Central Provident Fund (Amendment No. 2) Bill

Bill No. 21/1981

Read the first time on 21st July 1981.
An Act to amend the Central Provident Fund Act (Chapter 121 of the 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.—(1)  This Act may be cited as the Central Provident Fund (Amendment No. 2) Act, 1981.
(2)  Section 5 shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of January 1981.
(3)  Sections 4 and 7 shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of June 1981.
Amendment of section 4
2.  Section 4 of the Central Provident Fund Act (referred to in this Act as the principal Act) is amended —
(a)by deleting the word “and” at the end of paragraph (b) of subsection (2);
(b)by deleting the full-stop at the end of paragraph (c) of subsection (2) and substituting the word “; and”, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following paragraph: —
(d)such other persons, not being more than four, as the Minister may from time to time determine.”; and
(c)by deleting the word “three” in subsection (3) and substituting the word “five”.
Amendment of section 11
3.  Section 11 of the principal Act is amended —
(a)by deleting subsection (3) and substituting the following subsections: —
(3)  A member of the Fund who has withdrawn any money from the Fund on the ground that he has attained the age of fifty-five years shall be entitled to make one further withdrawal of the sum standing to his credit in the Fund on or after every third anniversary of his date of birth after he has attained the age of fifty-five years.
(4)  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, the Board may at any time allow a member who has attained the age of fifty-five years to withdraw the sum standing to his credit in the Fund if the member satisfies the Board that he has been unemployed throughout the period of six months immedidately preceding the date on which he makes an application for the withdrawal of any sum of money standing to his credit in the Fund.”; and
(b)by renumbering the existing subsection (4) as subsection (5).
New section 12A
4.  The principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 12, the following section: —
House or flat to be charged to secure repayment of withdrawals from the Fund
12A.—(1)  Where in accordance with any regulations made under section 29 of this Act, a member of the Fund has on or after 1st June, 1981, withdrawn any money standing to his credit in the Fund to purchase a house or flat or to repay wholly or partly any loan made to the member in connection with the purchase of a house or flat there shall be a charge on the house or flat to secure the repayment of the money withdrawn from the Fund including the interest that would have accrued thereto if the withdrawal had not been made where such repayment is required by those regulations.
(2)  Upon lodgement by the Board with the Registrar of an instrument (which shall be in such form as the Registrar may require) for the purpose of registering or notifying any charge under subsection (1) of this section and the acceptance of the instrument by the Registrar, the Board shall have the power of sale and all other powers relating or incidental thereto as if the Board is a registered mortgagee.
(3)  The Registrar shall not be concerned to enquire into the regularity or validity of a charge under subsection (1) of this section, and shall, on acceptance of the instrument to register or notify the charge, register or notify the charge in the appropriate register maintained by the Registrar under the Land Titles Act (Cap. 276), the Land Titles (Strata) Act (Cap. 277) or the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281), as the case may be.
(4)  Any charge under subsection (1) of this section shall be subject to all statutory rights and charges of any public authority over the house or flat and, in the absence of any agreement giving priority to the Board, to all encumbrances registered or notified prior to the date of acceptance by the Registrar of the instrument to register or notify the charge.
(5)  Where further withdrawals are authorised by the Board after the registration or notification of any mortgage or charge made in favour of the Board at any time on or after 1st June, 1981, or after the acceptance by the Registrar of the instrument lodged under subsection (2) of this section for the purpose of registering or notifying a charge under subsection (1) of this section, such withdrawals shall rank in priority to any other claims as if the withdrawals were made at the date of the creation of the mortgage or charge.
(6)  Section 70 of the Land Titles Act (Cap. 276) and section 16 of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281) shall not affect any charge under subsection (1) of this section after the Board has given notice in writing of the charge to a prior mortgagee or after acceptance by the Registrar of the instrument to register or notify the charge under subsection (2) of this section, and any advances made by a prior mortgagee at any time after the Board has given notice in writing of the charge or after acceptance by the Registrar of the instrument to register or notify the charge shall not rank in priority to the said charge.
(7)  Where a member has withdrawn any money from the Fund in accordance with regulations made under section 29 of this Act and such money is no longer required to be repaid to the Fund, the member shall be entitled to have the charge under subsection (1) of this section cancelled.
(8)  In this section —
“public authority” means the Government, Collector of Land Revenue, Comptroller of Property Tax, and shall include any other person, corporation or body, authorised or empowered by any written law to attach, sell, or acquire land compulsorily;
“Registrar” means —
(a)the Registrar of Titles and includes a Deputy Registrar of Titles and an Assistant Registrar of Titles appointed under the Land Titles Act; and
(b)where the occasion requires, the Registrar of Deeds and includes a Deputy Registrar of Deeds appointed under the Registration of Deeds Act.
(9)  This section shall not apply to any house or flat or class of houses or flats which the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, specify.”.
Amendment of section 15
5.  Section 15 of the principal Act is amended by renumbering the section as subsection (1), and by inserting immediately thereafter the following subsections: —
(2)  The Board may, on an application by a prospective employer who is considering whether or not to employ any person as an employee, give to the prospective employer the following particulars of that person: —
(a)the name of his employer or, if he has been in the employment of more than one employer, the name of all his employers during the past three years; and
(b)the period for which contributions were paid into the Fund for that person by each of his employers.
(3)  A prospective employer who wishes to obtain any of the particulars referred to in subsection (2) of this section shall apply to the Board in such form as the Board may determine and shall pay the prescribed fee.
(4)  The Board may require an applicant under subsection (3) of this section to furnish proof that he is considering whether to employ the person in respect of whom the application is made.
(5)  No refund shall be made of any fee paid under subsection (3) of this section.”.
Amendment of section 18
6.  The principal Act is amended by deleting the word “Attorney-General” in section 18 and substituting the words “Public Prosecutor”.
Amendment of section 29
7.  Section 29 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “for their own occupation” in subsection (1)(g) and substituting the words “(including the repayment wholly or partly of any loan made to a member secured by a mortgage or charge on a house or flat)”.