9. A designated person must accept a report made in accordance with rule 8 if the designated person reasonably believes —
(a)
the matter described in the report is an aviation safety matter and is not excluded information; and
(b)
the report to be true.
Dealing with report
10.—(1) Upon receiving a report, the designated person —
(a)
must decide whether to accept or refuse the report;
(b)
if accepting the report, must —
(i)
assign a unique identifier to the report;
(ii)
give to the reporter a receipt that sets out the date of the acceptance of the report; and
(iii)
within 30 days after accepting the report, destroy the report;
(c)
must not make or keep a copy of the report in any manner or form;
(d)
must decide what information in the report is to be included in a Tell Sarah database, and include that information in that database in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3); and
(e)
must decide whether to disclose any information from an accepted report in accordance with the Act and these Rules, and act accordingly.
(2) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(d), a designated person must not include in a Tell Sarah database any personal information from an accepted report unless and only to the extent that —
(a)
the removal of the personal information from the report would adversely affect the quality of the information to be included in that database; and
(b)
the designated person believes that it is necessary to keep in contact with the reporter who made the report, or a person or organisation mentioned in the report, and the personal information is necessary for that purpose.
(3) However, the designated person must without delay remove from any Tell Sarah database personal information included in the database for the purpose mentioned in paragraph (1)(d) if the designated person is satisfied that it is no longer necessary to keep the personal information for that purpose.
(4) If the designated person does not accept a report, the designated person must, subject to rules 11 and 12, inform the reporter of the refusal and —
(a)
destroy the report unless sub‑paragraph (b) applies; or
(b)
if the report contains any reportable safety matter that the person should have notified under section 29(1) of the Act, forward the report to the Authority to whom the reportable safety matter should have been notified under that section.
[S 680/2024 wef 31/12/2021]
Handling report with false or misleading information
11.—(1) If a designated person reasonably believes that, in making the report, the person who made it has committed an offence under section 86 of the Act, the designated person —
(a)
must not return the report, or any part of it, to the reporter or any other person; and
(b)
must not destroy the report, or any part of it,
until a period of 2 years starting the date the report was made has expired.
[S 680/2024 wef 31/12/2021]
(2) If a prosecution for an offence under section 86 of the Act is started within the period mentioned in paragraph (1), the designated person must not destroy or return the report, or any part of it, that is required to be kept for the purpose of the prosecution until it is no longer required for that purpose.
[S 680/2024 wef 31/12/2021]
Handling information about offences
12.—(1) Where a designated person, in the course of receiving reports under these Rules, receives information that the designated person reasonably believes relates to any offence under any written law (whenever committed), the designated person —
(a)
must not return the report, or any part of it, to the reporter or any other person;
(b)
must not destroy the information, or any part of it; and
(c)
must without delay act according to paragraph (2).
(2) A designated person who received under these Rules information described in paragraph (1) must without delay tell the Authority that the designated person has received the information and, if requested by the Authority, give that same information to any police officer.
(3) A designated person may disclose personal information if necessary to comply with this rule.