Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
Offences relating to licensable broadcasting services
46. Any person who contravenes section 8(1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $200,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $10,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.
Offences relating to installation, sale, import or possession of broadcasting apparatus
47. Any person who contravenes section 20(1)(a), (b) or (c) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $40,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both, and any broadcasting apparatus installed or found in the possession of the person so convicted shall be forfeited to the Authority.
Offences relating to unauthorised decoders and unauthorised reception of encrypted programmes
48.—(1) A person must not manufacture, assemble, modify, import, export, sell, offer for sale, let for hire or otherwise distribute any decoder which the person knows is an unauthorised decoder. (2) A person must not wilfully receive or rebroadcast any encrypted programme which has been decoded without the authorisation of the lawful provider of a broadcasting service who had broadcast the programme. (3) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $40,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both, and any unauthorised decoder shall be forfeited to the Authority. (4) Where it is proved that a person has manufactured, assembled, modified, imported, exported, sold, offered for sale, let for hire or otherwise distributed any unauthorised decoder, it is presumed, unless there is evidence to the contrary, that the person knew that the decoder was an unauthorised decoder. (5) In this section and section 48A —“decoder” means any apparatus or device (including a computer program) or any component or part thereof which is designed or adapted to enable (whether on its own or with any other apparatus or device) an encrypted programme to be decoded; “lawful provider”, in relation to a broadcasting service, means —(a) a person who holds a broadcasting licence; or (b) in the case of a broadcasting service transmitted from a place outside Singapore, the person who is authorised to provide the broadcasting service in accordance with the laws of that place; “unauthorised decoder” means a decoder which is designed or adapted to enable an encrypted programme to be viewed in decoded form without the authorisation of the lawful provider of a broadcasting service who had broadcast the programme.
Civil action in relation to unauthorised decoders and decoded programmes
48A.—(1) Where —(a) a person does an act mentioned in section 48(1) in relation to an unauthorised decoder; (b) the unauthorised decoder is used to decode an encrypted programme; and (c) the lawful provider of a broadcasting service who had broadcast the encrypted programme or the owner of the copyright in the programme has thereby suffered any loss or damage, the lawful provider of the broadcasting service or the owner of the copyright in the programme (as the case may be) may bring a civil action against the person mentioned in paragraph (a). (2) Where —(a) a person does an act mentioned in section 48(2) in relation to an encrypted programme that has been decoded without the authorisation of the lawful provider of a broadcasting service who had broadcast the programme; and (b) the lawful provider of the broadcasting service or the owner of the copyright in the programme has thereby suffered any loss or damage, the lawful provider of the broadcasting service or the owner of the copyright in the programme (as the case may be) may bring a civil action against the person mentioned in paragraph (a). (3) An action must not be brought under subsection (1) or (2) after the expiry of 6 years from the time the relevant act under section 48(1) or (2) (as the case may be) took place.
Offence of hindering employee or agent of Authority
49. Any person who obstructs or hinders any employee or agent of the Authority acting in the discharge of the employee’s or agent’s duty under this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.
Power of Authority to requisition information
50.—(1) The Authority or any person the Authority authorises in that behalf may by notice require any person to provide the Authority or the person so authorised, within the period specified in the notice, with all such documents or information relating to all such matters as the Authority may require for the purposes of this Act and as are within that person’s knowledge or in that person’s custody or under that person’s control. (2) Any person who, on being required by any notice under subsection (1) to provide any document or information, fails to comply with any requirement of the notice shall be guilty of an offence. (3) Any person who —(a) intentionally alters, suppresses or destroys any document which the person has been required by any notice under subsection (1) to provide; or (b) in providing any estimate, return or other information required of the person under any notice under subsection (1), makes any statement which the person knows to be false in a material particular, or recklessly makes any statement which is false in a material particular, shall be guilty of an offence. (4) Any person guilty of an offence under subsection (2) or (3) shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Power of police officer and other authorised persons against unlicensed broadcasting service or apparatus
51.—(1) Any police officer or any employee authorised by the Authority may, if he or she has reasonable grounds for believing that —(a) a broadcasting service has been or is being provided in contravention of this Act; (b) a broadcasting service has been or is being provided in breach of any licence; or (c) any broadcasting apparatus used is not licensed by the Authority, enter and inspect any premises and seize any broadcasting apparatus found in the premises which appears to be used for or in connection with broadcasting. (2) If there is no prosecution with regard to any broadcasting apparatus seized under this section, such broadcasting apparatus is to be taken and deemed to be forfeited to the Authority unless a claim is made within 2 months from the date of seizure. (3) Any person asserting that the person is the owner of any broadcasting apparatus so seized may personally or by the person’s authorised agent give written notice to the Authority that the person claims the broadcasting apparatus. (4) On receiving the notice, the Authority may direct that the broadcasting apparatus be released or may refer the matter to a District Court or a Magistrate’s Court. (5) The District Court or the Magistrate’s Court may proceed to the examination of the matter and upon examination is to order that the broadcasting apparatus be forfeited or released.
Power of arrest and search
52.—(1) The Chief Executive or any employee of the Authority the Chief Executive authorises to act under this section may arrest without warrant —(a) any person found committing or attempting to commit or employing or aiding any person to commit an arrestable offence under this Act; or (b) any person against whom a reasonable suspicion exists that the person has been guilty of an arrestable offence under this Act, and may search any person so arrested, except that a female must not be searched except by a female. [22/2016] (2) Every person so arrested must, together with any article as to which an offence may have been committed or attempted to be committed, be taken to a police station. (3) For the purposes of this section, offences punishable under sections 30, 46, 47 and 48 are deemed to be arrestable offences within the meaning of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010.
No entitlement to costs or damages
53. No person is entitled, in any proceedings before any court in respect of any apparatus, equipment, article, book or document seized in the exercise or the purported exercise of any power conferred under this Act, to the costs of the proceedings or to any damages or other relief other than an order for the return of the apparatus, equipment, article, book or document or the payment of their value unless the seizure was made without reasonable or probable cause.
Offence against other laws
54. Nothing in this Act prevents any person —(a) from being prosecuted under any other written law for any act or omission which constitutes an offence under that law; or (b) from being liable under that other written law to any punishment or penalty higher or other than that provided by this Act, but no person is to be punished twice for the same offence.
Conduct of proceedings by officers
55. Proceedings in respect of any offence under this Act may, with the authorisation of the Public Prosecutor, be conducted by an officer of the Authority or an officer of the Government authorised in writing in that behalf by the Chief Executive.[22/2016]
Corporate offenders and unincorporated associations
56.—(1) Where an offence under this Act committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, an officer of the body corporate, the officer as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. (2) Where the affairs of the body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) applies in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with the member’s functions of management as if the member were a director of the body corporate. (3) Proceedings for an offence alleged to have been committed under this Act by an unincorporated association must be brought against the association in its own name (and not in that of any of its members) and, for the purposes of these proceedings, any rules of court relating to service of documents have effect as if the association were a corporation. (4) Where an offence under this Act committed by a partnership is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a partner, the partner as well as the partnership shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. (5) Where an offence under this Act committed by an unincorporated association (other than a partnership) is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, an officer of the association or a member of its governing body, the officer or member as well as the association shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. (6) Without limiting section 66, the Authority may make regulations to provide for the application of any provision of this section, with such modifications as the Authority considers appropriate, to a body corporate or an unincorporated association formed or recognised under the law of a country or territory outside Singapore. (7) In this section —“officer” —(a) in relation to a body corporate, means a director, member of the committee of management, chief executive, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or a person purporting to act in any such capacity; or (b) in relation to an unincorporated association (other than a partnership), means the president, the secretary and members of the committee of the unincorporated association and includes persons holding positions analogous to those of president, secretary or member of such a committee; “partner” includes a person purporting to act as a partner.
Composition of offences
57.—(1) The Authority may compound any offence under this Act which is prescribed as a compoundable offence by collecting from the person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding $1,000. (2) The Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations prescribing the offences which may be compounded.
Jurisdiction of court
58. Despite any provision to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, a District Court and a Magistrate’s Court have jurisdiction to try any offence under this Act and have power to impose the full penalty or punishment in respect of the offence.
Provisions on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. Read the official text ↗
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
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