No. S 78
Land Surveyors Act
(Chapter 156)
Land Surveyors (Conduct of Cadastral Surveys) Rules 2000
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 40 of the Land Surveyors Act, the Land Surveyors Board, with the approval of the Minister for Law, hereby makes the following Rules:
PART I
General
Citation and commencement
1.  These Rules may be cited as the Land Surveyors (Conduct of Cadastral Surveys) Rules 2000 and shall come into operation on 1st March 2000.
Definitions
2.—(1)  In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires —
“Integrated Survey Zone” means an area the cadastral survey information relating to which is published in ISN co-ordinates;
“ISN” means a network of control ISN markers with ISN co-ordinates approved by the Chief Surveyor;
“ISN co-ordinates” means a plane rectangular co-ordinate system based on the SVY95 datum and using a transverse mercator projection with projection origin (unmarked) located at —
Latitude
 
1° 22’ 00" N
 
 
geographical co-ordinates false origin;
Longitude
 
103° 50’ 00" E
 
Northing
 
38744.572 m
 
Easting
 
28001.642 m
 
“ISN marker” means a survey marker designed for integrated surveys with geographical and ISN co-ordinates approved by the Chief Surveyor;
“survey document” means any plan, field book, field notes, form, sketch, computation or information recorded or derived from a survey in a form approved by the Chief Surveyor;
“SVY95 datum” means a geodetic co-ordinate datum based on the WGS84 ellipsoid and a reference point known as BASE7 (located at Pillar 7 Lower Peirce Reservoir) with values fixed at —
Latitude
 
1° 22’
 
02.915414" N
Longitude
 
103° 49’
 
31.975227" E
Ellipsoidal Height
 
26.824 m
 
 
Reduced Level
 
17.113 m
 
 
Geoidal Undulation
 
9.711 m;
 
 
“WGS84 ellipsoid” means a mathematical surface with the following definitions:
Semi-major axis
 
6378137.0000 m
Semi-minor axis
 
6356752.3142 m
Flattening
 
1/298.257223563
Eccentricity
 
0.0818191908426.
(2)  Any reference to a survey document includes, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to a survey document in electronic form.
Surveyor to be familiar with related legislation
3.—(1)  Every registered surveyor shall be familiar with —
(a)the Act and any rules made thereunder; and
(b)the Acts set out in the First Schedule and any subsidiary legislation made thereunder.
(2)  Every registered surveyor shall be familiar with the directives and circulars issued by the Chief Surveyor from time to time.
Personal direction and supervision of surveys
4.  Every cadastral survey shall be carried out by or under the immediate personal direction and supervision of a registered surveyor and in strict accordance with these Rules.
Existing survey data to be obtained
5.—(1)  Every registered surveyor or a representative authorised by the registered surveyor shall, before commencing a cadastral survey, obtain existing survey data relating to the survey he is to carry out by —
(a)consulting the records of the Survey Department, or of any other registered surveyor or other authorities if he is so directed by the Department; and
(b)obtaining from the Chief Surveyor the lot numbers to be used in connection with the survey he is to carry out.
(2)  A registered surveyor or his representative shall not —
(a)use any lot numbers for the survey he is to carry out other than those obtained from the Chief Surveyor, unless he has obtained express approval from the Chief Surveyor; or
(b)use or quote any lot number in any instrument or caveat to be lodged in the Singapore Land Registry, unless the relevant assurance plan, certified plan or strata certified plan from which the lot number is obtained, has been approved by the Chief Surveyor.
[S 296/2001 wef 01/06/2001]
Notice of intention to commence cadastral survey
6.—(1)  A registered surveyor shall, before commencing any cadastral survey, give the Chief Surveyor not less than 2 days’ written notice of his intention to commence the cadastral survey.
(2)  The notice referred to in paragraph (1) shall set out the purpose and extent of the proposed cadastral survey and the date on which the registered surveyor intends to commence the cadastral survey.
Compliance with requirements
7.—(1)  A registered surveyor shall, before carrying out work on any cadastral survey, check that the proposed cadastral survey is in accordance with all requirements of the Survey Department, the Land Office, the Singapore Land Registry and other relevant authorities.
(2)  For the purposes of section 35(1) of the Act, a fee of $50 shall be payable to the Board in respect of any application for an extension of time to complete a cadastral survey.
Errors in previous survey
8.  A registered surveyor who discovers an error in a previous cadastral survey which materially affects the accuracy of his cadastral survey —
(a)shall supply the Chief Surveyor with a full report of the error together with all relevant information relating thereto; and
(b)shall not rectify the error in the survey that he is carrying out until he has received directions to do so from the Chief Surveyor.
Form of field book or calculation form
9.  Any field book or calculation form used in cadastral surveys shall be of such form as may be approved by the Chief Surveyor.
Field equipment
10.  Every registered surveyor engaged in a cadastral survey shall ensure that the survey equipment that is used has been tested to be in good adjustment and has been approved by the Chief Surveyor.
Boundaries
11.—(1)  The extent of the land under any cadastral survey shall be that marked on the ground at the time of survey.
(2)  Boundary marks found on the ground during the course of any subsequent cadastral survey shall not be disturbed unless there is clear evidence that they are no longer in the position in which they were emplaced at the time of the previous survey.
Datum
12.  Every registered surveyor conducting a cadastral survey shall verify the datum adopted and shall furnish full details of the datum in his field notes.
Survey and marking of boundaries
13.—(1)  Boundary lines shall be measured directly wherever possible and survey of boundaries by long radiations shall be avoided.
(2)  All boundary points shall be marked on the ground unless they fall in inaccessible positions, such as within walls and pillars of buildings.
(3)  When any boundary point of a lot cannot be marked by reason of obstructing features such as ponds or other structures, appropriate reference marks to facilitate the determination of the actual boundary point on the ground shall be emplaced.
(4)  The appropriate reference marks referred to in paragraph (3) may be placed on the intersecting boundaries as near as possible to the obstructing feature.
(5)  Every boundary mark emplaced shall be at a station on a closed traverse, failing which, its position shall be determined by 2 independent sets of measurements, both angular and linear, from such a station, except that the second angular measurement shall be made from a different back station, if available, from the one used in the first angular observation made by a method known as the “Bearing” method.
(6)  Where a boundary need not be measured, the extremities of that boundary to be surveyed shall be marked in conformity with this rule and sufficient boundaries shall be surveyed to ensure that an accumulation of minor errors do not lead to the calculated values of the bearings and distances of the unsurveyed boundaries differing materially from their true values.
(7)  Previously surveyed boundaries need not be fully re-measured, if —
(a)the previously emplaced marks on the ground are intact; and
(b)the previous survey had an adequate technical value.
(8)  In a sub-divisional survey, the re-survey of boundaries not affected by the sub-division may be confined to the measurement of the lines required for datum and for the closing of traverses.
(9)  Along a straight boundary, marks shall be emplaced on the ground at intervals not exceeding 200 metres.
(10)  All new boundaries, including natural feature boundaries, shall follow straight lines.
(11)  Boundary points on natural feature boundaries need not be marked on the ground.
(12)  Boundaries that curve shall be marked by straight lines on the ground such that no point on the curve shall be more than 20 centimetres from such straight lines.
(13)  In any survey where boundary lines cannot be measured directly, the registered surveyor shall, wherever possible, emplace appropriate traverse marks on the nearest suitable structures, such as alongside the kerbs of metalled roads and driveways and, the coping of concrete drains, with sufficient short connections to the boundary points of the lots.
(14)  Any survey involving the 2.515 metres high water mark shall be referred to the Chief Surveyor together with 2 copies of a plan showing full relevant details.
(15)  The registered surveyor conducting the survey referred to in paragraph (14) shall thereafter be informed of the accepted boundary by the Chief Surveyor.
(16)  The determination of the 2.515 metres high water mark shall, where practicable, be based on nearby bench marks established by the Survey Department or other bench marks approved for use by the Chief Surveyor, and the permissible closing error of the levelling for such purpose shall not exceed
UNKNOWN
millimetres where K is the length of the level line in kilometres.
(17)  The reduced level of the 2.515 metres high water mark shall be 0.960 metre above the datum adopted by the Survey Department, being Mean Sea Level.
[S 296/2001 wef 01/06/2001]
Topographical details
14.  Natural and artificial features that are found within 0.5 metre of the boundaries surveyed shall be measured.
Construction works of road
15.  A survey shall, unless the Chief Surveyor otherwise directs, be postponed until construction works of a road are complete.
Approved survey marks
16.  A registered surveyor shall use survey marks approved by the Chief Surveyor.
Emplacement prior to survey
17.  Approved survey marks shall be emplaced on the ground prior to or during the course of the survey.
Stability of marks
18.  A registered surveyor shall take reasonable care to ensure that approved survey marks emplaced on the ground are of the appropriate type and are stable.
Field notes
19.  All field measurements shall be recorded in a format approved by the Chief Surveyor.
Abbreviations, symbols and conventional signs in field notes
20.  The abbreviations, symbols and conventional signs adopted by the Survey Department shall be used in field notes.
[S 296/2001 wef 01/06/2001]
Purpose of computations
21.  All computations required to be submitted with any field notes and plans of a cadastral survey shall —
(a)show the accuracy and adequacy of the field work;
(b)determine the areas of the lots surveyed; and
(c)relate the positions of the lots surveyed to those of other existing surveyed lots in the neighbourhood.
Units of measurement
22.  Linear measurements shall be made in metric units.
Calculated and scaled areas
23.—(1)  Areas shall be calculated and entered to the nearest tenth of a square metre.
(2)  Scaled areas shall be entered to the nearest square metre and distinguished from other areas by the abbreviation “Sc.” that is entered after the scaled areas.
Plan forms
24.  Plan forms of the quality approved by the Chief Surveyor shall be used for all plans to be deposited under section 33 of the Act.
Plotting on plans
25.  The plotting of all points on plans shall be by co-ordinates.
Corrections on plans
26.—(1)  The correction of printed information on any plan shall be made by drawing a line through the incorrect entry but without obliterating it, and printing the correct entry nearby.
(2)  The correction of an incorrectly drawn line or mark on any plan shall be made by one or more crosses on the incorrect line or mark and by redrawing the correct line or mark in its correct position.
(3)  Each correction shall be initialled by the registered surveyor who prepared the plan.
(4)  A registered surveyor shall not make or permit to be made any correction on any plan by erasing any part of a plan.

Made this 26th day of February 2000.

LOW OON SONG
President,
Land Surveyors Board,
Singapore.
[LSB 61 Vol. 6; LAW 19/003/002 Vol. 2; AG/LEG/SL/156/96/1 Vol. 1]
(To be presented to Parliament under section 40(3) of the Land Surveyors Act).