12. Section 148 of the principal Act is amended —(a) | by deleting the words “under this section” in subsections (1) and (2); | (b) | by inserting, immediately after the words “he has no knowledge” in subsection (2), the words “and that he could not, with reasonable diligence, have ascertained”; | (c) | by deleting the words “under subsection (2) if the place or any part thereof is used as a brothel, unless he proves that he has no knowledge that the place or any part thereof is used as a brothel” in subsection (3) and substituting the words “if the place or any part thereof is used as a brothel, unless he proves that, when entering into the letting of that place or part thereof, he had no knowledge and he could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained that the place or part thereof is to be used as a brothel”; and | (d) | by deleting subsections (4) and (5) and substituting the following subsections:“(4) Any person who, being the owner of a place or the agent of an owner of a place, lets the place or any part thereof shall, despite such letting, be guilty of an offence if the place or part thereof is used as a brothel, unless the person proves that, when entering into the letting of that place or part thereof, he had no knowledge and he could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained that the place or part thereof is to be used as a brothel.Examples of reasonable diligence |
| 1. | An owner of an apartment or an agent of the owner verifies the identity of a prospective tenant and purpose of the tenancy through personal inspection of the prospective tenant’s documents of identity (such as the NRIC, passport or work permit) and has a face‑to‑face interview with the prospective tenant, before entering into the tenancy agreement or allowing the prospective tenant to start occupying the apartment. |
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| 2. | A flat-owner who is not resident in Singapore engages an agent to verify the identity of a prospective tenant of the flat and purpose of the tenancy through personal inspection of the prospective tenant’s documents of identity (such as the NRIC, passport or work permit) and a face‑to‑face interview with the prospective tenant, and then verifies with the agent that those steps were carried out, before the flat‑owner authorises the entry into the tenancy agreement for the flat or the occupation of the flat by the prospective tenant. |
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(5) A person who is guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on conviction —(a) | to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both; but | (b) | where the person is a repeat offender, to a fine not exceeding $150,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or to both. |
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(5A) A person is a repeat offender in relation to an offence under subsection (1), (2), (3) or (4) if the person has been convicted or found guilty (whether before, on or after the date of commencement of section 12 of the Women’s Charter (Amendment) Act 2019) on at least one other earlier occasion of an offence under subsection (1), (2), (3) or (4), regardless of the subsection.”. |
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