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Undesirable Publications (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 3/1998

Read the first time on 14th January 1998.

An Act to amend the Undesirable Publications Act (Chapter 338 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 Undesirable Publications (Amendment) Act 1998 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 Undesirable Publications Act (referred to in this Act as the principal Act) is amended —

(a)

by inserting, immediately before the definition of “periodical publication”, the following definitions:

“ “authorised officer” means a public officer appointed under section 13(2) by the Minister to be an authorised officer for the purposes of this Act;

“broadcast” has the same meaning as in the Copyright Act (Cap. 63) and “broadcasting” shall have a corresponding meaning;

“Chief Controller” means the Chief Controller appointed under section 13(2);

“circulation”, in relation to any publication, includes the exhibition or supply thereof;

“controller” means a public officer appointed under section 13(1) by the Minister to be a controller;

“electronic transmission” includes facsimile transmission, electronic mail or other similar means of communication but excludes broadcasting;

“exhibit”, in relation to a sound recording, means to play that sound recording but does not include the broadcasting of the sound recording;

“film” has the same meaning as in the Films Act (Cap. 107);

“importer”, in relation to any article, includes any person who, whether as owner, consignee, agent or broker, is in possession of, or is in any way entitled to the custody or control of, the article;

“objectionable” and “obscene” have the meanings given to them by sections 2A and 2B, respectively;”; and

(b)

by deleting the definition of “publication” and substituting the following definitions:

“ “publication” means any of the following other than a film:

(a)

any book, magazine or periodical, whether in manuscript or final form;

(b)

any sound recording;

(c)

any picture or drawing, whether made by computer-graphics or otherwise howsoever;

(d)

any photograph, photographic negative, photographic plate or photographic slide; or

(e)

any paper, model, sculpture, tape, disc, article or thing —

(i)	that has printed or impressed upon it, any word, statement, sign or representation; or
(ii)	on which is recorded or stored for immediate or future retrieval any information that, by the use of any computer or other electronic device, is capable of being reproduced or shown as any picture, photograph, word, statement, sign or representation,

and includes a copy of any publication;

“sound recording” means any tape, disc or other recording of sounds from which the sounds may be reproduced but does not include any sound-track of a film;

“supply”, in relation to a publication, includes —

(a)	supply not only in its physical form but also by means of the electronic transmission of the contents of the publication;
(b)	supply by way of hire, exchange or loan; or
(c)	in the case of a publication comprising a tape, disc, article or thing on which is recorded or stored any information for immediate or future retrieval by the use of any computer or other electronic device, transferring or reproducing or enabling another to transfer or reproduce by electronic transmission the whole or part of the contents of the publication onto another such tape, disc, article or thing for immediate or future retrieval.”.

New sections 2A and 2B

3. The principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 2, the following sections:

“Meaning of obscene

2A. For the purposes of this Act, a publication is obscene if its effect or (where the publication comprises 2 or more distinct parts or items) the effect of any one of its parts or items is, if taken as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it.

Meaning of objectionable

2B.—(1) For the purposes of this Act, a publication is objectionable if, in the opinion of any controller, it or (where the publication comprises 2 or more distinct parts or items) any one of its parts or items describes, depicts, expresses or otherwise deals with —

(a)	matters such as sex, horror, crime, cruelty, violence or the consumption of drugs or other intoxicating substances in such a manner that the availability of the publication is likely to be injurious to the public good; or
(b)	matters of race or religion in such a manner that the availability of the publication is likely to cause feelings of enmity, hatred, ill-will or hostility between different racial or religious groups.

(2) In determining for the purposes of this Act whether or not any publication is objectionable, the following matters shall be considered:

(a)

the extent and degree to which, and the manner in which, the publication —

(i)	describes, depicts or otherwise deals with acts of torture, the infliction of serious physical harm, sexual conduct or violence or coercion in association with sexual conduct;
(ii)	exploits the nudity of persons or children or both;
(iii)	promotes or encourages criminal acts or acts of terrorism;
(iv)	represents, directly or indirectly, that members of any particular community or group are inherently inferior to other members of the public or of any other community or group;

(b)

the impact of the medium in which the publication is presented;

(c)

the character of the publication, including any merit, value or importance that the publication has in relation to literary, artistic, social, cultural, educational, scientific or other matters;

(d)

the standards of morality, decency and propriety that are generally accepted by reasonable members of the community; and

(e)

the persons, classes of persons or age groups of the persons to whom the publication is intended or is likely to be made available.

(3) The question whether or not a publication is objectionable is a matter for the expert judgment of any person authorised or required by or pursuant to this Act to determine it, and evidence as to or proof of any of the matters or particulars that the person is required to consider in determining that question is not essential to its determination except that if such evidence or proof of such matters or particulars is available, that person shall take that evidence or proof into consideration.

(4) The Chief Controller shall keep and maintain a Register of Objectionable Publications containing all publications which any controller determines to be objectionable.”.

Amendment of section 4

4. Section 4 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)	by inserting, immediately after the words “offers for sale,” in subsection (1), the words “supplies, offers to supply, exhibits,”;
(b)	by deleting the words “$2,000” in subsection (1) and substituting the words “$10,000”; and
(c)	by deleting the words “$1,000” in subsection (2) and substituting the words “$2,000”.

New sections 8A, 8B and 8C

5. The principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 8, the following sections:

“Offences involving obscene publications

8A. Any person who —

(a)	makes or reproduces, or makes or reproduces for the purposes of sale, supply, exhibition or distribution to any other person;
(b)	imports or has in his possession for the purposes of sale, supply, exhibition or distribution to any other person; or
(c)	sells, offers for sale, supplies, offers to supply, exhibits or distributes to any other person,

any obscene publication (not being a prohibited publication) knowing or having reasonable cause to believe the publication to be obscene 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 2 years or to both.

Offences involving objectionable publications

8B. Any person who —

(a)	makes or reproduces, or makes or reproduces for the purposes of sale, supply, exhibition or distribution to any other person;
(b)	imports or has in his possession for the purposes of sale, supply, exhibition or distribution to any other person; or
(c)	sells, offers for sale, supplies, offers to supply, exhibits or distributes to any other person,

any objectionable publication (not being a prohibited publication) knowing or having reasonable cause to believe the publication to be objectionable 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 12 months or to both.

Search for and seizure of obscene or objectionable publications

8C.—(1) If information is given upon oath to a Magistrate that there is reasonable cause to suspect that there are in any premises or place any obscene or objectionable publications (not being prohibited publications) by means of or in relation to which any offence under section 8A or 8B has been or is about to be committed, or any equipment used or intended to be used for the purpose of exhibiting, making or reproducing those publications, he may issue a warrant under his hand by virtue of which any police officer, controller or authorised officer named in the warrant may —

(a)	with such assistance and by such force as is necessary, enter and search the premises or place;
(b)	seize the publications and any equipment used in the exhibition, making or reproduction of those publications; and
(c)	take into custody any person reasonably believed to be in possession of those publications or equipment.

(2) The court before which a person is charged with an offence under section 8A or 8B may, whether he is convicted of the offence or not, order that any publication that appears to the court to be a prohibited publication, an obscene publication or an objectionable publication, and any equipment used or intended to be used for exhibiting, making or reproducing the publications in the possession of the alleged offender or before the court, be destroyed or delivered up to the Minister for disposal in such manner as the Minister may direct.

(3) Where —

(a)	in proceedings brought under section 8A or 8B in connection with the offence no order is made under subsection (2) as to the publication or equipment; or
(b)	no such proceedings are instituted within 3 months of the seizure,

the publication or equipment shall be returned to the person from whom they were seized or, if it is not reasonably practicable to return it to that person, shall be disposed of in accordance with the law regulating the disposal of lost or unclaimed property in the hands of the police.”.

Amendment of section 10

6. Section 10 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting the words “a publication the importation, sale or circulation of which is prejudicial to public safety or public interest in Singapore” in the fourth, fifth and sixth lines of subsection (1) and substituting the words “an obscene or objectionable publication”; and

(b)

by deleting subsections (2) and (3) and substituting the following subsection:

“(2) Where in the course of opening and examining any article under subsection (1) the controller or authorised officer finds any publication that he believes on reasonable grounds to be obscene or objectionable —

(a)	he may detain the article for so long as is necessary to institute proceedings for an offence under this Act; or
(b)	where no such proceedings are instituted within 3 months of the detention, he may return the article to the sender of the article or, if the publication is obscene or objectionable or returning the article is not reasonably practicable, he may, subject to section 15, destroy or cause to be destroyed the article or the contents of the article consisting of any such publication.”.

Repeal and re-enactment of sections 11, 12 and 13

7. Sections 11, 12 and 13 of the principal Act is repealed and the following sections substituted therefor:

“Examination of persons entering Singapore, etc.

11.—(1) Any importer and any person entering Singapore shall, if he is required to do so by a controller or any authorised officer —

(a)	declare whether or not he has imported or has in his possession any publication; and
(b)	produce the publication for examination.

(2) A controller or authorised officer may examine or search any person entering Singapore or any article which an importer has imported or a person entering Singapore has in his possession for the purpose of ascertaining whether the importer or person has imported or has in his possession an obscene or objectionable publication, and may detain any such publication produced or found upon the examination or search as the controller or authorised officer believes on reasonable grounds to be obscene or objectionable.

(3) Any publication detained under subsection (2) may be detained for so long as it is necessary to institute proceedings for an offence under this Act or, where no such proceedings are instituted within 3 months of the seizure, the controller or authorised officer —

(a)

may return the article or publication to the person from whom it was seized; or

(b)

if the publication is obscene or objectionable, or returning the article or publication is not reasonably practicable, may —

(i)	subject to section 15, destroy or cause to be destroyed the article or publication; or
(ii)	order the publication to be exported forthwith from Singapore.

(4) Any person who fails to comply with any requirement made by a controller or authorised officer under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable —

(a)	in the case of a person entering Singapore, to a fine not exceeding $1,000; or
(b)	in the case of an importer, to a fine not exceeding $5,000.”

Corporate offenders

12. Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a body corporate, a partnership or an unincorporated association of persons, any person who at the time of the commission of the offence was a director, manager, partner, secretary or other similar officer thereof, or was purporting to act in any such capacity, shall also be guilty of that offence unless he proves that —

(a)	the offence was committed without his consent or connivance; and
(b)	he had exercised all such diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as he ought to have exercised having regard to the nature of his functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances.

Appointment of controllers and authorised officers

13.—(1) The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint such public officers to be controllers for the purposes of this Act.

(2) The Minister shall, by notification in the Gazette, appoint from among the controllers a Chief Controller who shall exercise general supervision over the other controllers and all authorised officers and carry out such other duties as are assigned to him under this Act.

(3) The Minister may also appoint any other public officer to be an authorised officer to assist any controller or the Chief Controller in the discharge of his duties under this Act.

(4) In the exercise of their powers and in carrying out their duties under this Act, the Chief Controller and all controllers and authorised officers shall be guided by such general or special directions as may, from time to time, be given to them by the Minister.”.

Amendment of section 14

8. Section 14 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “section 10, 11 or 12” and substituting the words “any provision of this Act”.

Amendment of section 15

9. Section 15 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)	by deleting the words “section 10, 11 or 12” in subsections (1) and (4) and substituting in each case the words “section 10 or 11”; and
(b)	by deleting the words “or 12” in subsection (2).

New section 16

10. The principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 15, the following section:

“Exemptions

16.—(1) Where any publication is a prohibited publication, an obscene publication or an objectionable publication under this Act, any person may apply to the Minister for an exemption from any of the provisions of this Act in respect of that publication.

(2) Every application shall be in the form provided for the purpose by the Chief Controller and shall be accompanied by such fee as the Minister may prescribe by regulations.

(3) On receiving an application under this section in relation to a publication, the Minister, if satisfied that the publication should be made available to a limited class of persons or to a particular person for educational, professional, scientific, artistic or technical reasons, may exempt that class of persons or that person from any such provision of this Act as he may specify in respect of that publication for such period as he thinks fit.

(4) An exemption under this section may be granted absolutely, or subject to such conditions as may be specified by the Minister.”.

Saving of appointments

11. Every person who, immediately before the commencement of this Act, was a controller or an authorised officer under the principal Act shall continue to be a controller or an authorised officer as if he had been appointed under section 13 of the principal Act as amended by this Act.