direct. |
| (4) Any person who imports, exports or tranships any franking machine without the prior written approval of the Authority and any person who fails to comply with the direction of the Authority made under subsection (3) shall be guilty of an offence. |
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| Delivery of postal articles |
63.—(1) The Authority shall, from time to time by notification in the Gazette, publish the specifications relating to the number, place, dimensions and other characteristics of letter boxes and may approve the installation and use of such other mail delivery systems or arrangements as it may consider fit.(2) A developer of any residential, commercial or industrial building shall —| (a) | provide one letter box per unit in the case of any residential building and one letter box per tenant in the case of any commercial or industrial building; | | (b) | ensure that the letter boxes provided under paragraph (a) are numbered in numerical sequence; and | | (c) | comply with all other specifications laid down by the Authority in accordance with subsection (1). |
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| (3) Any developer who contravenes or fails to comply with subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence. |
| (4) For the purposes of this section, “commercial or industrial building” includes any shopping complex. |
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64.—(1) A public postal licensee may erect, maintain and use any posting box and postage label vending machine in any public road, street or highway or in any other public place, and may remove any such posting box or postage label vending machine erected by it.| (2) A public postal licensee shall be entitled to use all posting boxes which are used by the Authority immediately before the appointed day. |
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| Provision of postage stamps |
65.—(1) A public postal licensee may, subject to such directions as the Minister may give, cause postage stamps to be provided of such kinds and denoting such values as the licensee may determine for the purposes of this Act.| (2) Any postage stamp provided under this section shall be used for the prepayment of any postage or other sum chargeable under this Act in respect of any postal article, except where the public postal licensee determines that prepayment may be made in some other manner. |
| (3) All philatelic archival materials produced by a public postal licensee shall belong to the Government and shall be kept in such custody as the Minister directs. |
(4) For the purpose of subsection (3), “philatelic archival materials” include —| (a) | philatelic stamps; | | (b) | artworks, proofs, progressive sheets, printed sheets and printing plates of philatelic stamps; and | | (c) | date-stamps, slogan dies and other artefacts used in connection with the production of philatelic stamps. |
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| Official marks to be prima facie evidence of certain facts denoted |
66. In any proceedings for the recovery of any postage or other fee or sum payable in respect of a postal article —| (a) | the production of a postal article having thereon the official mark of a public postal licensee denoting that the article has been refused or that the addressee is dead or cannot be found shall be prima facie evidence of the fact so denoted; and | | (b) | the person from whom any postal article purports to come shall, until the contrary is proved, be deemed to be the sender thereof. |
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| Recovery of postage and other sums due in respect of postal articles |
67.—(1) Where any postage or other fee or sum is not prepaid or fully prepaid in respect of a postal article posted for delivery in Singapore, a public postal licensee may refuse to deliver the postal article until the postage or other fee or sum has been paid to or recovered by the licensee.| (2) The official mark or label on a postal article denoting that any postage or other fee or sum is due in respect thereof to a public postal licensee or to the postal authority of any foreign country shall be prima facie evidence that the postage or other fee or sum denoted is so due. |
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| Suspension of postal services |
| 68. Where a public postal licensee is unable to maintain all or any of the postal services it is licensed to provide under section 42, the licensee may, with the approval of the Authority, suspend or modify all or any of those postal services. |
| Power to deal with postal articles posted in contravention of this Act |
69.—(1) Any postal article sent by post which is suspected to be sent in contravention of this Act or any regulations made thereunder may be detained and opened by a public postal licensee.| (2) The detention of a postal article under subsection (1) shall not exempt the sender from any proceedings which might have been taken if the postal article had been delivered in due course of post. |
| (3) Any postal article sent in contravention of this Act or any regulations made thereunder shall be destroyed, returned to the sender or dealt with in such manner as the public postal licensee may direct. |
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