Jurong Town Corporation (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 6/1978

Read the first time on 31st January 1978.
An Act to amend the Jurong Town Corporation Act (Chapter 209 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 Jurong Town Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1978, and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.
New heading
2.  The Jurong Town Corporation Act (hereinafter in this Act referred to as “the principal Act”) is hereby amended by inserting immediately above section 1 thereof the following new heading: —
“PART I
PRELIMINARY”.
Repeal and re-enactment of section 2
3.  Section 2 of the principal Act is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —
Interpretation
2.  In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —
“Chairman” means the Chairman of the Corporation appointed under section 4 of this Act;
“common property” means so much of the developed land and all parts of the building as are not comprised in the flats in a building;
“Corporation” means the Jurong Town Corporation established under section 3 of this Act;
“developed land” means any land of the Corporation upon which a building has been erected;
“financial year” means a period of twelve months beginning on the 1st day of April in each year and ending on the 31st day of March in the following year except that for the year 1977 the financial year shall mean the period beginning on the 1st day of January 1977 and ending on the 31st day of March 1978;
“flat” means a horizontal stratum of a building or part thereof, whether such stratum is on one or more levels or is partially or wholly below the surface of the ground, which is used or intended to be used as a complete and separate unit for the purpose of human habitation or business or for any other purpose;
“lease” includes an agreement for a lease;
“officer” includes the Chairman, members and employees of the Corporation;
“owner”, when used in relation to real property, includes a person who has purchased a leasehold interest in any property sold by the Corporation and also includes a purchaser under an agreement for lease.”.
New heading
4.  The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately above section 3 thereof the following new heading: —
“PART II
ESTABLISHMENT, INCORPORATION AND POWERS OF CORPORATION”.
Repeal and re-enactment of section 4
5.  Section 4 of the principal Act is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —
Chairman of the Corporation
4.  The Minister shall appoint a Chairman of the Corporation who shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, hold office for such period and on such terms as the Minister may determine.”.
Amendment of section 5
6.  Section 5 of the principal Act is hereby amended —
(a)by deleting the words “of the Corporation shall be five” appearing in subsection (2) thereof and substituting therefor the words “at all meetings of the Corporation shall be four”;
(b)by deleting subsection (3) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —
(3)  The Chairman or any officer authorised by him to act on his behalf may call a meeting of the Corporation at least once in every month or as often as he thinks fit.”; and
(c)by inserting immediately after the word “Chairman” appearing in the third line of subsection (5) thereof the words “or in the absence of both the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman any member of the Corporation duly appointed by the members present at any meeting of the Corporation”.
Repeal of section 8
7.  Section 8 of the principal Act is hereby repealed.
Amendment of section 9
8.  Subsection (3) of section 9 of the principal Act is hereby amended by deleting the words “or grant loans or advances” appearing in the fifth line thereof and substituting therefor the word “loans”.
New heading
9.  The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately above section 12 thereof the following new heading: —
“PART III
PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE CORPORATION”.
Amendment of section 16
10.  Subsection (1) of section 16 of the principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after the word “every” appearing in the first line thereof the word “financial”.
Amendment of section 17
11.  Section 17 of the principal Act is hereby amended —
(a)by inserting immediately after the word “every” appearing in the first line thereof the word “financial”; and
(b)by deleting the word “August” appearing in the fourth line thereof and substituting therefor the word “November”.
Amendment of section 19
12.  Subsection (1) of section 19 of the principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after the word “current” appearing in paragraph (a) and in paragraph (b) thereof the word “financial”.
Amendment of section 20
13.  Subsection (2) of section 20 of the principal Act is hereby amended by deleting the word “December” appearing therein and substituting therefor the word “March”.
Amendment of section 22
14.  Section 22 of the principal Act is hereby amended —
(a)by deleting the expression “30th day of April” appearing in subsection (1) thereof and substituting therefor the expression “31st day of July”; and
(b)by deleting the word “June” appearing in subsection (2) thereof and substituting therefor the word “September”.
Amendment of section 23
15.  Subsection (1) of section 23 of the principal Act is hereby amended by deleting the word “July” appearing therein and substituting therefor the word “October”.
Amendment of section 24
16.  Subsection (1) of section 24 of the principal Act is hereby amended by deleting the expression “, other than for the purposes of a pension scheme or schemes or a provident fund or funds established under section 8 of this Act,” appearing in the first, second, third and fourth lines thereof.
Amendment of section 29
17.  Subsection (1) of section 29 of the principal Act is hereby amended by deleting the word “March” appearing therein and substituting therefor the word “July”.
Amendment of section 33
18.  Section 33 of the principal Act is hereby amended by deleting the word “one” appearing in the sixth line thereof and substituting therefor the word “five”.
New heading
19.  The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately above section 36 thereof the following new heading: —
“PART IV
SALE OF FLATS, HOUSES OR OTHER BUILDINGS”.
Amendment of section 38
20.  Subsection (2) of section 38 of the principal Act is hereby deleted and the following substituted therefor: —
(2)  Where any assignment, mortgage, transfer, charge or lease of any such flat, house or other building which is executed by or on behalf of the owner thereof without the prior written consent of the Corporation is registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281) or the Land Titles Act (Cap. 276), the Corporation may by an instrument lodged with the Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, declare such assignment, mortgage, transfer, charge or lease to be void and the Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, shall register the instrument without being concerned to inquire into its regularity or validity, and upon registration thereof shall cancel the registration of such assignment, mortgage, transfer, charge or lease.
(3)  Any assignment, mortgage, transfer, charge or lease by an owner of a flat, house or other building sold subject to the provisions of this Part which would not be void but for the provisions of this section, shall be deemed to be valid for the purposes of any legal proceedings instituted by the Corporation under sections 45, 45A and 45F of this Act.”.
Amendment of section 39
21.  Section 39 of the principal Act is hereby amended —
(a)by deleting subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —
(1)  No person shall be entitled to purchase any flat, house or other building sold subject to the provisions of this Part if such person, his spouse or any authorised occupier —
(a)is the owner of any other flat, house, building or land or has an estate or interest therein; or
(b)has, at any time within thirty months immediately prior to the date of making an application to the Corporation to purchase the same, sold any flat, house, building or land of which he was the owner, or divested himself of any interest therein.
(2)  Where a person purchases a flat, house or other building in contravention of the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, he shall not present for registration under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281) or the Land Titles Act (Cap. 276) the assurance of the flat, house or other building. The Corporation shall on discovery of such a purchase —
(a)serve a written notice upon the purchaser of the flat, house or other building of its intention to lodge with the Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, an instrument for the vesting in the Corporation of the title to or the estate or interest in that flat, house or other building; or
(b)where no lease has been registered in favour of the purchaser, serve a written notice of the Corporation’s intention to terminate the agreement for a lease and to reenter upon the flat, house or other building or part thereof in the name of the whole and thereupon any interest of the purchaser shall absolutely determine.
(3)  The purchaser may, within fourteen days after the service of the notice given pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, appeal to the Minister whose decision thereon shall be final and shall not be questioned in any court.
(4)  Where an appeal has been made to the Minister pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, the Corporation shall not proceed to vest the title to or the estate or interest in the flat, house or other building in itself, or to re-possess the flat, house or other building, until the appeal has been disposed of or withdrawn.”;
(b)by inserting immediately after the words “Registrar of Titles” appearing in subsection (5) thereof the expression “, as the case may be,”; and
(c)by inserting immediately after subsection (6) thereof the following new subsections: —
(7)  The Corporation may in its discretion forfeit any monies paid or deposited in respect of the purchase of any flat, house or other building from the Corporation if the Corporation discovers that the person who has purchased or seeks to purchase the flat, house or other building in contravention of the provisions of subsection (1) of this section.
(8)  The Corporation may in its discretion exempt any person or class of persons from all or any of the provisions of this section.”.
Repeal and re-enactment of section 42
22.  Section 42 of the principal Act is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —
Transfer of a flat, house or other building on the death of the owner
42.—(1)  The transmission on the death of the owner, whether testate or intestate, or any transfer by the personal representatives of a deceased owner, of a flat, house or other building that has been sold subject to the provisions of this Part shall not be registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281) or the Land Titles Act (Cap. 276) without the written consent of the Corporation:
Provided that where the Corporation refuses to give its consent the Corporation may lodge an instrument with the Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, to have the flat, house or other building vested in the Corporation.
(2)  Where no representation has been taken out under a will or on the intestacy of a deceased owner of a flat, house or other building within twelve months from the death of the owner, or where representation has been taken out but the personal representatives do not apply for the Corporation’s written consent for the transmission or transfer of the flat, house or other building within six months from the date of representation, the Corporation may lodge an instrument with the Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, to have the flat, house or other building vested in the Corporation.
(3)  Where on the death of the owner of a flat, house or other building that has been sold subject to the provisions of this Part the lease in favour of the owner has not been registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281) or the Land Titles Act (Cap. 276), or where no representation has been taken out under a will or on the intestacy of a deceased owner of such flat, house or other building within twelve months from the death of the owner, the Corporation may rescind the agreement for the lease of such flat, house or other building.
(4)  Where the Corporation decides to lodge an instrument under subsection (1) or (2) of this section to have the flat, house or other building vested in itself or to rescind an agreement for a lease under subsection (3) of this section, the Corporation shall —
(a)serve a written notice on the personal representatives of the deceased owner of, and on all persons known or believed to have an interest or estate in, the flat, house or other building; and
(b)in the case where no representation is taken out, serve a notice on the flat, house or other building and on all persons known or believed to have an interest or estate in the flat, house or other building,
of its intention to lodge with the Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, an instrument of vesting under the provisions of subsection (1) or (2) of this section or of its decision to rescind the agreement for a lease and of the compensation to be paid therefor and the date on which the instrument will be lodged as aforesaid, or the date the rescission is to take effect, not being a date earlier than twenty-eight days after the date of the service of the notice.
(5)  The personal representatives and any person who is interested in the estate of the deceased owner may, within twenty-eight days after the day of service of the notice, appeal to the Minister whose decision thereon shall be final and shall not be called into question in any court.
(6)  Where an appeal is made to the Minister pursuant to subsection (5) of this section the Corporation shall not proceed to lodge an instrument of vesting under subsection (1) or (2) of this section or rescind the agreement for a lease until the appeal is determined or withdrawn.
(7)  The Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, shall register any instrument lodged under subsection (1) or (2) of this section without being concerned to inquire into its regularity or validity and —
(a)in the case of a flat, house or other building registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281), the Registrar of Deeds shall make an entry in the books of the Registry that the flat, house or other building has been vested in the Corporation and upon that entry being made; and
(b)in the case of a flat, house or other building registered under the provisions of the Land Titles Act (Cap. 276), the Registrar of Titles shall register the instrument on the relevant folio of the land register without the necessity of the production of the duplicate certificate of title and upon registration thereof,
the title to and the estate or interest in the flat, house or other building shall vest in the Corporation free from all encumbrances, subject to such subsisting covenants, conditions or restrictions, if any, as may be binding on the Corporation, and the Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, shall cancel the registration of any mortgage, charge or lease thereby overreached.
(8)  Where an appeal has been determined by the Minister or on the expiry of a period of twenty-eight days after the service of the notice referred to in subsection (5) of this section and the personal representatives do not consent to receive the compensation, or where representation has not been taken out under a will or on the intestacy of the deceased owner, or where there are conflicting claims to the compensation to be paid by the Corporation, the Corporation shall apply to the High Court ex parte by originating summons, supported by an affidavit, for an order to deposit the amount of the compensation in Court and, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the rules of the Court for the time being in force, the Court may make such an order.
(9)  The compensation to be paid by the Corporation for any flat, house or other building vested in the Corporation under this section shall be determined by the Corporation.”.
Amendment of section 45
23.  Section 45 of the principal Act is hereby amended —
(a)by deleting paragraph (b) thereof and substituting therefor the following new paragraphs: —
(b)if the owner has committed any breach of a condition against assigning, underletting or parting with possession of the flat, house or other building or any part thereof or has committed any other condition the breach of which is not capable of remedy and the Corporation has sent a notice in writing by registered post addressed to the owner or purchaser at the flat, house or other building (whether the notice has been received or not);
(c)if any condition (being a condition the breach of which is capable of remedy) on the part of the owner is not performed or observed within two weeks after a notice in writing has been sent by the Corporation to the owner addressed to the owner of the flat, house or other building drawing the attention of the owner to the non-performance or non-observance of the condition (whether the demand has been received by the owner or not);”; and
(b)by re-lettering the existing paragraphs (c), (d) and (e) thereof as paragraphs (d), (e) and (f), respectively.
New sections 45A to 45F
24.  The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after section 45 thereof the following new sections: —
Corporation may compulsorily acquire property sold subject to the provisions of this Part
45A.—(1)  The Corporation may compulsorily acquire any flat, house or other building sold subject to the provisions of this Part, whether before or after the date of the commencement of the Jurong Town Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1977 —
(a)if the owner thereof and his spouse, if any, has in the opinion of the Corporation ceased to occupy the same; or
(b)if the owner thereof, his spouse or any authorised occupier has at any time, whether before or after the date of the commencement of the Jurong Town Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1977, acquired whether by operation of law or otherwise any title to or an estate or interest in any other flat, house or building or land; or
(c)if the owner thereof has, in the opinion of the Corporation, used the flat, house or other building otherwise than for the purpose permitted by the lease; or
(d)if the owner thereof has permitted any person other than an authorised occupier to reside or stay in the flat, house or other building; or
(e)if the owner thereof has failed to perform or observe any condition contained in the lease to be performed or observed on the part of the owner after a notice in writing has been sent by the Corporation drawing his attention to the non-performance or non-observance of the condition in the lease and the Corporation is of the opinion that he is likely to continue to do the same if he should continue to own the flat, house or other building; or
(f)if the owner thereof has made a misleading or false statement in his application to the Corporation for the purchase of the same; or
(g)if the owner thereof has made misrepresentation of a material fact, whether innocently or otherwise, in his application to the Corporation for the purchase of the same; or
(h)if the owner thereof assigns, underlets or parts with the possession of the same or any part thereof without obtaining the prior written consent of the Corporation; or
(i)if, in the opinion of the Corporation, the flat, house or other building is not being occupied by such minimum number of persons as the Corporation may require; or
(j)if the owner thereof has at any time, whether before or after the date of the commencement of the Jurong Town Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1977, ceased to be a citizen of Singapore; or
(k)if the rent or any payments or any part thereof due to the Corporation reserved under the lease remains unpaid for three calendar months after they are due and payable and the Corporation has sent a notice of demand in writing to the owner thereof.
(2)  Where the Corporation intends to exercise its powers of compulsory acquisition conferred by this section, the Corporation shall serve a notice in writing on the owner of the flat, house or other building and all persons known or believed to be interested in claiming all or any part of the compensation to be paid for the flat, house or other building (hereinafter in this Act referred to as “an interested person”) stating the Corporation’s intention to acquire the premises and the compensation to be paid therefor.
(3)  An owner or interested person who objects to a proposed acquisition by the Corporation may, within twenty-eight days after the date of service of a notice referred to in subsection (2) of this section, submit in writing to the Corporation precisely the grounds upon which he objects to the acquisition and the compensation offered by the Corporation.
(4)  The Corporation shall consider the objection and may either disallow it or allow it either wholly or in part, and shall serve the owner or interested person by post or otherwise with a written notice of its decision.
(5)  Any owner or interested person aggrieved by the decision of the Corporation may, within twenty-eight days after the date of service of such decision, appeal to the Minister in the prescribed manner whose decision thereon shall be final.
(6)  This section shall not limit or affect the powers conferred upon the Corporation by any other provision of this Act or under any other written law to exercise its right of forfeiture and right of re-entry for a breach of any of the conditions of a lease.
(7)  The compensation to be paid by the Corporation for any flat, house or other building compulsorily acquired by the Corporation under this section shall be determined by the Corporation.
Vesting of acquired property in the Corporation
45B.—(1)  When the Corporation has made a decision pursuant to section 45A of this Act to compulsorily acquire a flat, house or other building, the Corporation may —
(a)lodge an instrument with the Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, for the vesting in the Corporation of the title to or the estate or interest in that flat, house or other building —
(i)in the case where no objection has been made pursuant to subsection (3) of section 45A of this Act, on the expiry of a period of twenty-eight days after the date of service of the notice referred to in subsection (2) of that section; and
(ii)in the case where an appeal has been made to the Minister, at any time after the appeal has been determined by the Minister or when the appeal is withdrawn, as the case may be; and
(b)in the case where no lease has been registered in favour of the owner, serve a written notice to terminate the agreement for a lease and to re-possess the flat, house or other building or part thereof in the name of the whole and thereupon any interest of the purchaser shall absolutely determine.
(2)  The Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, shall register any instrument lodged under subsection (1) of this section without being concerned to inquire into its regularity or validity and —
(a)in the case of a flat, house or other building registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281), the Registrar of Deeds shall make an entry in the books of the Registry that the flat, house or other building has been vested in the Corporation and upon that entry being made; or
(b)in the case of a flat, house or other building registered under the provisions of the Land Titles Act (Cap. 276), the Registrar of Titles shall register the instrument on the relevant folio of the land register without the necessity of the production of the duplicate certificate of title and upon registration thereof,
the title to and the estate or interest in the flat, house or other building shall vest in the Corporation free from all encumbrances, subject to such subsisting covenants, conditions or restrictions, if any, as may be binding on the Corporation, and the Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, shall cancel the registration of any mortgage, charge or lease thereby overreached.
Payment of compensation
45C.—(1)  The Corporation shall pay the compensation determined by the Corporation or varied by the Minister on an appeal to an owner or to both an owner and an interested person in such proportion as the Corporation may decide or as may be varied by the Minister and in the case where any party refuses to accept it or where there is a dispute between the parties to the proportion they are entitled to the compensation to be paid, the Corporation shall apply to the High Court ex parte by summons supported by an affidavit for an order to deposit the amount of the compensation or any part thereof in Court and notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Rules of the Supreme Court for the time being in force the High Court may make such an order.
(2)  The Corporation may withhold any compensation payable in respect of any flat, house or other building vested in the Corporation under this Act to any person until the Corporation has taken possession of that flat, house or other building.
Taking possession
45D.  Where any flat, house or other building has been vested in the Corporation pursuant to section 39 or 45B of this Act, the Corporation may proceed to take possession of that flat, house or other building on the expiry of a period of thirty days after the service of a notice on the owner thereof and if any of the officers of the Corporation is opposed or impeded in taking possession under this section of any flat, house or other building, the Corporation may take such measures (including the calling for the assistance of the police) as are necessary to have the occupants evicted from and to enforce the surrender of the same and to remove all things and other movable property found therein.
Giving false information
45E.  Any person who makes any statement in his application to the Corporation for the purchase of a flat, house or other building which is false, and which he either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.
Unauthorised subletting
45F.—(1)  Any person who being the lessee of a flat, house or other building sold by the Corporation subject to the provisions of this Part assigns, underlets or parts with the possession of the said flat, house or other building or any part thereof without obtaining the prior written consent of the Corporation as required by the lease shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.
(2)  Any person who abets the commission of an offence under this section shall be punished with the punishment provided for the offence.”.
Amendment of section 46
25.  Subsection (1) of section 46 of the principal Act is hereby amended —
(a)by deleting the expression “sections 37 to 45” appearing therein and substituting therefor the expression “Part IV”; and
(b)by inserting immediately after the word “use” appearing in paragraph (f) thereof the expression “, management and control”.
New Parts V and VI
26.  The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after section 47 thereof the following new Parts: —
PART V
LIABILITY OF THE CORPORATION AT JURONG PORT
Interpretation
48.  In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires —
“goods” includes animals, carcases, baggage and any other movable property of any kind whatsoever;
“Jurong Port” means any place in the district of Jurong in Singapore which is owned by the Corporation and where facilities are provided by the Corporation for ships to load or unload;
“owner”, —
(a)when used in relation to goods, includes any consignor, consignee, shipper or agent of the owner for the sale, custody, loading, handling, discharge or delivery of such goods; and
(b)when used in relation to any vessel, includes any partowner, charterer, operator, consignee or mortgagee in possession thereof or any duly authorised agent of any such person;
“transhipment goods” means goods landed from a vessel and placed in the custody of the Corporation for the purpose of shipment on another vessel on a through bill of lading dated at the port of loading of such goods and showing that the destination is via Singapore, with the ultimate port of destination marked on each package or unit containing such goods and declared on a transhipment manifest lodged with the Corporation prior to or at the time such goods are place in its custody;
“vessel” includes any ship or boat or aircushioned vehicle or floating rig or platform used in any form of operations at sea or any other description of vessel.
Application of this Part
49.  The provisions of this Part shall only apply to the Jurong Port and to any place or premises controlled or used by the Corporation for the purpose of providing and maintaining adequate and efficient port services and facilities in the Jurong Port.
Loss or destruction of or damage to goods other than transhipment goods and goods accepted for storage
50.  Neither the Corporation nor any person acting for or on behalf of the Corporation shall be liable —
(a)for any loss caused to any person by reason of misdelivery, short delivery or non-delivery of any goods deposited with or placed in the custody or control of the Corporation, other than transhipment goods and goods accepted for storage by the Corporation under section 56 of this Act; or
(b)for damage to or destruction of such goods as have been duly acknowledged by the Corporation to be in its custody in the sum of more than two thousand dollars per package or unit unless the nature and value of the goods contained therein have, prior to delivery to the Corporation, been declared in writing to the Corporation by the person delivering or causing the same to be delivered, and the Corporation shall not in any event be liable therefor where the value of any such goods has been mis-stated.
Liability for loss under contract
51.  Notwithstanding the provisions of section 50 of this Act, the Corporation shall, on application made to it by the owner of any vessel, enter into a contract with such owner whereby the Corporation shall accept liability for any loss caused by reason of short delivery by the Corporation of any goods deposited with or placed in the custody or control of the Corporation or any failure by the Corporation to deliver or account for them, and for the purposes of this section the Corpration may prescribe the terms and conditions of such contract and may, with the approval of the Minister, from time to time prescribe the rates to be levied:
Provided that the Corporation may in its discretion refuse to enter into such contract unless such contract is in respect of all of the goods to be loaded into or discharged from a vessel, as the case may be.
Loss or destruction of, or damage to, transhipment goods deposited with the Corporation
52.  In respect of any transhipment goods delivered by any person to, or placed by any person in the custody of, the Corporation, the Corporation shall, from the time of acknowledgment of the receipt of such goods and until delivery of such goods alongside the on-carrying vessel for loading, be liable, subject to the provisions of section 53 of this Act, for the loss or destruction of, or damage to, such goods:
Provided that the Corporation shall not be liable for any such loss, destruction or damage in a sum of more than two thousand dollars per package or unit unless the nature and value of the goods contained therein have, prior to delivery to the Corporation, been declared in writing to the Corporation by the person delivering or causing them to be delivered, and the Corporation shall not in any event be liable therefor where the value of any such goods has been mis-stated.
Force majeure, etc.
53.  The provisions of sections 50 and 52 of this Act shall not impose on the Corporation or any person duly authorised by it any liability for the loss or destruction of, or damage to, any goods arising from —
(a)fire or flood, unless caused by the actual fault or privity of the Corporation; or
(b)an act of God; or
(c)an act of war or of public enemies; or
(d)seizure under any legal process; or
(e)quarantine restrictions; or
(f)any act, omission or default of the owner or carrier of such goods; or
(g)strikes, lock-outs or stoppages or restraints of labour from whatever cause, whether partial or general; or
(h)riots and civil commotions; or
(i)saving or attempting to save life or property; or
(j)insufficient or improper packing, defective or insufficient marks or leakage from defective drums, containers or packages; or
(k)any inherent liability to wastage in bulk or weight, latent or inherent defect or natural deterioration; or
(l)any deficiency in the contents of unbroken packages; or
(m)the dangerous nature of such goods.
Cargo subject to general or particular average
54.—(1)  The owner or master of any vessel discharging or intending to discharge any cargo which is the subject or likely to be the subject of a declaration of general or particular average into the premises of the Corporation shall inform the Corporation of the existence or likelihood of such declaration and of the particulars of the cargo affected or likely to be affected thereby prior to the commencement of such discharge.
(2)  The Corporation shall be exempt from all liability in respect of the discharge, reception, storage or removal of any cargo referred to in subsection (1) of this section.
Corporation not responsible for acts of stevedore or workman
55.  Any stevedore or workman whilst engaged in performing work in or in respect of any vessel shall, notwithstanding that his wage or remuneration for performing the said work is paid by the Corporation, be deemed to be the servant of the owner and master of such vessel and the Corporation shall be exempt from all liability for any loss or damage caused by any act, omission or default of such stevedore or workman.
Saving
56.—(1)  Nothing in this Part shall preclude the Corporation from accepting goods for storage as well as liability for any loss, destruction or damage thereto.
(2)  Nothing in this Part shall affect any liability that may be imposed on the Corporation by any written law relating to compensation to workmen.
PART VI
MISCELLANEOUS
Sanction for prosecution
57.  No court shall take cognizance of any offence under this Act or any rules or regulations made thereunder except with the sanction of the Public Prosecutor.
Conduct of prosecution
58.  Proceedings in respect of any offence under this Act or any rules or regulations made thereunder may be conducted by any officer of the Corporation or any other person authorised in writing in that behalf by the Chairman.
Service of notices
59.  Unless otherwise expressly provided, every notice, order or document required or authorised by this Act or any rules or regulations made thereunder to be served on the owner of a flat, house or building sold under the provisions of this Act shall be deemed to be sufficiently served —
(a)if the same is delivered to such person or is delivered at the flat, house or building to some adult member or servant of his family; or
(b)if it is sent to the person by registered post at his flat, house or building.”.