Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Selling (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act 2000

REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

GOVERNMENT GAZETTE

ACTS SUPPLEMENT

Published by Authority

NO. 16]

Friday, May 26

[2000

The following Act was passed by Parliament on 9th May 2000 and assented to by the President on 19th May 2000:—

Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Selling (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act 2000

(No. 19 of 2000)

I assent.

S R NATHAN

President.

19th May 2000.

Date of Commencement: 1st June 2000

An Act to amend the Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Selling (Prohibition) Act (Chapter 190 of the 1985 Revised Edition).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Selling (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act 2000 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Amendment of section 2

2. Section 2 of the Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Selling (Prohibition) Act (referred to in this Act as the principal Act) is amended —

(a)

by inserting, immediately before the definition of “commodity”, the following definition:

“ “benefit” includes any gratuity, commission, cross commission, bonus, refund, discount, dividend and any other payment, service or advantage of whatever description, but does not include —

(a)	the purchase of a sample of a commodity furnished at a price not exceeding the cost of the sample and which is not for resale; and
(b)	time and effort spent in pursuit of sales, distribution or recruiting activities;”;

(b)

by deleting the words “sale or lease” in the definition of “commodity” and substituting the words “a sale, lease or licence”;

(c)

by deleting the definition of “pyramid selling scheme or arrangement” and substituting the following definition:

“ “pyramid selling scheme or arrangement” means any scheme or arrangement for the distribution or the purported distribution of a commodity whereby —

(a)

a person may in any manner acquire a commodity or a right or a licence to acquire the commodity for sale, lease, licence or other distribution;

(b)

that person receives any benefit, directly or indirectly, as a result of —

(i)	the recruitment, acquisition, action or performance of one or more additional participants in the scheme or arrangement; or
(ii)	the sale, lease, licence or other distribution of the commodity by one or more additional participants in the scheme or arrangement; and

(c)

any benefit is or may be received by any other person who promotes, or participates in, the scheme or arrangement (other than a person referred to in paragraph (a) or an additional participant referred to in paragraph (b)).”; and

(d)

by inserting, immediately after subsection (1), the following subsection:

“(1A) In this Act, “pyramid selling scheme or arrangement” shall be taken not to include such schemes or arrangements for the sale, lease, licence or other distribution of a commodity, or any class of such schemes or arrangements, as the Minister may by order prescribe, subject to such terms or conditions as may be specified in the order.”.

Amendment of section 3

3. Section 3 (2) of the principal Act is amended by deleting “$30,000” and substituting “$200,000”.

Amendment of section 4

4. Section 4 (2) of the principal Act is amended by deleting “$30,000” in the penultimate line and substituting “$200,000”.

Amendment of section 6

5. Section 6 (2) of the principal Act is amended by deleting “$30,000” in the penultimate line and substituting “$200,000”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 11 and new section 11A

6. Section 11 of the principal Act is repealed and the following sections substituted therefor:

“When penalty to be imposed in addition to other punishment

11.—(1) Where a court convicts any person of committing an offence of promoting or participating in a multi-level marketing scheme or arrangement or pyramid selling scheme or arrangement under section 3(2), then —

(a)	if the person has received any benefit, directly or indirectly, as a result of committing such offence; and
(b)	if the benefit received by the person is a sum of money or if the value of the benefit can be assessed,

the court shall, in addition to imposing on that person any other punishment, order him to pay as a penalty, within such time as may be specified in the order, a sum not exceeding the amount of or, in the opinion of the court, the value of the benefit received by the person, and any such penalty shall be recoverable as a fine.

(2) In determining the amount of the penalty that a person, being a participant, shall be required to pay under subsection (1), the court may take into account any benefit that the person may have given for the right to participate in the multi-level marketing scheme or arrangement or pyramid selling scheme or arrangement, as the case may be, or any loss that the person may have incurred as a result of such participation.

(3) Where a person charged with any offence under section 3(2) is convicted of one or more offences under any other written law, and the outstanding offences are taken into consideration by the court under section 178 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68) for the purpose of passing sentence, the court may impose the penalty mentioned in subsection (1) for any offence under this Act so taken into consideration.

(4) Nothing in subsection (1) shall prejudice or affect any right which any person may have under any written law or rule of law to recover damages from the person referred to in subsection (1).

Jurisdiction of District Courts

11A. A District Court shall, notwithstanding the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68), have jurisdiction to try any offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder and may impose the full penalty or punishment in respect of such offence.”.

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