PART 10 OFFENCES, PENALTIES
AND PROCEEDINGS |
46.—(1) A person must not occupy or use any premises as a factory if —| (a) | the regulations require the person to hold a certificate of registration of a factory issued under the regulations; and | | (b) | the person does not hold such a valid certificate of registration of a factory. [18/2011] |
(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both; and | | (b) | in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $500 or to further imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 days or to both for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction. |
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| Onus of proving what is reasonably practicable |
47. Where in any proceedings for an offence under any provision in this Act, it is alleged that any person failed to comply with a duty to do something so far as is reasonably practicable, it is for the accused to prove that —| (a) | it was not reasonably practicable to do more than what was in fact done to satisfy that duty; or | | (b) | there was no better practicable means than was in fact used to satisfy that duty. |
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| Offences by bodies corporate, etc. |
48.—(1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a body corporate, an officer of the body corporate shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly unless the officer proves that —| (a) | the offence was committed without his or her consent or connivance; and | | (b) | he or she had exercised all such diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as he or she ought to have exercised having regard to the nature of his or her functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances. |
| (2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) applies in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with the member’s functions of management as if the member were a director of the body corporate. |
(3) Where an offence under this Act is committed by a partnership of individuals or bodies corporate, any partner of the partnership or any officer of the body corporate shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly unless he or she proves that —| (a) | the offence was committed without his or her consent or connivance; and | | (b) | he or she had exercised all such diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as he or she ought to have exercised having regard to the nature of his or her functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances. |
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(4) Where an offence under this Act is committed by an unincorporated association (other than a partnership), any officer of the unincorporated association or member of its governing body shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly unless he or she proves that —| (a) | the offence was committed without his or her consent or connivance; and | | (b) | he or she had exercised all such diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as he or she ought to have exercised having regard to the nature of his or her functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances. |
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(5) In this section —| “body corporate” includes a limited liability partnership; |
“officer” —| (a) | in relation to a body corporate, means any director, partner, member of the committee of management, chief executive, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate and includes any person purporting to act in any such capacity; and | | (b) | in relation to an unincorporated association (other than a partnership), means the president, the secretary, or any member of the committee of the unincorporated association, or any person holding a position analogous to that of the president, secretary or member of the committee and includes any person purporting to act in any such capacity; |
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| “partner” includes a person purporting to act as a partner. |
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| (6) Regulations may provide for the application of any provision of this section, with such modifications as the Minister considers appropriate, to any body corporate or unincorporated association formed or recognised under the law of a territory outside Singapore. |
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| Arrest of person accused of offence under section 15(3) or 21(7) |
49.—(1) Any person reasonably suspected of having committed an offence under section 15(3) or 21(7) may be arrested without warrant by any police officer or by any inspector authorised by the Commissioner in that behalf and produced before a Magistrate’s Court or a District Court.| (2) Despite any other written law, any police officer or inspector who, having effected an arrest in accordance with subsection (1), is satisfied as to the identity, name and place of residence of the person arrested may, instead of producing the person before a court or to a police station, serve upon the person a prescribed notice requiring the person to attend at such court, at such time and on such date as may be specified in the notice. |
| (3) For the purpose of satisfying himself or herself as to the identity of the person arrested, the police officer or inspector may require any evidence of identity that the police officer or inspector considers necessary to be furnished by the person. |
| (4) A duplicate of the notice served under subsection (2) must be prepared by the police officer or inspector (as the case may be) and produced by him or her to the court if so required by the court. |
| (5) Where an accused person appears before a court in accordance with a notice served under subsection (2), the court is to take cognizance of the offence alleged and is to proceed as though the person were produced before the court pursuant to subsection (1). |
| (6) If a person upon whom a notice has been served under subsection (2) fails to appear before a court in accordance with the notice, the court may issue a warrant for the arrest of that person. |
| (7) Where a person arrested pursuant to a warrant issued under subsection (6) is produced before a court, the court is to proceed as though the person were produced before the court under subsection (1). [Act 31 of 2022 wef 01/11/2022] |
| (8) [Deleted by Act 31 of 2022 wef 01/11/2022] |
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50. Any person guilty of an offence under this Act (but not including the regulations) for which no penalty is expressly provided by this Act shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | in the case of a natural person, to a fine not exceeding $200,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both; and | | (b) | in the case of a body corporate, to a fine not exceeding $500,000, |
| and, if the contravention in respect of which the person was so convicted continues after the conviction, the person shall (subject to section 52) be guilty of a further offence and shall be liable to a fine — |
| (c) | in the case of a natural person, not exceeding $2,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction; or | | (d) | in the case of a body corporate, not exceeding $5,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction. |
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| Penalty for repeat offenders |
51. Where a person —| (a) | has on at least one previous occasion been convicted of an offence under this Act (but not including the regulations) that causes the death of any person; and | | (b) | is subsequently convicted of the same offence that causes the death of another person, |
| the court may, in addition to any imprisonment if prescribed, punish the person with — |
| (c) | in the case of a natural person, a fine not exceeding $400,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, with a further fine not exceeding $2,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction; and | | (d) | in the case of a body corporate, a fine not exceeding $1 million and, in the case of a continuing offence, with a further fine not exceeding $5,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction. |
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| Power of court to order cause of contravention to be remedied |
52.—(1) Where any person is convicted of an offence under this Act, the court may, in addition to or instead of imposing any penalty, order the person to take, within the time specified in the order (or within such further time as the court may allow), such steps as may be so specified for remedying the matters in respect of which the contravention occurred.| (2) Subject to subsection (3), where an order is made under subsection (1), the convicted person shall not be liable under this Act in respect of the continuation of the contravention during the time specified in the order or allowed by the court to remedy the matters in respect of which the contravention occurred. |
| (3) If, after the expiry of the time specified in the order or allowed by the court under subsection (1) following a conviction of an offence, the order is not complied with, the person mentioned in that subsection shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day during which the non-compliance continues after the date of conviction for that firstmentioned offence. |
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| Forgery of certificates, false entries and false declarations |
53. If any person —| (a) | forges or counterfeits any certificate required by, under, or for the purposes of, this Act; | | (b) | gives or signs any certificate required by, under, or for the purposes of, this Act knowing it to be false in any material particular; | | (c) | knowingly utters or makes use of any certificate required by, under, or for the purposes of, this Act that is forged, counterfeited or false; | | (d) | knowingly utters or makes use of, as applying to any person, any certificate required by, under, or for the purposes of, this Act which does not so apply; | | (e) | personates any person named in any certificate required by, under, or for the purposes of, this Act; | | (f) | falsely pretends to be an inspector; | | (g) | wilfully connives at any of the matters referred to in paragraphs (a) to (f); | | (h) | wilfully makes a false entry in any record, certificate, notice or document required by, under, or for the purposes of, this Act to be kept, served or sent; | | (i) | wilfully makes or signs a declaration required by, under, or for the purposes of, this Act which is false; or | | (j) | knowingly makes use of any false entry or declaration mentioned in paragraph (h) or (i), |
| that person 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. |
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| 54. Despite any provision to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, a District Court has jurisdiction to try any offence under this Act and has power to impose the full penalty or punishment in respect of the offence. |
| When Magistrate may try offence |
| 55. For the purpose of section 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, on receiving the complaint in writing and signed by an inspector, the Magistrate must proceed to issue a summons or warrant in accordance with section 153 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010. [15/2010] |
56.—(1) The Commissioner may compound any offence under this Act that is prescribed as a compoundable offence by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding one half of the amount of the maximum fine that is prescribed for the offence or a sum of $5,000, whichever is the lower.| (2) On payment of the sum of money, no further proceedings are to be taken against that person in respect of the offence. |
| (3) All sums collected under this section must be paid into the Consolidated Fund. |
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| Power to modify agreements |
| 57.—(1) If, by reason of an agreement between the owner and the occupier of the workplace, the whole or any part of which has been let as a workplace, the owner or the occupier of the workplace is prevented from carrying out any structural or other alterations in the premises which are necessary to enable the owner or occupier to comply with the provisions of this Act or in order to conform with any standard or requirement imposed by or under this Act, the owner or the occupier of the workplace may apply to the General Division of the High Court for the terms of the agreement to be set aside or modified. [40/2019] | (2) The General Division of the High Court may, after hearing the parties and any witness whom they may desire to call, make such an order setting aside or modifying the terms of the agreement as the General Division of the High Court considers just and equitable in the circumstances of the case. [40/2019] |
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| Power to apportion expenses |
| 58.—(1) Where in any premises the whole or any part of which has been let as a workplace any structural or other alterations are required in order to comply with the provisions of this Act or to conform with any standard or requirement imposed by or under this Act, and the owner or occupier of the workplace (as the case may be) alleges that the whole or part of the expenses of the alterations ought to be borne by the owner or occupier of the workplace, the owner or occupier of the workplace may apply to the General Division of the High Court for the expenses of the alterations to be apportioned between them. [40/2019] | (2) The General Division of the High Court may, after hearing the parties and any witness whom they may desire to call, make such an order concerning the apportionment of their expenses as the General Division of the High Court considers just and equitable in the circumstances of the case, regard being had to the terms of any contract between the parties, or in the alternative, the General Division of the High Court may, at the request of the owner or occupier of the workplace, determine the lease. [40/2019] |
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