PART 3 | Furnishing false, etc., information |
13. Any person who —| (a) | in connection with any application for the grant or renewal of a licence; or | | (b) | for any other purpose under this Act or the regulations, |
| makes any statement or furnishes any information to the Board or an officer of the Board that the person knows, or ought reasonably to know, is false, or misleading (including by reason of any omission), in any material particular, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000. |
[47/2017] |
| Wrongful conversion and false accounts |
14.—(1) Any licensee who —| (a) | fraudulently converts to the licensee’s own use or to the use of any other person —| (i) | any money or part thereof received by the licensee on behalf of any person in respect of any transaction in the licensee’s capacity as a travel agent; or | | (ii) | any money or part thereof so received which are held by the licensee in trust pending the completion of any transaction; |
| | (b) | fraudulently omits to account for, deliver or pay —| (i) | any such money or part thereof so received by the licensee on behalf of any person to such person; or | | (ii) | any such money or part thereof so received by the licensee which are or were held by the licensee in trust as aforesaid pending the completion of the transaction to the person or persons entitled to such money; or |
| | (c) | fraudulently renders an account knowing the account to be false in any material particular of —| (i) | any such money or part thereof so received by the licensee on behalf of any person; | | (ii) | any money so received by the licensee which is or was held by the licensee in trust pending the completion of any transaction or any part of such money; or | | (iii) | expenses, commission or other charges incidental to any transaction or proposed or contemplated transaction as a travel agent, |
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| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years. |
| (2) Nothing in this section is to be construed to limit or in any way affect the provisions of any other written law. |
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15. Any officer of the Board or any police officer, on being satisfied upon any information and after any further inquiry which he or she thinks necessary that there is good reason to believe that any place is used for the carrying on of the business of a travel agent by a person who is not the holder of a licence, may with such assistance and by such force as is necessary, by day or by night —| (a) | enter or go to the place and search the place and all persons found in the place; | | (b) | seize all documents and things reasonably supposed to have been used or intended to be used in connection with the business of a travel agent which are found in the place or on such persons; and | | (c) | detain all such persons until they and the place have been searched. |
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16.—(1) Any police officer or any officer of the Board authorised in writing in that behalf by the Board may without warrant arrest any person whom he or she reasonably suspects to have committed an offence under this Act.| (2) Any police officer or any officer of the Board authorised in writing in that behalf by the Board to arrest a person under subsection (1) may search that person and take possession of all articles found on that person which there is reason to believe were used in connection with the offence. |
| (3) Every person arrested must be taken to the office of the Board or a police station. |
| (4) A woman must not be searched except by a woman. |
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| 17. In any case relating to the commission of an offence under this Act or the regulations, any police officer and any officer of the Board authorised in writing in that behalf by the Board may exercise all or any of the special powers in relation to any arrestable case mentioned in section 18(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010. [47/2017] |
18.—(1) Any police officer and any officer of the Board authorised in writing in that behalf by the Board, for the purposes of the execution of this Act or the regulations, has power to do all or any of the following:| (a) | to enter, inspect and examine, by day or by night, the place of business of any licensee; | | (b) | to require any person to produce any document relevant to the execution of this Act or the regulations and to inspect, examine and make copies or retain any of the documents; | | (c) | to make any inquiry that may be necessary to ascertain whether the provisions of this Act or the regulations are complied with by any licensee, licensee’s employee or licensee’s agent who assists in carrying on the business of a travel agent; | | (d) | to take such photograph or audio or video recording as the police officer or authorised officer of the Board thinks necessary, of any place, or of any individual reasonably believed to be acquainted with the facts and circumstances relevant to any contravention of this Act or the regulations. [47/2017] |
(2) In this section, “place” includes —| (a) | any building or structure, whether permanent or temporary; | | (b) | any land, whether built on or not; | | (c) | any place, whether open or enclosed, including any place situated underground or underwater; | | (d) | any vehicle, vessel, train or aircraft; and | | (e) | any part of any place mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (d). [47/2017] |
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| Obstruction of search, etc. |
19. Any person who —| (a) | refuses any police officer or any officer of the Board authorised to enter or search access to any place; | | (b) | assaults, obstructs, hinders or delays a police officer or an officer of the Board in effecting any entrance which the police officer or officer of the Board is entitled to effect under this Act, or in the execution of any duty imposed or power conferred by this Act; | | (c) | fails to comply with any lawful demand of a police officer or an officer of the Board in the execution of the duty of the police officer or officer of the Board under this Act; or | | (d) | refuses or neglects to give any information which may reasonably be required of the person and which the person has it in the person’s power to give, |
| shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $4,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both. |
[47/2017] |
20.—(1) Where, in a proceeding for an offence under this Act or the regulations, it is necessary to prove the state of mind of a corporation in relation to a particular conduct, evidence that —| (a) | an officer, employee or agent of the corporation engaged in that conduct within the scope of his or her actual or apparent authority; and | | (b) | the officer, employee or agent had that state of mind, |
| is evidence that the corporation had that state of mind. |
[47/2017] (2) Where a corporation commits an offence under this Act or the regulations, a person —| (a) | who is —| (i) | an officer of the corporation, or a member of a corporation (in the case where the affairs of the corporation are managed by its members); or | | (ii) | an individual involved in the management of the corporation and in a position to influence the conduct of the corporation in relation to the commission of the offence; and |
| | (b) | who —| (i) | consented or connived, or conspired with others, to effect the commission of the offence; | | (ii) | is in any other way, whether by act or omission, knowingly concerned in, or is party to, the commission of the offence by the corporation; or | | (iii) | knew or ought reasonably to have known that the offence by the corporation (or an offence of the same type) would be or is being committed, and failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent or stop the commission of that offence, |
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| shall be guilty of that same offence as is the corporation, and shall be liable on conviction to be punished accordingly. |
[47/2017] |
| (3) A person mentioned in subsection (2) may rely on a defence that would be available to the corporation if it were charged with the offence with which the person is charged and, in doing so, the person bears the same burden of proof that the corporation would bear. [47/2017] |
(4) To avoid doubt, this section does not affect the application of —| (a) | Chapters 5 and 5A of the Penal Code 1871; or | | (b) | the Evidence Act 1893 or any other law or practice regarding the admissibility of evidence. [47/2017] |
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| (5) To avoid doubt, subsection (2) also does not affect the liability of the corporation for an offence under this Act or the regulations, and applies whether or not the corporation is convicted of the offence. [47/2017] |
(6) In this section —| “corporation” includes a limited liability partnership within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005; |
“officer”, in relation to a corporation, means any director, partner, chief executive, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the corporation, and includes —| (a) | any person purporting to act in that capacity; and | | (b) | for a corporation whose affairs are managed by its members, any of those members as if the member were a director of the corporation; |
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“state of mind” of a person includes —| (a) | the knowledge, intention, opinion, belief or purpose of the person; and | | (b) | the person’s reasons for the intention, opinion, belief or purpose. [47/2017] |
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| Offences by unincorporated associations or partnerships |
20A.—(1) Where, in a proceeding for an offence under this Act or the regulations, it is necessary to prove the state of mind of an unincorporated association or a partnership in relation to a particular conduct, evidence that —| (a) | an employee or agent of the unincorporated association or partnership engaged in that conduct within the scope of his or her actual or apparent authority; and | | (b) | the employee or agent had that state of mind, |
| is evidence that the unincorporated association or partnership had that state of mind. |
[47/2017] (2) Where an unincorporated association or a partnership commits an offence under this Act or the regulations, a person —| (a) | who is —| (i) | an officer of the unincorporated association or a member of its governing body; | | (ii) | a partner in the partnership; or | | (iii) | an individual involved in the management of the unincorporated association or partnership and in a position to influence the conduct of the unincorporated association or partnership in relation to the commission of the offence; and |
| | (b) | who —| (i) | consented or connived, or conspired with others, to effect the commission of the offence; | | (ii) | is in any other way, whether by act or omission, knowingly concerned in, or is party to, the commission of the offence by the unincorporated association or partnership; or | | (iii) | knew or ought reasonably to have known that the offence by the unincorporated association or partnership (or an offence of the same type) would be or is being committed, and failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent or stop the commission of that offence, |
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| shall be guilty of the same offence as is the unincorporated association or partnership, and shall be liable on conviction to be punished accordingly. |
[47/2017] |
| (3) A person mentioned in subsection (2) may rely on a defence that would be available to the unincorporated association or partnership if it were charged with the offence with which the person is charged and, in doing so, the person bears the same burden of proof that the unincorporated association or partnership would bear. [47/2017] |
(4) To avoid doubt, this section does not affect the application of —| (a) | Chapters 5 and 5A of the Penal Code 1871; or | | (b) | the Evidence Act 1893 or any other law or practice regarding the admissibility of evidence. [47/2017] |
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| (5) To avoid doubt, subsection (2) also does not affect the liability of an unincorporated association or a partnership for an offence under this Act or the regulations, and applies whether or not the unincorporated association or partnership is convicted of the offence. [47/2017] |
(6) In this section —“officer”, in relation to an unincorporated association (other than a partnership), means the president, the secretary, or any member of the committee of the unincorporated association, and includes —| (a) | any person holding a position analogous to that of president, secretary or member of a committee of the unincorporated association; and | | (b) | any person purporting to act in that capacity; |
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| “partner” includes a person purporting to act as a partner; |
“state of mind” of a person includes —| (a) | the knowledge, intention, opinion, belief or purpose of the person; and | | (b) | the person’s reasons for the intention, opinion, belief or purpose. [47/2017] |
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| Disclosure of information |
21.—(1) A person must not disclose any information obtained by him or her in connection with the administration or execution of this Act or the regulations, unless the disclosure is made —| (a) | with the consent of the person from whom the information was obtained; | | (b) | in connection with the administration or execution of this Act or the regulations; | | (c) | under and in accordance with any other written law; | | (d) | for the purposes of any legal proceedings arising out of this Act or the regulations or of any report of those proceedings; or | | (e) | for the purpose of objecting to an application for a licence or of any investigation conducted under this Act. [47/2017] |
| (2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $4,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both. [47/2017] |
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| 22.—(1) A document that is permitted or required by this Act or the regulations to be served on a person may be served as described in this section. [47/2017] (2) A document permitted or required by this Act or the regulations to be served on an individual may be served —| (a) | by giving it to the individual personally; | | (b) | by sending it by prepaid registered post to the address specified by the individual for the service of documents or, if no address is so specified, the individual’s residential address or business address; | | (c) | by leaving it at the individual’s residential address with an adult apparently resident there, or at the individual’s business address with an adult apparently employed there; | | (d) | by affixing a copy of the document in a conspicuous place at the individual’s residential address or business address; | | (e) | by sending it by fax to the fax number last known to the person giving or serving the document as the fax number for the service of documents on the individual; or | | (f) | by sending it by email to the individual’s email address. [47/2017] |
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(3) A document permitted or required by this Act or the regulations to be served on a partnership (other than a limited liability partnership) may be served —| (a) | by giving it to any partner or other similar officer of the partnership; | | (b) | by leaving it at, or by sending it by prepaid registered post to, the partnership’s business address; | | (c) | by sending it by fax to the fax number used at the partnership’s business address; or | | (d) | by sending it by email to the partnership’s email address. [47/2017] |
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(4) A document permitted or required by this Act or the regulations to be served on a body corporate (including a limited liability partnership) or an unincorporated association may be served —| (a) | by giving it to the secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or unincorporated association, or the limited liability partnership’s manager; | | (b) | by leaving it at, or by sending it by prepaid registered post to, the body corporate’s or unincorporated association’s registered office or principal office in Singapore; | | (c) | by sending it by fax to the fax number used at the body corporate’s or unincorporated association’s registered office or principal office in Singapore; or | | (d) | by sending it by email to the body corporate’s or unincorporated association’s email address. [47/2017] |
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(5) Service of a document under this section takes effect —| (a) | if the document is sent by fax and a notification of successful transmission is received, on the day of transmission; | | (b) | if the document is sent by email, at the time that the email becomes capable of being retrieved by the person to whom the document is sent; and | | (c) | if the document is sent by prepaid registered post, 2 days after the day the document was posted (even if it is returned undelivered). [47/2017] |
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| (6) This section does not apply to documents to be served in proceedings in court. [47/2017] |
(7) In this section —“business address” means —| (a) | in the case of an individual, the individual’s usual or last known place of business in Singapore; or | | (b) | in the case of a partnership (other than a limited liability partnership), the partnership’s principal or last known place of business in Singapore; |
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| “email address” means the last email address given by the addressee concerned to the person giving or serving the document as the email address for the service of documents under this Act or the regulations; |
| “residential address” means an individual’s usual or last known place of residence in Singapore. [47/2017] |
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| 23. [Repealed by Act 47 of 2017 wef 01/01/2018] |
| Authentication of documents |
| 24. Every summons, process, demand, order, notice, statement, direction or document requiring authentication by the Board may be sufficiently authenticated without the seal of the Board if signed by the Chairperson or the Chief Executive of the Board, or an officer of the Board authorised for this purpose by the Board. [47/2017] |
| Consent of Public Prosecutor |
| 25. No court is to try an offence under section 14 except with the consent of the Public Prosecutor. [15/2010; 47/2017] |
| 26. Proceedings in respect of any offence under this Act or the regulations may, with the authorisation of the Public Prosecutor, be conducted by any officer authorised in writing in that behalf by the Chairperson or the Chief Executive of the Board. [15/2010; 47/2017] |
27.—(1) The Board may compound any offence under this Act or the regulations that is prescribed as a compoundable offence by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding the lower of the following:| (a) | one half of the amount of the maximum fine that is prescribed for the offence; | | (b) | $5,000. [47/2017] |
| (2) On payment of the sum of money, no further proceedings are to be taken against that person in respect of the offence. [47/2017] |
| (3) All sums collected under this section must be paid into the Consolidated Fund. [47/2017] |
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| Recovery of financial penalties, etc. |
| 27A.—(1) Any person who fails to pay a financial penalty by the date the person is required to do so under this Act is liable to pay, after that date, interest on the amount unpaid at the same rate as for a judgment debt. [47/2017] | (2) Any financial penalty and any interest on the financial penalty payable by any person under this Act must be paid to the Board and is recoverable by the Board as a debt due to the Board from that person; and the person’s liability to pay is not affected by the person’s licence ceasing (for any reason) to be in force. [47/2017] |
| (3) The Board may (in any case it thinks fit) waive, remit or refund, in whole or in part, any financial penalty or any interest on the financial penalty payable under this Act. [47/2017] |
| (4) All financial penalties and interest on the financial penalties collected by the Board under this Act must be paid into the Consolidated Fund. [47/2017] |
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28.—(1) The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations generally for carrying out the provisions of this Act and for prescribing anything that is to be prescribed and, in particular, may make regulations for all or any of the following purposes:| (a) | prescribing the information and documents to be furnished by an applicant for a licence or by a licensee; | | (b) | prescribing the procedure to be followed on applications and other proceedings under this Act; | | (c) | prescribing the books, accounts (including trust accounts) and records to be kept by a licensee and the form and mode of keeping those books, accounts and records; | | (d) | prescribing —| (i) | the fees and charges payable under this Act or the regulations, including fees for a licence; and | | (ii) | the interest or penalty for the late payment of any fee or charge; |
| | (e) | providing for the waiver, refund or remission, whether in whole or in part, of any fee or charge or the interest or penalty for the late payment of any fee or charge, either generally or in any particular case or class of cases or in the discretion of any person; | | (f) | prescribing requirements applicable to licensees, including minimum financial requirements that the licensee must satisfy throughout the currency of the licence; | | (g) | regulating the conduct of licensees in their business, including —| (i) | imposing restrictions or obligations on licensees in relation to any variation or termination of a contract for the supply by the licensee of a travel product; and | | (ii) | providing a code of conduct for licensees; |
| | (h) | prescribing duties applicable to directors of, or individuals employed or engaged by, licensees; | | (i) | to exempt any persons or classes of persons from the provisions of this Act. [47/2017] |
| (2) The regulations made under this section may provide that a contravention of any provision of the regulations shall be punishable with a fine not exceeding $10,000 or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or with both and, in the case of a continuing offence, with a further fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction. |
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