Detention of suspected person
180.—(1) A person who is —(a)
for the time being in charge of a casino;
(b)
an agent of the casino operator; or
(c)
a casino employee,
and who suspects on reasonable grounds that a person within the casino premises is committing, attempting to commit or has committed any offence under Part 11 or under a prescribed provision of this Act may detain the suspected person in a suitable place on or near the casino premises until the arrival at the place of detention of a police officer or an inspector.
(2) A person may not be detained under this section unless —(a)
no more force is used than may be reasonably necessary;
(b)
the person detained is informed of the reasons for the detention; and
(c)
the person effecting the detention immediately notifies a police officer or an inspector of the detention and the reasons for the detention.
Powers of enforcement
181.—(1) In addition to the powers conferred on him or her by this Act or any other written law, an inspector or authorised person may, for the purposes of investigating any offence or contravention of a provision of this Act which may result in disciplinary action, do all or any of the following:(a)
require any person whom the inspector or authorised person reasonably believes to have committed that offence or contravention to furnish evidence of the person’s identity;
(b)
require any person to furnish any information or produce any record, document or copy thereof in the possession of that person, and may, without fee or reward, inspect, copy or make extracts from such record or document;
(c)
require, by written order, the attendance before the inspector or authorised person of any person within the limits of Singapore who, from any information given or otherwise obtained by the inspector or authorised person, appears to be acquainted with the circumstances of the case;
(d)
examine orally any person who appears to be acquainted with the facts and circumstances of matters under this Act —(i)
whether before or after that person or anyone else is charged with an offence, or disciplinary proceedings are commenced, in connection with the matter; and
(ii)
whether or not that person is to be called as a witness in any inquiry, trial or disciplinary proceedings in connection with the matter.[36/2012]
(2) Any person examined under this section is bound to state truly what that person knows of the facts and circumstances concerning matters under this Act, except that he or she need not say anything that might expose him or her to a criminal charge, penalty or forfeiture.[36/2012]
(3) A statement made by any person examined under this section must —(a)
be reduced to writing;
(b)
be read over to that person;
(c)
if that person does not understand English, be interpreted in a language that he or she understands; and
(d)
after correction, if necessary, be signed by that person.[36/2012]
(4) If any person fails to attend as required by an order under subsection (1)(c), the inspector or authorised person may report such failure to a Magistrate who may thereupon issue a warrant to secure the attendance of that person as required by the order.[36/2012]
(5) Any person who —(a)
wilfully mis-states or without lawful excuse refuses to give any information or produce any record, document or copy thereof required of that person by an inspector or authorised person under subsection (1); or
(b)
fails to comply with a lawful demand of an inspector or authorised person in the discharge by such inspector or authorised person of his or her duties under this Act or any other written law,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
[36/2012]
Powers of arrest
182.—(1) Any inspector or authorised person may arrest without warrant any person whom the inspector or authorised person reasonably believes has committed an arrestable offence under this Act.[36/2012]
(2) Any inspector or authorised person who is not a police officer may exercise all or any of the powers in relation to investigations into an arrestable offence conferred on a police officer by the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 in any case relating to the commission of an arrestable offence under this Act or in any case where an arrestable offence is disclosed under any written law in the course of an investigation under this Act.[36/2012]
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), when an inspector or authorised person who is not a police officer is exercising the powers of a police officer under that subsection, the inspector or authorised person is deemed to be an officer not below the rank of inspector of police.[15/2010]
(4) For the purposes of this section, offences punishable with imprisonment for 3 years or upwards and an offence under section 179 are deemed to be arrestable offences within the meaning of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010.[36/2012]
Arrest on refusal to give name and residence
183.—(1) An inspector or authorised person may arrest any person who is accused of committing, or who commits in the view or presence of the inspector or authorised person, a non‑arrestable offence if, on the demand of the inspector or authorised person, that person refuses to give his or her name and residential address.[36/2012]
(2) An inspector or authorised person may arrest such a person who gives a residential address outside Singapore, or a name or residential address which the inspector or authorised person has reason to believe is false.[36/2012]
(3) Any person arrested under this section must be brought to a police station as soon as reasonably practicable and may, if required by a police officer of or above the rank of sergeant, be released upon signing a bond, with or without surety, to appear before a Magistrate.[36/2012]
(4) If the person refuses or is unable to sign the bond as required, he or she must, within 24 hours of the arrest (excluding the time necessary for the journey to a Magistrate’s Court), be brought before a Magistrate’s Court.[36/2012]
(5) The person who is brought before a Magistrate’s Court under subsection (4) may —(a)
be ordered to be detained in custody until he or she can be tried; or
(b)
if so required by the Magistrate, be released upon signing a bond, with or without surety, to appear before a Magistrate’s Court.[36/2012]
Power to enter premises
183A.—(1) An inspector or authorised person may enter at any reasonable time without notice any premises of a holder of a licence or approval granted under this Act for the purpose of investigating any offence or contravention of a provision of this Act which may result in disciplinary action, and may do all or any of the following:(a)
search the premises and take possession of any thing found therein and reasonably believed to be connected to the commission of the offence or the contravention;
(b)
require the production of records and documents relating or reasonably believed to relate to the commission of the offence or the contravention, wherever and by whomsoever kept, and take and retain extracts or copies thereof;
(c)
compel any person who is able to operate any equipment at the premises to do so for the purpose of enabling the inspector or authorised person to ascertain whether the equipment, or a disk, tape or other storage device that can be used or associated with the equipment, contains information that is relevant to the investigation;
(d)
if such information is found in exercise of the power in paragraph (c) —(i)
produce, or compel the production of, the information in documentary form, and keep or copy the documents so produced; or
(ii)
transfer, or compel the transfer of, the information to a disk, tape or other storage device, and remove it from the premises.[36/2012]
(2) Where an inspector or authorised person has reasonable grounds to suspect that there is, on any premises (including premises other than those referred to in subsection (1)), any record, document or information the production of which has been required under subsection (1) or section 181(1)(b), and —(a)
which has not been produced in compliance with that requirement; or
(b)
which the inspector or authorised person has reasonable grounds to believe will not be produced in compliance with that requirement,
the inspector or authorised person may apply to a Magistrate for the issue of a warrant to search the premises for such record, document or information.
[36/2012]
(3) Whenever it appears to a Magistrate, upon an application made under subsection (2), and after such enquiry as he or she may think necessary, that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that there is, on particular premises, any record, document or information the production of which has been required under subsection (1) or section 181(1)(b), and —(a)
which has not been produced in compliance with that requirement; or
(b)
which the Magistrate has reasonable grounds to suspect will not be produced in compliance with that requirement,
the Magistrate may issue a warrant authorising the inspector or authorised person or any person named therein, with or without assistance —
(c)
to enter and search the premises and to break open and search anything, whether a fixture or not, in the premises; and
(d)
to take possession of, or secure against interference, any record or document, or equipment, disk, tape or other storage device containing information, that appears to be a record or document, or to contain information, the production of which was so required.[36/2012]
Bail and bond
183AA.—(1) A person who has been arrested by an inspector or authorised person under section 182(1) may be released on bail or on personal bond granted by any inspector or any authorised person.
(2) Division 5 (Bails and bonds) of Part 6 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 applies to the release of a person on bail or on personal bond under this section or section 92 or 93 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 (as the case may be) with the following modifications:(a)
any reference to “officer”, “police officer” or “police officer of or above the rank of sergeant” is to be read to include an inspector or an authorised person;
(b)
the reference to the Commissioner of Police in section 92(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 is to be read to include the Chief Executive.[Act 16 of 2024 wef 17/06/2024]
Request for review by Authority or appeal to Minister
184.—(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any decision of the Authority under this Act is final and is not subject to appeal or review.[36/2012]
(2) Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Authority (other than a decision under section 93A, 110C or 114) may, within 28 days after being notified of the decision, or such longer period as the Authority may allow in any particular case for special reasons, make a request to the Authority to review the decision.[36/2012]
[Act 29 of 2024 wef 30/10/2024]
(3) A request for review under subsection (2) must —(a)
be in writing; and
(b)
specify the grounds on which it is made.[36/2012]
(4) Any person who has made a request for review under subsection (2) must provide such information as may be required by the Authority in such manner and within such period as may be specified by the Authority.[36/2012]
(5) The Authority may determine any request for review by confirming, varying or reversing its decision.[36/2012]
(6) A person aggrieved by any decision of the Authority —(a)
to cancel or suspend, or to refuse to grant, any licence or any approval or consent under section 53 or 55;[Act 29 of 2024 wef 30/10/2024]
(b)
to amend, or to refuse to amend, the conditions of any licence;
(ba)
to refuse an application for approval under section 65 or 66, impose any condition under section 67(2), issue a notice of objection under section 69, make any directions under section 69(4) in a written notice of objection or make any direction under section 70(1);[Act 29 of 2024 wef 30/10/2024]
(c)
to issue, or to refuse to revoke, any exclusion order under section 121; [Act 29 of 2024 wef 30/10/2024]
(d)
to require the termination of a contract under section 76; or[Act 29 of 2024 wef 30/10/2024]
(e)
under subsection (5) regarding any matter mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (d),
may, within 28 days after being notified of the Authority’s decision, or such longer period as the Minister may allow in any particular case for special reasons, appeal to the Minister whose decision is final.
[36/2012]
[Act 29 of 2024 wef 30/10/2024]
(7) An appeal must —(a)
be in writing; and
(b)
specify the grounds on which it is made.
(8) Any person who has made an appeal to the Minister under subsection (6) must provide such information as may be required by the Minister in such manner and within such period as may be specified by the Minister.[36/2012]
(9) The Minister may reject the appeal of an appellant —(a)
who fails to comply with subsection (6), (7) or (8); or[Act 29 of 2024 wef 30/10/2024]
(b)
who has not first made a request for review of the same decision by the Authority under subsection (2), or under section 93A(2) or 110C(2), as the case may be.[36/2012]
(10) After consideration of an appeal, the Minister may —(a)
reject the appeal and confirm the decision; or
(b)
allow the appeal (in whole or part) and substitute a new decision or vary the decision,
and the appellant must be notified in writing of the Minister’s decision in respect of the appellant’s appeal accordingly.
(11) Nothing in this section prejudices the right of the Authority to make a further decision in respect of that person for a reason considered sufficient by the Authority.
(12) A review of or an appeal against a decision does not affect the operation of the decision or prevent the taking of action to implement the decision, and unless otherwise provided by the Authority or the Minister, the decision under review or appealed against must be complied with until the determination of the review or appeal, as the case may be.[36/2012]
(13) The Minister may make regulations to provide for the manner in which an appeal to the Minister may be made and the procedure to be adopted in any such appeal.[36/2012]
Designate may hear appeal in place of Minister
184A.—(1) The Minister may designate any of the following office‑holders in his or her Ministry to hear and determine, in the Minister’s place, any appeal made under section 184(6):(a)
the Second Minister, if any;
(b)
any Minister of State or Senior Minister of State;
(c)
any Parliamentary Secretary or Senior Parliamentary Secretary.
(2) A reference to the Minister in section 184 (except for the power to make regulations under section 184(13)) includes a reference to a person designated under subsection (1).[Act 29 of 2024 wef 30/10/2024]
No right to compensation for cancellation, etc.
185. Subject to section 4, no right to compensation enforceable against the Authority arises in relation to the cancellation, suspension or variation of the terms of any licence or approval, or an amendment of the conditions of any licence or approval, under this Act.[36/2012]
Grant of licence or approval a revocable privilege
185A. To avoid doubt, any licence or approval granted under this Act is a revocable privilege.[36/2012]
Investigations of suitability
185B.—(1) Where the Authority is required to be satisfied that any applicant for a licence or an approval, or any other person connected to the application, is suitable or qualified for the purposes of the licence or approval, the burden of proving that suitability or qualification is on the applicant and each other person connected to the application, as the case may be.[36/2012]
(2) For the purposes of meeting any costs arising out of investigations in connection with the suitability of any person to be granted or to continue to hold a licence or an approval, the Authority may, by written notice, require the applicant for or the holder of any licence or approval granted under this Act to furnish to the Authority a deposit or prepayment of such amount as the Authority may determine.[36/2012]
(3) For the purposes of investigating the suitability of the applicant for a licence or approval, the Authority may cause to be carried out all such investigations and inquiries in relation to the applicant or each applicant (in the case of a consolidated application) as the Authority considers necessary to enable it to consider the application properly and, in particular, may —(a)
investigate the applicant and any person whose association with the applicant is, in the opinion of the Authority, relevant to the application insofar as it affects the applicant’s suitability to be licensed or approved;
(b)
require the applicant or any person whose association with the applicant is, in the opinion of the Authority, relevant to the application to —(i)
provide such information or produce such records relevant to the investigation of the application as may be necessary;
(ii)
provide such authorisations or consents as the Authority may direct for the purpose of enabling the Authority to obtain information (including financial and other confidential information) concerning the person and the person’s associates from other persons; or
(iii)
consent to having his or her photograph, fingerprints and palm prints taken; and
(c)
send a copy of the application and any photograph, fingerprints and palm prints taken under paragraph (b)(iii), and any supporting documents to the Commissioner of Police.
(4) The Authority may refuse to consider an application if any person from whom it requires information, records, authorisations or consents, photographs, fingerprints or palm prints under this section in relation to that application refuses to so provide.[Act 29 of 2024 wef 30/10/2024]
Security deposit
185C. The Authority may, by written notice, require the holder of any licence or approval granted under this Act to furnish to the Authority a performance bond, deposit or some other form of security of such amount as the Authority may determine for the purpose of meeting any financial penalty arising out of any disciplinary proceedings commenced or likely to commence against the holder of the licence or approval.[36/2012]
Enforceable undertakings
185D.—(1) The Authority may accept a written undertaking given by a holder of any licence or approval granted by the Authority under this Act (called in this section a licensed or approved person), in connection with any matter within the powers and functions of the Authority under this Act.[36/2012]
(2) Without limiting the matters to which the written undertaking may relate, the undertaking may include any of the following:(a)
an undertaking to take specified action within a specified time;
(b)
an undertaking to refrain from taking specified action;
(c)
an undertaking to compensate a specified person a specified amount within a specified time.[36/2012]
(3) A licensed or approved person may vary or withdraw any written undertaking given by that person only with the permission of the Authority in writing.[36/2012]
(4) If the Authority is satisfied that any licensed or approved person has failed to comply with any term of the written undertaking given by that person, the Authority may apply to a court for an order under subsection (5).[36/2012]
(5) If the court is satisfied that any licensed or approved person has failed to comply with any term of the written undertaking given by that person, the court may make an order directing the licensed or approved person to comply with the term or terms of the undertaking, or any other order that the court considers appropriate for the purposes of this Act.[36/2012]
Information gathering for law enforcement purposes
186.—(1) For the purpose of carrying out its duties and functions under this Act or obtaining information that may be of assistance to a law enforcement agency, the Authority may direct a casino operator in writing to provide the Authority with information obtained by the casino operator concerning the operations of the casino.
(2) Such direction may relate to particular information or to information generally and may relate to particular or general information concerning a specified person.
(3) The direction must specify —(a)
the kind of information that the casino operator is required to provide; and
(b)
the manner in which the information is to be provided.
(4) Any casino operator which fails to comply with a direction under this section shall be liable to disciplinary action.[36/2012]
(5) The Authority may make information obtained by the Authority under this section available to any law enforcement agency.
(6) In this section, “law enforcement agency” means —(a)
the Singapore Police Force;
(b)
the Central Narcotics Bureau;
(c)
the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau; or
(d)
any other authority or person responsible for the enforcement of any written law.
(7) The provisions of this section are in addition to, and not in derogation of, any other written law conferring powers on any law enforcement agency to obtain information.
Protection of informers
187.—(1) Except as provided in subsection (3), no witness in any civil or criminal proceedings is obliged —(a)
to disclose the name and address of any informer who has given information with respect to an offence under this Act; or
(b)
to answer any question if the answer would lead, or would tend to lead, to the discovery of the name or address of any informer.
(2) If any record, document or paper which is in evidence or liable to inspection in any civil or criminal proceedings contains any entry in which any informer is named or described or which may lead to the informer’s discovery, the court is to cause those entries to be concealed from view or to be obliterated so far as may be necessary to protect the informer from discovery.[36/2012]
(3) If —(a)
in any proceedings before a court for an offence under this Act, the court, after full inquiry into the case, is satisfied that an informer wilfully made a material statement which the informer knew or believed to be false or did not believe to be true; or
(b)
in any other proceedings, the court is of the opinion that justice cannot be fully done between the parties thereto without the disclosure of the name of an informer,
the court may permit inquiry and require full disclosure concerning the informer.
Evidence
188.—(1) In proceedings under this Act, an assertion —(a)
that, at a specified time or during a specified period, a specified person was the Minister administering any part of this Act;
(b)
that, at a specified time or during a specified period, a specified person held, or is acting in, a specified office;
(c)
that a signature purporting to be the signature of a Minister, an inspector, a police officer or an authorised person is the signature it purports to be;
(d)
that, at a specified time or during a specified period, a specified person was, or was not, the holder of a specified licence, permit, approval or other authorisation under this Act; or
(e)
that, at a specified time, a person attained a specified age or that, at a specified time or during a specified period, a specified person was below or above a specified age,
is evidence of the fact or facts asserted.
[36/2012]
(2) In proceedings under this Act —(a)
a document purporting to be a copy of a direction, notice, order, requirement or decision given or made under this Act is evidence of a direction, notice, order, requirement or decision of which it purports to be a copy;
(b)
a document purporting to be a copy of a licence, permit, approval or other authorisation under this Act is evidence of the licence, permit, approval or authorisation of which it purports to be a copy; and
(c)
evidence that a person accepted service of a document is evidence of the authority of the person to accept service of the document.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
