Power to direct destruction or treatment of plants, etc.
21.—(1) For the purpose of ascertaining whether any pest is present on or in any land or premises, an authorised officer may, upon serving written notice under the hand of the Director-General on the owner or occupier of the land or premises and upon producing, if so requested, an identification card —(a)
enter the land or premises and examine any plant, plant product, package, soil or article on the land or premises at all reasonable times; and
(b)
take, without payment, any sample of any plant, plant product or soil.
(2) The notice mentioned in subsection (1) must be served on the owner or occupier of the land or premises at least 6 hours before the time of intended entry of the land or premises.
(3) If, as a result of any examination by an authorised officer under subsection (1), it appears to the authorised officer that any land or premises or plant is in a condition favourable to the introduction or spread of any pest or that any plant is diseased — the Director‑General may, by written notice under his or her hand addressed to the owner or occupier of the land or premises where that condition exists or where the plant is, direct the owner or occupier of the land or premises to take within a time to be stated in the notice such measures as may appear to the Director‑General necessary or expedient for —(a)
the eradication or the prevention of the spread of any pest, either by destruction or by treatment in a manner to be specified in the notice of that plant or any plant or of any pest or of any tool or utensil used for agricultural or industrial purposes on the land or premises including the cessation of obtaining or abstracting any product from any plant on the land or premises; and
(b)
the treatment of the land or premises or plant or of any tool or utensil used for agricultural or industrial purposes on the land or premises with a view to bringing them into a condition not favourable to the introduction or spread of any pest.
(4) If the owner or occupier of any land or premises fails to comply with a notice under subsection (3) within the time stated for the performance of the acts required to be done, any authorised officer may —(a)
enter upon the land or premises to which the notice refers;
(b)
cause any person authorised by him or her to enter with such instruments and things as are necessary; and
(c)
proceed to perform all acts required by the notice,
and the costs and expenses thereof are recoverable as a debt due from the owner or occupier to the Board.
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(5) Nothing in subsection (4) affects the liability of any person to prosecution and punishment under subsection (7).
(6) Any person who obstructs or hinders the Director-General or an authorised officer in the exercise of any of his or her powers under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.
(7) Any owner or occupier of any land or premises who wilfully fails to comply with the notice under subsection (3) within the time stated shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 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 $100 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.
Placing land under quarantine
22.—(1) Where the Director-General is of the opinion that any plant on any land is diseased, he or she may make an order placing the land or any part of the land in quarantine for any period that the order may prescribe.
(2) So long as an order of quarantine applies to any land, a person must not remove any plant from the land except under and in accordance with the direction of an authorised officer.
(3) Any land placed in quarantine under subsection (1) continues in quarantine until the Director-General certifies that no plant on the land is diseased.
Application for examination of quarantined area
23.—(1) Any owner or occupier of any land quarantined under section 22(1) may apply to an authorised officer to examine the quarantined area with a view to obtaining from the authorised officer the certificate referred to in section 22(3).
(2) The authorised officer must, as soon as possible after receipt of such an application, visit and examine the quarantined area and may charge any fees that may be prescribed for such visit and examination.
Power to order immediate destruction of plants
24.—(1) If in the Director‑General’s opinion the destruction of any diseased plant is a matter of necessity and extreme urgency, he or she may forthwith make a written order directing the immediate destruction of the plant by any person mentioned in the order.
(2) Such plant must be destroyed accordingly and the cost of the destruction, if incurred by any person other than the owner or occupier of the land where the diseased plant was, must be defrayed by the owner or occupier.
Clearing diseased land
25.—(1) Where it appears to an authorised officer that any plant on any land is diseased and he or she is of the opinion that it is necessary for the prevention of the spread of any pest that the land be entirely cleared of cultivation or cleared of all cultivation of any particular species — the Director‑General may, with the approval of the Minister, by written notice addressed to the owner or occupier of the land where the plant is, direct the owner or occupier to fell and burn or otherwise destroy within a time to be stated in the notice and to the satisfaction of the authorised officer all cultivation or all cultivation of the species named in the notice.
(2) The action directed by a notice under subsection (1) may be enforced in the manner provided by section 21(4) for the enforcement of the action directed by a notice under section 21(3).
(3) If the owner or occupier of any land on whom a notice under subsection (1) has been served fails to comply with the notice, the owner or occupier of the land shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 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 $500 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.
Compensation
26. Where any cultivation has been destroyed pursuant to a notice issued under section 25(1), the Minister may, in his or her discretion, direct the payment out of the Consolidated Fund of compensation for that cultivation subject to the following provisions:(a)
no compensation is to be paid for any diseased plant;
(b)
the value of any cultivation is to be taken to be the market value of that cultivation at the time of its destruction and if any question arises as to the market value, the Director‑General’s decision is final; and
(c)
the Minister may entirely withhold or may reduce the amount of compensation for the destruction of any cultivation if the owner or occupier of the land has done anything in contravention of, or has failed to comply with, any notice issued under this Part or has by the owner’s or occupier’s neglect contributed to the introduction of the pest.
Accredited pest control agency
27. The Director-General may register any fit and proper person possessing the prescribed qualifications and practical experience as an accredited pest control agency —(a)
to carry out, at any place, any inspection, identification, analysis, treatment, detention, destruction or disposal of any plant, plant product, pest, or any soil or other material attached to any plant or plant product under this Act and any rules made under this Act; and
(b)
to issue phytosanitary certificates.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
