PART 9 | Direction to appoint representative to accept service and access blocking order |
54.—(1) The Minister may instruct the Competent Authority to direct a person that satisfies such criteria as may be prescribed —| (a) | to appoint a person in Singapore to accept service of Part 3 Directions, Part 4 Directions, Remedial Orders, Account Restriction Directions or notices under section 50 on the first person’s behalf; and | | (b) | to provide the Competent Authority with the name, address and other contact details of the appointed person. |
(2) Where —| (a) | a person that is an internet intermediary fails to comply with a direction made under subsection (1); and | | (b) | the Minister is satisfied that one or more end‑users in Singapore have used or are using the services of an internet access service provider to access any false statement of fact by means of an internet intermediary service provided by the internet intermediary, |
| the Minister may direct the IMDA to order the internet access service provider to take reasonable steps to disable use of the internet intermediary service by end‑users in Singapore (called in this section an access blocking order), and the IMDA must give the internet access service provider an access blocking order. |
|
(3) Where —| (a) | a person other than an internet intermediary fails to comply with a direction under subsection (1); and | | (b) | the Minister is satisfied that one or more end‑users in Singapore have used or are using the services of an internet access service provider to access any false statement of fact communicated in Singapore by the person, |
| the Minister may direct the IMDA to order the internet access service provider to take reasonable steps to disable access by end‑users in Singapore to the online location on which such statement is communicated in Singapore (also called in this section an access blocking order), and the IMDA must give the internet access service provider an access blocking order. |
|
| (4) An internet access service provider that does not comply with an access blocking order under subsection (2) or (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 for each day during any part of which that order is not fully complied with, up to a total of $500,000 for each offence. |
| (5) No civil or criminal liability is incurred by an internet access service provider or an officer, employee or agent of such provider, for anything done or omitted to be done with reasonable care and in good faith in complying with an access blocking order. |
|
| Appointment of authorised officers |
55.—(1) The Minister may appoint such number of —| (a) | police officers; | | (b) | public officers who are not police officers; and | | (c) | employees of any statutory board, |
| as the Minister considers appropriate to be authorised officers to administer this Act, either generally or for any particular provision. |
| (2) Every authorised officer is to exercise his or her powers under this Act subject to the general or special directions of the Minister. |
| (3) An authorised officer may be assisted by other individuals in the exercise of his or her powers under section 56 if that assistance is necessary and reasonable. |
| (4) The Minister must cause to be issued to each authorised officer mentioned in subsection (1)(b) or (c) an identification card, which must be carried at all times by the authorised officer when exercising powers under this Act. |
| (5) Every authorised officer acting under this Act is taken to be a public servant for the purposes of the Penal Code (Cap. 224). |
|
| 56. The Minister may, by order in writing, authorise an authorised officer to exercise all or any of the powers in relation to police investigations given by the Criminal Procedure Code as set out in the Schedule, and the provisions of that Code relating to such powers apply accordingly. |
57.—(1) An authorised officer, authorised in writing by the Minister, 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.| (2) On payment of such sum of money, no further proceedings may be taken against that person in respect of the offence under this Act. |
| (3) All sums collected under this section must be paid into the Consolidated Fund. |
|
58.—(1) Where, in a proceeding for an offence under this Act, it is necessary to prove the state of mind of a corporation in relation to a particular conduct, evidence that —| (a) | an officer, employee or agent of the corporation engaged in that conduct within the scope of the actual or apparent authority of the officer, employee or agent; and | | (b) | the officer, employee or agent had that state of mind, |
| is evidence that the corporation had that state of mind. |
(2) Where a corporation commits an offence under Part 2, a person —| (a) | who is —| (i) | an officer of the corporation; or | | (ii) | an individual involved in the management of the corporation and in a position to influence the conduct of the corporation in relation to the commission of the offence; and |
| | (b) | who —| (i) | consented or connived, or conspired with others, to effect the commission of the offence; | | (ii) | is in any other way, whether by act or omission, knowingly concerned in, or is party to, the commission of the offence by the corporation; or | | (iii) | knew or ought reasonably to have known that the offence by the corporation (or an offence of the same type) would be or is being committed, and failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent or stop the commission of that offence, |
|
| commits the same offence as the corporation, and shall be liable on conviction to be punished accordingly. |
|
| (3) A person mentioned in subsection (2) may rely on a defence that would be available to the corporation if it were charged with the offence with which the person is charged and, in doing so, the person bears the same burden of proof that the corporation would bear. |
(4) To avoid doubt, this section does not affect the application of —| (a) | Chapters V and VA of the Penal Code; or | | (b) | the Evidence Act (Cap. 97) or any other law or practice regarding the admissibility of evidence. |
|
| (5) To avoid doubt, subsection (2) also does not affect the liability of the corporation for an offence under this Act, and applies whether or not the corporation is convicted of the offence. |
(6) In this section —| “corporation” includes a limited liability partnership within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act (Cap. 163A); |
“officer”, in relation to a corporation, means any director, partner, chief executive, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the corporation, and includes —| (a) | any person purporting to act in any such capacity; and | | (b) | for a corporation whose affairs are managed by its members, any of those members as if the member were a director of the corporation; |
|
“state of mind” of a person includes —| (a) | the knowledge, intention, opinion, belief or purpose of the person; and | | (b) | the person’s reasons for the intention, opinion, belief or purpose. |
|
|
|
| Offences by unincorporated associations or partnerships |
59.—(1) Where, in a proceeding for an offence under this Act, it is necessary to prove the state of mind of an unincorporated association or a partnership in relation to a particular conduct, evidence that —| (a) | an employee or agent of the unincorporated association or partnership engaged in that conduct within the scope of the actual or apparent authority of the employee or agent; and | | (b) | the employee or agent had that state of mind, |
| is evidence that the unincorporated association or partnership had that state of mind. |
(2) Where an unincorporated association or a partnership commits an offence under Part 2, a person —| (a) | who is —| (i) | an officer of the unincorporated association or a member of its governing body; | | (ii) | a partner in the partnership; or | | (iii) | an individual involved in the management of the unincorporated association or partnership and in a position to influence the conduct of the unincorporated association or partnership (as the case may be) in relation to the commission of the offence; and |
| | (b) | who —| (i) | consented or connived, or conspired with others, to effect the commission of the offence; | | (ii) | is in any other way, whether by act or omission, knowingly concerned in, or is party to, the commission of the offence by the unincorporated association or partnership; or | | (iii) | knew or ought reasonably to have known that the offence by the unincorporated association or partnership (or an offence of the same type) would be or is being committed, and failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent or stop the commission of that offence, |
|
| commits the same offence as the unincorporated association or partnership, and shall be liable on conviction to be punished accordingly. |
|
| (3) A person mentioned in subsection (2) may rely on a defence that would be available to the unincorporated association or partnership if it were charged with the offence with which the person is charged and, in doing so, the person bears the same burden of proof that the unincorporated association or partnership would bear. |
(4) To avoid doubt, this section does not affect the application of —| (a) | Chapters V and VA of the Penal Code; or | | (b) | the Evidence Act or any other law or practice regarding the admissibility of evidence. |
|
| (5) To avoid doubt, subsection (2) also does not affect the liability of an unincorporated association or a partnership for an offence under this Act, and applies whether or not the unincorporated association or partnership is convicted of the offence. |
(6) In this section —“officer”, 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, and includes —| (a) | any person holding a position analogous to that of president, secretary or member of a committee of the unincorporated association; and | | (b) | any person purporting to act in any such capacity; |
|
| “partner” includes a person purporting to act as a partner; |
“state of mind” of a person includes —| (a) | the knowledge, intention, opinion, belief or purpose of the person; and | | (b) | the person’s reasons for the intention, opinion, belief or purpose. |
|
|
|
60.—(1) Where an offence under section 7, 8, 9, 15, 27, 32(6), 34(5), 36, 37, 38, 42, 47 or 50(3) is committed by a person outside Singapore, the person may be dealt with in respect of that offence as if it had been committed within Singapore.| (2) Despite the Criminal Procedure Code, a District Court or a Magistrate’s Court has jurisdiction to try any offence under this Act and has power to impose the full punishment for any such offence. |
|
| 61. The Minister may, by order in the Gazette, exempt any person or class of persons from any provision of this Act. |
| 62. The Minister may make regulations necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act. |
|
