Parks and Trees (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 18/1982

Read the first time on 27th July 1982.

An Act to amend the Parks and Trees Act, 1975 (No. 14 of 1975).

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 Parks and Trees (Amendment) Act, 1982, and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Amendment of section 7

2. Section 7 of the Parks and Trees Act, 1975 (referred to in this Act as the principal Act) is amended by deleting subsection (2).

New sections 10A to 10D

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

“Power of Commissioner to take measures to remove trees and plants imminently dangerous to life or property

10A.—(1) Where the Commissioner is satisfied that any tree or plant, whether growing or not, is imminently dangerous to life or property, the Commissioner may take such measures and do such work as may be necessary to remove the tree or plant.

(2) All costs and expenses incurred by the Commissioner under subsection (1) shall constitute a debt due from the occupier of the land to the Government and shall be recoverable as such.

(3) Where any land in respect of which measures have been taken or work has been done by the Commissioner under this section, section 8 or 10 has two or more occupiers, the occupiers shall be liable jointly for the whole costs and expenses incurred by the Commissioner; and such costs and expenses shall be apportioned in such manner as appears to the Commissioner to be reasonable.

Parking of vehicles on side tables and turfed open spaces prohibited

10B.—(1) No vehicle shall without reasonable excuse be parked on any —

(a)	side table; or
(b)	turfed open space,

maintained by the Commissioner.

(2) Where a vehicle is parked on any side table or any turfed open space in contravention of subsection (1), the driver of the vehicle shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars.

(3) For the purpose of this section —

“park” means to bring a vehicle to a stationary position and to cause it to wait for any purpose other than that of immediately taking up or setting down persons, goods or luggage;

“side table” means any turfed area beside a public street.

Modes of serving notices under sections 7 and 10

10C. A notice under section 7 or 10 may be addressed to the occupier without stating his name and may be served by —

(a)	delivering it personally to the occupier;
(b)	leaving it with an adult at his usual or last known place of abode or business;
(c)	sending it by registered post addressed to him at his usual or last known place of abode or business; or
(d)	affixing it conspicuously to some part of any premises comprised in, or to some object on, the land in respect of which the notice has been served.

Duty to give information

10D.—(1) Where the driver of a vehicle is alleged or is suspected to have committed an offence under this Act or the rules made thereunder —

(a)

the owner of the vehicle shall furnish such information as may be required by the Commissioner or any officer authorised by the Commissioner to act in that behalf as to the identity and address of the person who was the driver of the vehicle at or about the time of the alleged offence, and as to the driving licence held by that person (if necessary) and if he fails to do so within seven days of the date on which the information was required from him; and

(b)

any other person who was or should have been in charge of the vehicle shall, if so required as aforesaid, give information which it is in his power to give, and which may lead to the identification of the driver, and if, within seven days of the date on which the information was required from him, such person fails to do so,

he shall be guilty of an offence unless he proves, to the satisfaction of the court, that he did not know and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained the information required.

(2) Any person who wilfully furnishes any false or misleading information under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) The Commissioner or any officer authorised by the Commissioner to act in that behalf may require any information to be furnished under subsection (1) to be in writing signed by the person required to furnish the information.

(4) Notwithstanding any other written law to the contrary, any information given under this section by any person charged with an offence under this Act or the rules made thereunder may be used as evidence without proof of signature at the hearing of the charge.

(5) Notwithstanding any other written law to the contrary, any statement made by any person to the Commissioner or to any officer authorised by the Commissioner as aforesaid that —

(a)	a vehicle was on a particular occasion being driven by or belonged to him; or
(b)	a vehicle belonged to a firm in which he was a partner or to a corporation of which he was a director, officer or employee,

shall be admissible in evidence without proof of signature for the purpose of determining by whom the vehicle was on that occasion being driven or who was in charge of it or to whom it belonged.

(6) Any person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both such fine and imprisonment.”.

Amendment of section 13

4. Section 13 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the word “not” in the second and in the third lines of subsection (1).

Amendment of section 16

5. Section 16 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “two hundred dollars” in subsection (1) and substituting the words “four hundred dollars”.

Miscellaneous amendments

6. The principal Act is amended by deleting the words “one thousand dollars” wherever they appear in the following provisions and substituting in each case the words “two thousand dollars”: —

Sections 5(3), 7(7), 9(2) and 21(g).

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