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National Registration (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 20/1990

Read the first time on 30th August 1990.

An Act to amend the National Registration Act (Chapter 201 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 National Registration (Amendment) Act 1990 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Amendment of section 3

2. Section 3 of the National Registration Act (referred to in this Act as the principal Act) is amended —

(a)

by deleting the words “and registration officers” in the fourth line of subsection (1); and

(b)

by inserting, immediately after subsection (1), the following subsections:

“(1A) The Commissioner may appoint such number of registration officers as he may think fit for the purposes of this Act.

(1B) The Deputy Commissioner of National Registration and the Assistant Commissioners of National Registration shall have and may exercise all the powers conferred on the Commissioner under this Act, subject to such limitations as the Commissioner may think fit to impose.

(1C) Any person appointed by the Commissioner under subsection (1A) shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of the Penal Code [Cap. 224].”.

Amendment of section 4

3. Section 4 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting the words “Minister may require” in subsection (2) and substituting the words “Commissioner thinks fit”; and

(b)

by inserting, immediately after subsection (2), the following subsection:

“(3) A copy of or extract from any document, including a copy produced by way of microfilm or computer print-out, filed or lodged at the office of the Commissioner, certified to be a true copy or an extract under the hand and seal of the Commissioner shall in any proceedings be admissible in evidence as of equal validity with the original document.”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 6

4. Section 6 of the principal Act is repealed and the following section substituted therefor:

“Re-registration of persons in possession of identity cards

6.—(1) Every person who, on the commencement of the National Registration (Amendment) Act 1990, is in possession of a valid identity card issued under this Act shall re-register under this Act within such period as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, specify.

(2) All identity cards issued under this Act before such date shall cease to be valid on the expiration of the period within which persons in possession of such identity cards are required to be re-registered under subsection (1).”.

Amendment of section 7

5. Section 7 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the word “Every” and substituting the words “Subject to the provisions of this Act and any regulations made thereunder, every”.

Amendment of section 8

6. Section 8 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “14 days” and substituting the words “28 days”.

Amendment of section 10

7. The principal Act is amended by renumbering section 10 as subsection (1) of that section, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following subsection:

“(2) Any person whose registration is cancelled under this section shall forthwith surrender his identity card to the Commissioner.”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 13

8. Section 13 of the principal Act is repealed and the following section substituted therefor:

“Offences and penalties

13.—(1) Any person who —

(a)	is required to register under this Act, or being registered under this Act, is required to re-register under this Act fails to register or re-register within the prescribed time or period;
(b)	fails to report his change of residence as required under section 8;
(c)	fails to submit, or fails to submit within the time prescribed, such returns as are required to be submitted under section 9;
(d)	without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, is in possession of one or more identity cards;
(e)	unlawfully deprives any person of an identity card;
(f)	fails or refuses to surrender his identity card to the Commissioner as required under section 10(2); or
(g)	defaces, mutilates or destroys an identity card,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.

(2) Any person who —

(a)	without lawful authority, parts with possession of any identity card to any person;
(b)	without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, knowingly obtains or is in possession of or makes use of a forged identity card or an identity card other than his own;
(c)	unlawfully issues or reproduces an identity card or any part thereof; or
(d)	forges, erases, alters or falsifies any entry in or tampers with an identity card,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to both.

(3) The Commissioner may accept from any person who is reasonably suspected of having committed an offence under subsection (1)(b) or (c) a sum of money not exceeding $200 by way of composition for the offence which may have been committed.

(4) Any person who aids or abets in the commission of any offence under this Act shall be guilty of an offence.

(5) Every offence under this Act shall be deemed to be a seizable offence for the purposes of the Criminal Procedure Code [Cap. 68].”.

Amendment of section 16

9. Section 16(2) of the principal Act is amended —

(a)	by inserting, immediately after the word “vehicle” in paragraph (b), the word “, train”; and
(b)	by deleting the word “vehicle” in the last line and substituting the words “vessel, vehicle or train”.

Amendment of section 19

10. Section 19(2) of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by inserting, immediately after the word “registration” in paragraphs (a) and (c), in each case the words “or re-registration”;

(b)

by deleting paragraph (d) and substituting the following paragraph:

“(d)	the taking and recording of photographs and finger impressions of persons required to be registered or re-registered under this Act;”;

(c)

by deleting paragraphs (h) and (i) and substituting the following paragraph:

“(h)	the re-registration of persons who have obtained identity cards or replacements thereof within any prescribed period;”; and

(d)

by re-lettering paragraphs (j) to (r) as paragraphs (i) to (q), respectively.