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Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 25/1973

Read the first time on 11th July 1973.

An Act to amend the Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects Act (Chapter 152 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. This Act may be cited as the Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects (Amendment) Act, 1973, 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 Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects Act (hereinafter in this Act referred to as “the principal Act”) is hereby amended —

(a)

by deleting the definitions of “Commissioner” and “Director” appearing therein and substituting therefor the following: —

“ “Commissioner”, “Deputy Commissioner of Public Health” and “Assistant Commissioner of Public Health” mean respectively the Commissioner of Public Health, a Deputy Commissioner of Public Health and an Assistant Commissioner of Public Health appointed under subsection (1) of section 4 of the Environmental Public Health Act (Cap. 155);”;

(b)

by inserting immediately after the word “includes” appearing in the first line of the definition of “disease-bearing insect” the words “every mosquito and house-fly and”; and

(c)

by deleting the word “Director” appearing in the fourth line of the definition of “public health auxiliary” therein and substituting therefor the word “Commissioner”.

Repeal and re-enactment of sections 3 and 4

3. Sections 3 and 4 of the principal Act are hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —

“Administration of this Act

3.—(1) The Commissioner shall be responsible for the administration of this Act, subject to the general or special directions of the Minister.

(2) A Senior Health Officer shall have and may exercise all the powers conferred on the Commissioner and on a Medical Officer of Health by or under this Act.

(3) The Minister may, in his discretion, by writing under his hand, vest any medical practitioner in the service of the Government with all or any of the powers conferred on a Medical Officer of Health by or under this Act.

Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner of Public Health to have the powers of Commissioner

4. A Deputy Commissioner of Public Health and an Assistant Commissioner of Public Health shall have and may exercise all the powers conferred on the Commissioner by or under this Act, subject to such limitations as the Commissioner may deem fit to impose.”.

Amendment of section 5

4. Subsection (1) of section 5 of the principal Act is hereby amended by deleting the word “Director” appearing in the fifth line thereof and substituting therefor the word “Commissioner”.

Amendment of section 6

5. Section 6 of the principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after subsection (4) thereof the following new subsection: —

“(5) If in any proceedings for a contravention of the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, it is shown that an act or thing done or performed in any premises may, or is liable to, create such conditions as may be favourable to the propagation or harbouring of disease-bearing insects, it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, that the act or thing was done or performed by, or with the permission of, the owner or the occupier of such premises.”.

Amendment of section 8

6. Section 8 of the principal Act is hereby amended —

(a)	by inserting immediately after the words “land development” appearing in the second line and in the fifth line of subsection (1) thereof in each case the expression “, land reclamation, excavation, quarrying”;
(b)	by deleting the expression “the Director,” appearing in the sixth line of subsection (1) thereof; and
(c)	by inserting immediately after the words “land development” appearing in the second line of subsection (2) thereof the expression “, land reclamation, excavation, quarrying”.

Amendment of section 9

7. Subsection (4) of section 9 of the principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after the word “land” appearing in the fourth line thereof the words “in accordance with such specifications or in such manner as he may specify in such order”.

Amendment of section 13

8. Subsection (1) of section 13 of the principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately before the word “premises” appearing in the third line thereof the expression “pond, well, pool or other body of water or any”.

New sections 20A, 20B and 20C

9. The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after section 20 thereof the following new sections: —

“Names and addresses of certain persons to be given on demand

20A.—(1) A person who is charged by the Commissioner, a police officer, a Medical Officer of Health or a public health auxiliary with an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder shall, on demand, give his name and address and such other proof of identity to the Commissioner, police officer, Medical Officer of Health or public health auxiliary, as may be required.

(2) The occupier of premises shall, if required by the Commissioner, a police officer, a Medical Officer of Health or a public health auxiliary, give his name and other proof of identity and the name and address of the owner of the premises, if known.

(3) A person residing or lodging in any premises shall, if required by the Commissioner, a police officer, a Medical Officer of Health or a public health auxiliary, give his name and other proof of identity and the name and address of the occupier of the premises, if known.

(4) A person who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1), (2) or (3) of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding four hundred dollars.

Powers of arrest

20B.—(1) The Commissioner, a police officer, a Medical Officer of Health or a public health auxiliary, as the case may be, may arrest without warrant any person referred to in section 20A of this Act whom he has charged with an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder if that person —

(a)	omits or refuses to give his name and address or to furnish such other proof of identity as may be required; or
(b)	give a name and address or proof of identity which the Commissioner, police officer, Medical Officer of Health or public health auxiliary, as the case may be, has reason to believe is false.

(2) A person arrested under subsection (1) of this section shall be released from custody when his name and address are, or proof of identity is, satisfactorily ascertained after further inquiry and investigation.

(3) No person so arrested shall be detained longer than is necessary for bringing him before a Court unless the order of a Court for his detention is obtained.

Notice to attend Court

20C.—(1) Where it appears to the Commissioner, a police officer, a Medical Officer of Health or a public health auxiliary that any person has committed or is guilty of an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder, the Commissioner, police officer, Medical Officer of Health or public health auxiliary may, in his discretion, serve upon the person a notice in such form as may be prescribed under subsection (1) of section 27 of this Act, requiring the person to attend at the Court described, at the hour and on the date specified in the notice.

(2) A duplicate copy of the notice referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall be prepared by the Commissioner, police officer, Medical Officer of Health or public health auxiliary, as the case may be, and by him, if so required by a Court, produced to the Court.

(3) On an accused person appearing before a Court in pursuance of such a notice, the Court shall take cognizance of the offence alleged and shall proceed as though he were produced before it in pursuance of section 135 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 113).

(4) If a person, upon whom such a notice has been served as aforesaid, fails to appear before a Court in accordance therewith, the Court shall thereupon issue a warrant for the arrest of such person.

(5) Upon a person arrested in pursuance of a warrant issued under subsection (3) of this section being produced before it, a Court shall proceed as though he was produced before it in pursuance of section 135 of the Criminal Procedure Code and shall at the conclusion of such proceedings call upon him to show cause why he should not be punished for failing to attend in compliance with the notice delivered to him and if cause is not shown may order him to pay such fine not exceeding two thousand dollars as the Court thinks fit or may commit him to prison for a term not exceeding two months.

Evidence

20D.—(1) A document purporting to be a report under the hand of a Medical Officer of Health, an entomologist in the service of the Government or a Public Health Engineer appointed under section 5 of the Environmental Public Health Act (Cap. 155) upon a matter or thing duly submitted to him for examination, analysis or report shall be admissible as evidence in any proceedings under this Act or any regulations made thereunder and shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein, unless the Court or the accused requires him to be called as a witness.

(2) In a case in which the prosecutor intends to give in evidence such report, he shall deliver a copy thereof to the accused not less than ten clear days before the commencement of such proceedings.

(3) The contents of a document prepared, issued or served under, by virtue of or for the purposes of this Act or any regulations made thereunder shall, until the contrary is proved, be presumed to be correct and the production of a document or book purporting to contain an apportionment as between the owner and the occupier of premises of the costs and expenses incurred by the Commissioner, a Medical Officer of Health or a public health auxiliary in doing, or performing under section 15 of this Act, acts or things required by an order made pursuant to subsection (1), (3) or (4) of section 9 of this Act to be done or performed shall, without any other evidence whatever, be received as prima facie proof of the making and validity of the apportionment mentioned therein.

(4) All records, registers and other documents kept by the Commissioner or by a public officer for the purposes of this Act or any regulations made thereunder shall be deemed to be public documents, and copies thereof or extracts therefrom certified by the officer responsible for the custody thereof to be true copies or extracts, as the case may be, and subscribed by such officer with his name and his official title shall be admissible in evidence as proof of the contents of such documents or extracts therefrom.”.

New section 27A

10. The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after section 27 thereof the following new section: —

“Forms

27A. The Commissioner may design and utilise such froms as he may think fit for any of the purposes of this Act and any regulations made thereunder, and may require any person to complete any of the same for any such purposes.”.