Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 25/1981

Read the first time on 23rd October 1981.

An Act to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act (Chapter 104 of the Revised Edition).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows: —

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 1981.

Amendment of section 2

2. Section 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (referred to in this Act as the principal Act) is amended by deleting the full-stop at the end of the definition of “public body” and substituting a semi-colon, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following definition: —

“ “special investigator” means a special investigator of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.”.

Amendment of section 3

3. Section 3 of the principal Act is amended by deleting subsection (2) and substituting the following subsections: —

“(2) The President may appoint a Deputy Director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and such number of assistant directors and special investigators of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau as he may think fit.

(3) Any powers conferred on and duties to be performed by the Director under this Act may, subject to the orders and directions of the Director, be exercised or performed by the Deputy Director or an assistant director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.

(4) The Deputy Director and an assistant director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau may exercise the powers conferred by this Act on a special investigator.

(5) The President may create such different grades for assistant directors and special investigators as he may think fit.”.

Amendment of section 4

4. Section 4 of the principal Act is amended by deleting subsection (1) and substituting the following subsection: —

“(1) The Director, Deputy Director, assistant directors and special investigators of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of the Penal Code (Cap. 103).”.

Amendment of section 13

5. Section 13 of the principal Act is amended by renumbering the section as subsection (1), and by inserting immediately thereafter the following subsection: —

“(2) Where a person has been charged with two or more offences for the acceptance of gratification in contravention of any of the provisions of this Act and he is convicted of any one or more offences and the court is satisfied that the accused admits to having committed the other outstanding offences and consents to them being taken into consideration by the court for the purpose of passing sentence, then, the court may increase the penalty referred to in subsection (1) of this section to an amount not exceeding the total amount or value of all the gratification specified in the offences upon which he has been convicted together with those outstanding offences which he has admitted and which the court has taken into consideration for the purpose of passing sentence.”.

Amendment of section 15

6. Section 15 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)	by deleting the words “, the Deputy Director, any assistant director, the chief special investigator, any senior special investigator” in subsection (1); and
(b)	by deleting the words “the Deputy Director, any assistant director, the chief special investigator, senior special investigator or” in subsection (2) and substituting the word “a”.

Amendment of section 16

7. Section 16 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)	by deleting the words “, the Deputy Director, an assistant director, the chief special investigator, a senior special investigator” in the tenth and eleventh lines; and
(b)	by deleting the words “or the Deputy Director or the assistant director, the chief special investigator, senior special investigator” in the proviso.

Amendment of section 17

8. Section 17 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “, the Deputy Director or an assistant director or any police officer of or above the rank of assistant superintendent named in such order or the chief special investigator or any senior” in subsection (1) and substituting the words “or any police officer of or above the rank of assistant superintendent named in such order or a”.

Amendment of section 18

9. Section 18 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “the Deputy Director or an assistant director or the chief special investigator or a senior” and substituting the word “a”.

Amendment of section 19

10. Section 19 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “the Deputy Director or any assistant director or any police officer of or above the rank of assistant superintendent named in such order or the chief special investigator or any senior special investigator so named to inspect any such book and the Director, the Deputy Director, the assistant director, the police officer, the chief special investigator or the senior special investigator” in subsection (1) and substituting the words “any special investigator named in such order or any police officer of or above the rank of assistant superintendent so named to inspect any book and the Director, special investigator or police officer”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 21

11. Section 21 of the principal Act is repealed and the following section substituted therefor: —

“Powers of search and seizure

21.—(1) Whenever it appears to any Magistrate or to the Director upon information and after such inquiry as he thinks necessary that there is reasonable cause to believe that in any place there is any document containing any evidence of, or any article or property relating to, —

(a)	the commission of an offence under this Act, or under sections 161 to 165, or 213 to 215, of the Penal Code (Cap. 103); or
(b)	a conspiracy to commit, or any attempt to commit, or an abetment of any such offence,

such Magistrate or the Director may, by warrant directed to any special investigator or police officer not below the rank of inspector empower such special investigator or police officer to enter such place by force if necessary and to search, seize and detain any such document, article or property.

(2) Whenever it appears to any special investigator or any police officer not below the rank of inspector that there is reasonable cause to believe that in any place there is concealed or deposited any document containing any evidence of, or any article or property relating to, —

(a)	the commission of an offence under this Act, or under sections 161 to 165, or 213 to 215, of the Penal Code (Cap. 103); or
(b)	a conspiracy to commit, or an attempt to commit, or an abetment of any such offence,

and such special investigator or police officer has reasonable grounds for believing that by reason of the delay in obtaining a search warrant the object of the search is likely to be frustrated, he may exercise in and in respect of such place all the powers mentioned in subsection (1) of this section in as full and ample a manner as if he were empowered to do so by warrant issued under the said subsection.”.

Amendment of section 25

12. Section 25 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting paragraph (a) and substituting the following paragraph: —

“(a)	refuses the Director, or a special investigator or police officer authorised to enter or search, access to any place; or”; and

(b)

by deleting paragraph (c) and substituting the following paragraph: —

“(c)	fails to comply with any lawful demands of the Director or a special investigator or police officer in the execution of his duty under this Act; or”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 26

13. Section 26 of the principal Act is repealed and the following section substituted therefor: —

“Legal obligation to give information

26. Every person required by the Director or a special investigator or police officer to give any information on any subject which it is the duty of the Director, special investigator or police officer to inquire into under this Act and which it is in his power to give, shall be legally bound to give such information.”.

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