Singapore Armed Forces (Urine Specimens and Urine Tests) Regulations 2020

No. S 643

Singapore Armed Forces Act

(CHAPTER 295)

Singapore Armed Forces
(Urine Specimens and Urine Tests)
Regulations 2020

In exercise of the powers conferred by section 205 of the Singapore Armed Forces Act, the Armed Forces Council makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations are the Singapore Armed Forces (Urine Specimens and Urine Tests) Regulations 2020 and come into operation on 31 July 2020.

Definitions

2.  In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —

“Authority” means the Health Sciences Authority established under section 3 of the Health Sciences Authority Act (Cap. 122C);

“Chief Executive of the Authority” means the Chief Executive of the Health Sciences Authority appointed under section 15 of the Health Sciences Authority Act;

“controlled drug” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap. 185);

“enforcement officer” means a serviceman who is appointed by the Armed Forces Council for the purposes of obtaining a urine specimen of a person subject to military law who is suspected of committing an offence under the Act;

“subject” means a serviceman who is required to provide a urine specimen for the purpose of a urine test under a lawful order or a general order;

“urine test”, in relation to a urine specimen provided by a subject, means a test for controlled drugs conducted on that urine specimen.

Taking and depositing of urine specimens

3.—(1)  Every subject who is required to give a urine specimen for urine tests under a lawful order or a general order, and every enforcement officer or military policeman taking the urine specimen, must do so in accordance with the First Schedule.

(2)  Only a person authorised by the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Defence or the Chief Executive of the Authority may have possession of the key to any security box.

Collection and delivery of security boxes

4.  Every person involved in the collection and delivery of urine specimens deposited in security boxes must do so in accordance with the Second Schedule.

Urine test

5.  The Chief Executive of the Authority must arrange for each of the 2 urine specimens to be tested by a different officer and the results of the 2 urine tests must be sent to the enforcement officer in charge of the case.

Revocation

6.  The Singapore Armed Forces (Urine Specimens and Urine Tests) Regulations 2014 (G.N. No. S 482/2014) are revoked.

FIRST SCHEDULE

Regulation 3(1)

Procurement of urine specimens

1.  A subject who is required to provide a specimen of his or her urine must be directed by an enforcement officer to wash and dry his or her hands.

2.  The subject must be asked by an enforcement officer to choose, in the presence of the enforcement officer, a master bottle that is prepacked and sealed from a lot of not less than 10 bottles provided by the enforcement officer and 2 containers that are prepacked and sealed from a lot of not less than 20 containers provided by the enforcement officer.

3.—(1)  The subject must then carry with him or her the master bottle and the 2 containers of his or her choice and be escorted by an enforcement officer (or any military policeman authorised by the enforcement officer) to an appropriate place to provide his or her urine specimen.

(2)  The master bottle and 2 containers must, in the presence of the subject and the enforcement officer or military policeman escorting the subject, be removed from the sealed packs, whether before or after the subject is escorted to the appropriate place to provide his or her urine specimen.

4.—(1)  The subject must urinate into the master bottle.

(2)  The enforcement officer or military policeman escorting the subject must ensure that the urine specimen in the master bottle is that of the subject and not that of any other person.

Where urine specimen in master bottle is 80 ml or more

5.—(1)  Where the volume of the subject’s urine specimen in the master bottle is 80 ml or more, 30 ml or more of the urine specimen must be transferred by the subject or an enforcement officer, with both present, from the master bottle into each of the 2 containers.

(2)  The remaining urine specimen in the master bottle must be used for a urine screening test and the master bottle must then be discarded.

(3)  While waiting for the screening test result, the 2 containers may be temporarily sealed by an enforcement officer and returned to the subject.

(4)  After the screening test result is ready, an enforcement officer must seal the 2 containers in the presence of the subject for the purpose of analysis by the Authority, following the procedures as set out in paragraph 13.

Where urine specimen in master bottle is less than 80 ml

6.—(1)  Where the volume of the subject’s urine specimen in the master bottle is less than 80 ml, some of the urine specimen may be transferred by the subject or an enforcement officer, with both present, from the master bottle into one of the 2 containers.

(2)  The transferred urine specimen in the container must be used for a screening test and the container must then be discarded.

(3)  At any time before the subject makes a second attempt to provide more urine, he or she must be directed by an enforcement officer to wash and dry his or her hands again and choose one container that is prepacked and sealed from a lot of not less than 10 containers provided by the enforcement officer.

7.  Before the subject provides more urine, the master bottle and any container that had earlier been removed from the sealed pack may be temporarily sealed by an enforcement officer and returned to the subject.

8.  When the subject is ready to provide more urine, the subject must carry the same master bottle and the 2 containers and be escorted by an enforcement officer (or any military policeman authorised by the enforcement officer) to an appropriate place to provide his or her urine specimen.

9.—(1)  The subject must urinate into the same master bottle.

(2)  The enforcement officer or military policeman escorting the subject must ensure that the urine specimen in the master bottle is that of the subject and not that of any other person.

10.  If the volume of urine specimen in the master bottle is still less than 80 ml, the process mentioned in paragraphs 7, 8 and 9 must be repeated until the volume of urine specimen in the master bottle is 80 ml or more.

11.—(1)  If the volume of urine specimen is 80 ml or more, not less than 30 ml of urine specimen must be transferred from the master bottle into each of the 2 containers.

(2)  If a screening test has not been conducted yet, the procedures set out in paragraph 5(2), (3) and (4) apply.

12.  An enforcement officer must seal the 2 containers in the presence of the subject for the purpose of analysis by the Authority, following the procedures set out in paragraph 13.

Sealing of containers for analysis by Authority

13.  An enforcement officer must observe the following procedures when sealing the 2 containers for the purpose of analysis by the Authority:

(a) the enforcement officer must ensure that the 2 containers are capped tightly and that there is no leakage;

(b) the name of the subject, the number of his or her National Registration Identity Card or passport or other identification document, the date of his or her urine test and any other necessary details must be entered by the enforcement officer on 2 self‑adhesive labels;

(c) the subject must be allowed to check and sign the labels in the presence of the enforcement officer. If the subject is unable to read, the enforcement officer must read the particulars on the labels to the subject. The enforcement officer must then affix the labels to seal the containers;

(d) the enforcement officer must ask the subject to deposit one container of the urine specimen into each of the 2 security boxes personally which must be kept locked at all times until the boxes are delivered to the Authority.

SECOND SCHEDULE

Regulation 4

Collection and delivery of urine specimens and security arrangements for collection and delivery

1.  An enforcement officer must arrange for the delivery of the 2 security boxes as soon as practicable to the Authority.

2.  After the 2 security boxes have been delivered to the Authority, the officer who has custody of the key must unlock the 2 boxes and empty their contents in the presence of the military policeman who delivered the boxes.

3.  The empty security boxes must be re‑locked and handed back to the military policeman who delivered the boxes.

Made on 24 July 2020.

LEE CHUNG WEI

Secretary,
Armed Forces Council,
Singapore.

[BA25-2/1-1-28-6; AG/LEGIS/SL/295/2020/2 Vol. 1]

(To be presented to Parliament under section 207 of the Singapore Armed Forces Act).