Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 1998 - Singapore Statutes Online

REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

GOVERNMENT GAZETTE

ACTS SUPPLEMENT

Published by Authority

NO. 7]

Friday, March 20

[1998

The following Act was passed by Parliament on 19th February 1998 and assented to by the President on 24th February 1998:—

Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 1998

(No. 5 of 1998)

I assent.

ONG TENG CHEONG

President

24th February 1998.

Date of Commencement: 1st April 1998

An Act to amend the Road Traffic Act (Chapter 276 of the 1997 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 Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 1998 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(1) of the Road Traffic Act (referred to in this Act as the principal Act) is amended by deleting the definition of “Minister” and substituting the following definition:

“ “Minister” means —

(a)	except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c), the Minister for Communications;
(b)	for the purposes of the whole of Parts II and III and sections 63(2) and (3), 74, 75, 76, 112 to 116, 121 and 123, the Minister for Home Affairs; and
(c)	for the purposes of sections 132, 133(7), 134, 135(2), 140(1) and (2) and 142, the Minister for Communications or the Minister for Home Affairs, as appropriate;”.

New Part IA

3. The principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after Part I, the following Part:

“PART IA

USER CHARGES

Interpretation of this Part

34A. In this Part —

“authorised officer” means any officer authorised by the Registrar;

“prescribed hours” means such hours as the Minister may prescribe for the levying of a road-user charge in respect of any specified road;

“road-user charge” means the charge payable for riding, driving or moving a motor vehicle on a specified road during the prescribed hours;

“specified road” means any road or part thereof as may be specified in rules made under this Part;

“stored value card” has the same meaning as in the Banking Act (Cap. 19).

Levying of road-user charge

34B.—(1) The Minister may prescribe road-user charges to be paid in connection with the use of any specified road.

(2) All road-user charges collected under this Part shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

Electronic or computerised or other charge collecting facilities

34C. The Authority may install or cause to be installed on any road in respect of which a road-user charge is levied under this Part such electronic or computerised or other facilities as it thinks fit for the purpose of collecting the road-user charge and may also install or cause to be installed such ancillary facilities as the Authority thinks necessary.

Rules for purposes of this Part

34D.—(1) The Minister may make rules for the purposes of carrying this Part into effect and, in particular, may make rules —

(a)

specifying the roads in respect of which, and the days and hours during which, a road-user charge shall be levied;

(b)

prescribing the amount of road-user charge to be levied in respect of any specified road and for this purpose, road-user charges of different amounts may be prescribed in respect of —

(i)	different specified roads or parts thereof;
(ii)	different hours of the day or different days of the week; and
(iii)	different classes, categories or descriptions of vehicles;

(c)

prescribing the manner in which road-user charges shall be levied and collected, including the use of electronic or computerised or other facilities therefor, and for this purpose, the rules may —

(i)	require all vehicles (whether registered in Singapore or elsewhere) to be installed with such devices and appurtenances and in such manner as may be prescribed before they may be ridden, driven or moved on a specified road during the prescribed hours;
(ii)	provide for the issue by the Authority or its agents of stored value cards to be used with any device prescribed under sub-paragraph (i), regulate the use of such stored value cards and prohibit the issue of such stored value cards by any person not authorised by the Authority to do so;
(iii)	prohibit the sale, supply, installation, repair or maintenance of any device or appurtenance prescribed under sub-paragraph (i) by any person not authorised by the Registrar to do so;
(iv)	specify the conditions under which any device or appurtenance prescribed under sub-paragraph (i) may be removed from one vehicle and installed in another or transferred from one person to another; and

(d)

prescribing the records to be kept by the Registrar in connection with this Part and regulating the disclosure by the Registrar of any information in such records.

(2) Where a person is convicted of an offence under the rules, the court before which such person is convicted may, in addition to the punishment prescribed for the offence, order him to pay the amount of road-user charge as may be certified by an officer appointed by the Authority in that behalf to be due from such person at the date of such conviction and such amount may be recovered according to the law for the time being in force for the recovery of fines.

(3) Section 77A of the Banking Act (Cap. 19) and section 14 of the Currency Act (Cap. 69) shall not apply to a stored value card issued by the Authority or its agent in accordance with rules made under this section.

Registrar's power of inspection and seizure, etc.

34E.—(1) The Registrar may, by notice in writing, require the owner of any vehicle in which any device or appurtenance has been installed for the purpose of this Part to produce the vehicle before the Registrar or an authorised officer at such time and place as the Registrar may appoint in order that the Registrar or authorised officer may inspect or test the device or appurtenance.

(2) The Registrar or authorised officer may remove from a vehicle which has been produced before him pursuant to subsection (1) any device or appurtenance which has been installed therein for the purpose of this Part if the Registrar or authorised officer is of the opinion that the device or appurtenance cannot be properly inspected or tested without being so removed.

(3) If, upon inspecting any such device or appurtenance, the Registrar or authorised officer is satisfied that there is or has been any contravention of any of the provisions of this Part or the rules made under section 34D concerning the device or appurtenance, the Registrar or authorised officer may remove the device or appurtenance from the vehicle and dispose of it in such manner as he thinks fit.

(4) Any person who fails to comply with a notice issued under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

(5) Where a person on whom a notice is served under subsection (1) fails to comply with the notice, the Registrar or an authorised officer may seize and detain the vehicle in order to carry out any inspection or test under subsection (1).

(6) Where any vehicle is seized and detained under subsection (5), the Registrar or authorised officer shall forthwith inform the owner of the vehicle in writing of the seizure and detention and if the vehicle is not claimed by its owner within 3 months of the date of its seizure —

(a)	the Registrar or authorised officer may, after giving one month's notice in the Gazette, sell the vehicle by public auction or otherwise dispose of the vehicle in such manner as he thinks fit; and
(b)	the proceeds, if any, from the sale or disposal of the vehicle shall be applied in payment of any road-user charges which may be due in respect of the vehicle and of any charges incurred in carrying out the provisions of this section and the surplus, if any, shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund, if unclaimed by the owner within a period of 12 months.”.

Amendment of section 81

4. Section 81 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)	by inserting, immediately after the words “police officer” in the second line of subsection (1)(a), the words “or an employee of the Authority”;
(b)	by inserting, immediately after the words “police officer” in subsection (3), the words “or an employee of the Authority”; and
(c)	by inserting, immediately after the words “police officer” in the second line of subsection (5), the words “or an employee of the Authority”.

Amendment of section 83

5. Section 83 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by inserting, immediately after the word “When” in the first line of subsection (1), the words “an offence under Part IA or”;

(b)

by deleting the words “parking offence” in the sixth line of subsection (1) and substituting the words “offence under Part IA or the parking offence, as the case may be,”;

(c)

by inserting, immediately after the words “police officer” in the second line of subsection (1)(a), the words “or employee of the Authority”;

(d)

by deleting the words “parking offence” in subsection (2) and substituting the words “offence under Part IA or any parking offence”;

(e)

by inserting, immediately after the word “offence” in the second line of subsection (3), the words “under Part IA or a parking offence”;

(f)

by inserting, immediately after the words “police officer” in the fourth line of subsection (3)(a)(i), the words “or employee of the Authority”;

(g)

by deleting the word “parking” in the seventh line of subsection (3)(a)(i);

(h)

by inserting, immediately after the words “police officer” in subsection (3)(a)(ii), the words “or employee of the Authority”;

(i)

by deleting the word “parking” in the third line and in the last line of subsection (4);

(j)

by inserting, immediately after the word “relates” in subsection (5), the words “to more than one offence under Part IA or”;

(k)

by inserting, immediately before the definition of “owner” in subsection (6), the following definition:

“ “offence under Part IA” means any offence in contravention of any of the provisions of Part IA or the rules made under section 34D;”.

(l)

by inserting, immediately after the word “for” in the section heading, the words “offence under Part IA or”.

Amendment of section 132

6. Section 132(6) of the principal Act is amended by deleting the word “Minister” in the first line and substituting the words “appropriate Minister”.

Amendment of section 133

7. Section 133(7) of the principal Act is amended by deleting the word “Minister” and substituting the words “appropriate Minister”.

Amendment of section 134

8. Section 134 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the word “Minister” and substituting the words “appropriate Minister”.

Amendment of section 135

9. Section 135 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by inserting, immediately after the word “discretion” in the sixth line of subsection (1), the words “and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed”; and

(b)

by deleting subsection (2) and substituting the following subsection:

“(2) The appropriate Minister may make rules to prescribe the offences which may be compounded under this section and the conditions subject to which, and the method and procedure by which, such offences may be compounded.”.

New section 139A

10. The principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 139, the following section:

“Authentication of documents

139A. Where any notice, order or other document required or authorised by this Act or the rules to be served on any person requires authentication, the signature of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, the Registrar, a police officer or an employee of the Authority or an official facsimile of such signature appended to such notice, order or document shall be sufficient authentication.”.

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