Fisheries (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 12/1994

Read the first time on 23rd May 1994.
An Act to amend the Fisheries Act (Chapter 111 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 Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1994 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 Fisheries Act is amended by deleting the definition of “Director” and substituting the following definition:
“ “Director” means the Director of Primary Production appointed under section 3 and includes the Director (Fisheries) appointed under that section;”.
Amendment of section 3
3.  Section 3 of the Fisheries Act is amended —
(a)by deleting the words “Assistant Director of Primary Production (Fisheries)” in subsection (1) and substituting the words “Director (Fisheries)”;
(b)by inserting, immediately after the words “public officer” at the end of subsection (2), the words “or any officer of a statutory board”; and
(c)by deleting the words “Assistant Director of Primary Production (Fisheries)” in the marginal note and substituting the words “Director (Fisheries)”.
Amendment of section 7
4.  Section 7(2) of the Fisheries Act is amended by deleting the words “fish or any species of fish” in paragraph (v) and substituting the words “fish, any species of fish or processed fish”.
Amendment of section 15
5.  Section 15 of the Fisheries Act is amended —
(a)by deleting “$1,000” in subsections (1) and (2) and substituting in each case “$10,000”; and
(b)by inserting, immediately after subsection (3), the following subsections:
(4)  Notwithstanding subsection (2), the Minister may provide in any rules made under this Act which relate to the prohibition, regulation or control of the species of fish known as piranha or any other prescribed dangerous species of fish that a person who contravenes any provision thereof shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.
(5)  No prosecution in respect of an offence referred to in subsection (4) shall be instituted except with the consent of the Public Prosecutor.”.
Amendment of section 16
6.  Section 16 of the Fisheries Act is amended by inserting, immediately after the word “caught” in the third line, the words “or found, or any processed fish found”.
Repeal and re-enactment of section 20
7.  Section 20 of the Fisheries Act is repealed and the following section substituted therefor:
Power to compound offences
20.—(1)  The Director may, in his discretion, compound any offence under this Act or any rules made thereunder which is prescribed as a compoundable offence by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding $1,000.
(2)  The Minister may make rules to prescribe the offences which may be compounded.”.
New sections 21A and 21B
8.  The Fisheries Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 21, the following sections:
Offences by body corporate, etc.
21A.  Where an offence under this Act or any rules made thereunder has been committed by a body corporate, a partnership or an unincorporated association of persons, any person who, at the time of the commission of the offence, was a director, manager, partner, secretary or other similar officer thereof, or who was purporting to act in any such capacity, shall also be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly unless he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge, consent or connivance, and that he had exercised all such diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as he ought to have exercised having regard to the nature of his functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances.
Jurisdiction of Courts
21B.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code [Cap. 68], a District Court or a Magistrate’s Court shall have jurisdiction to try any offence under this Act or any rules made thereunder and to impose the full penalty or punishment in respect of any such offence.”.”.
Amendment of section 23
9.  Section 23 of the Fisheries Act is amended —
(a)by deleting the words “fish nets” in the sixth line of paragraph (a) and substituting the words “fish, processed fish, fishing nets”;
(b)by deleting the word “and” at the end of paragraph (c);
(c)by deleting the full-stop at the end of paragraph (d) and substituting the word “; and”, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following paragraph:
(e)enter and search any place or premises in which he reasonably suspects that there is to be found any fish or fishing materials contrary to the provisions of this Act or any rules made thereunder and may seize, remove or detain at the risk of the owner any engine, fish, processed fish, fishing nets, instruments, fishing materials or other appliances found in such place or premises.”; and
(d)by renumbering that section as subsection (1) of that section, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following subsection:
(2)  For the purpose of exercising his power under this Act or any rules made thereunder, any fishery officer or police officer may, with such assistance as he thinks necessary, break open any door, window, lock, fastener, compartment, box, container or other thing.”.