5. The National Environment Agency Act (Cap. 195, 2003 Ed.) is amended —| (a) | by inserting, immediately after the definition of “Agency” in section 2, the following definition:| “ “auxiliary officer” means an individual who is appointed as an auxiliary officer under section 16A(1);”; |
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| | (b) | by inserting, immediately after the definition of “Deputy Chairman” in section 2, the following definition:“ “environmental written law” means a written law administered by any of the following:| (a) | the Agency; | | (b) | the Director-General of Environmental Protection appointed under section 3(1) of the Environmental Protection and Management Act (Cap. 94A); | | (c) | the Director-General of Public Health appointed under section 3(1) of the Environmental Public Health Act (Cap. 95);”; |
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| | (c) | by inserting, immediately after section 16, the following section:| “Appointment of auxiliary officers |
16A.—(1) The Agency may in writing appoint an individual (who may or may not be a public officer) to be an auxiliary officer to assist the officers and employees of the Agency in the performance of any function of the Agency.| (2) The Agency may, for any reason that appears to the Agency to be sufficient, at any time revoke an individual’s appointment as an auxiliary officer. |
| (3) An auxiliary officer is to be issued with such equipment, or such description of equipment, as the chief executive may determine necessary for the effectual discharge of the duties of an auxiliary officer. |
| (4) An auxiliary officer is not an officer or employee of the Agency. |
| (5) An individual who is appointed as an auxiliary officer under subsection (1) does not, by virtue only of the appointment, become an agent of the Agency.”; |
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| | (d) | by deleting subsection (1) of section 42 and substituting the following subsection:“(1) In addition to the powers conferred on an officer or employee of the Agency by this Act or any environmental written law, the officer or employee may —| (a) | on declaration of the officer’s or employee’s office, and production of such identification card as the chief executive may direct to be carried by an officer or employee of the Agency —| (i) | require any person whom the officer or employee reasonably believes to have committed any offence under this Act or that environmental written law to furnish evidence of that person’s identity; | | (ii) | for the purposes of this Act or that environmental written law —| (A) | require any person to furnish any information or produce any book, document or copy of a book or document in the possession of that person; and | | (B) | without fee or reward inspect, copy or make extracts from that book, document or copy; and |
| | (iii) | when conducting any investigation under this Act or that environmental written law, require, by order in writing, the attendance before the officer or employee of any person within the limits of Singapore who, from any information given or otherwise obtained by the officer or employee, appears to be acquainted with the circumstances of the case; and |
| | (b) | photograph or otherwise record the scene of any offence under this Act or that environmental written law, and any thing or individual in the scene.”; |
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| | (e) | by deleting the words “other written law” in section 42(2)(a) and (c) and substituting in each case the words “environmental written law”; | | (f) | by deleting the words “subsection (1)” in section 42(2)(b) and substituting the words “subsection (1)(a)”; | | (g) | by inserting, immediately after subsection (2) of section 42, the following subsection:“(3) In this section —| “photograph” includes making a digital image or a moving visual record; |
“scene”, in relation to an offence under this Act or any environmental written law, means —| (a) | any place or vehicle where the offence was committed, is reasonably suspected to have been committed, or is about to be committed; or | | (b) | any place or vehicle associated with, or relevant to, the commission or suspected commission of the offence.”; |
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| | (h) | by inserting, immediately after section 42, the following section:| “Authorisation of auxiliary officers to exercise powers of enforcement |
42A.—(1) The chief executive must, in writing, issue to each auxiliary officer an authorisation specifying such power as is specified in subsection (3) that the auxiliary officer may exercise, and no other powers.| (2) The powers that an auxiliary officer may be authorised under this section to exercise may be exercised only to the extent authorised by the chief executive under this section and directed by an officer or employee of the Agency. |
| (3) An auxiliary officer may be authorised under this section to exercise all or any of the powers conferred on an officer or employee of the Agency by this Act or any environmental written law, in relation to any offence under this Act or that environmental written law. |
(4) The authorisation of the chief executive under subsection (1) issued to an auxiliary officer may also do all or any of the following:| (a) | limit the powers in subsection (3) that the auxiliary officer may exercise; | | (b) | limit when, and where in Singapore, the auxiliary officer may exercise those powers or any of them; | | (c) | limit the circumstances in which the auxiliary officer may exercise those powers or any of them. |
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(5) An auxiliary officer who is authorised under subsection (1) to exercise any power in subsection (3) —| (a) | must obey all lawful directions (general or specific) of the chief executive and an officer or employee of the Agency when exercising that power; and | | (b) | is deemed to be a public servant for the purposes of the Penal Code (Cap. 224) when exercising that power. |
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(6) Without prejudice to subsection (5), where any law or written law protects an officer or employee of the Agency from liability for the officer’s or employee’s acts or omissions, that law or written law is taken to operate as if those acts or omissions included an auxiliary officer’s acts or omissions when acting in the course of the auxiliary officer’s duty as an auxiliary officer in accordance with —| (a) | the written authorisation of the chief executive under subsection (1); and | | (b) | the lawful directions (general or specific) of the chief executive and an officer or employee of the Agency. |
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| (7) To avoid doubt, an auxiliary officer does not cease to be acting on the direction of an officer or employee of the Agency by reason only that the officer or employee is not present at all times.”; and |
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| | (i) | by inserting, immediately after the word “employee” in section 47(1)(a), the words “, an auxiliary officer”. |
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