Funds of Council, etc.
68.—(1) All fees, penalties and other moneys payable to the Council under this Act or any regulations made under this Act that are not paid are recoverable as a debt due to the Council.[20/2021]
(2) Subject to subsection (3), all fees and other moneys (other than penalties) collected or recovered by the Council under this Act or any regulations made under this Act must be paid to the Council.[20/2021]
(3) All penalties collected or recovered under this Act or any regulations made under this Act must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.[20/2021]
(4) The costs and expenses of and incidental to the performance of the functions of the Council, the Complaints Committees, the Disciplinary Committees, the Health Committee and any committee appointed by the Council under this Act must be paid by the Council out of its funds.
(5) The Minister may pay into the funds of the Council such sum of money out of moneys to be provided by Parliament as the Minister may determine.[54
Fees payable for members of Council and members of committees
69. There must be paid to —(a)
the members of the Council; and
(b)
the members of any committee appointed by the Council or by the president,
who are not public officers or full-time members of the academic staff of the National University of Singapore any fees that may be approved by the Minister.
[55
Inspectors
70.—(1) The Council may appoint one or more public officers or officers of the Board as inspectors to investigate the commission of an offence under this Act or any regulations made under this Act.
(2) In any case relating to the commission of an offence under this Act or any regulations made under this Act, an inspector has the power to do all or any of the following:(a)
to require any person who the inspector has reason to believe has any article, document or information relevant to the carrying out of the provisions of this Act or the regulations made under this Act, to produce any such article or document, or give such information, and to retain such article or document, or make copies of such document;
(b)
to examine orally any person supposed to be acquainted with the facts and circumstances relevant to the carrying out of the provisions of this Act or the regulations made under this Act, and to reduce into writing the answer given or statement made by that person who is bound to state truly the facts and circumstances with which that person is acquainted, and the statement made by that person must be read over to him or her and must, after correction, be signed by him or her;
(c)
to require by order in writing the attendance before the inspector of any person who, from information given or otherwise, appears to be acquainted with facts and circumstances relevant to the carrying out of the provisions of this Act or the regulations made under this Act.
(3) An inspector may apply to a Magistrate for a search warrant if the inspector has reasonable cause to believe that evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act or any regulations made under this Act can be found on any premises; and the Magistrate may, if satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for doing so, issue the warrant.
(4) A search warrant issued under subsection (3) authorises the inspector to whom it is directed to enter and search the premises mentioned in the warrant and to seize any thing found on the premises which the inspector reasonably believes is evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act or any regulations made under this Act.
(5) Any person who —(a)
intentionally offers any resistance to or wilfully delays an inspector in the exercise of any power under subsection (2) or pursuant to a search warrant issued under subsection (3); or
(b)
fails to comply with any requisition or order of an inspector under subsection (2),
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.
[56
Assessor to Council
71.—(1) For the purposes of advising the Council, Complaints Committees, Disciplinary Committees, Health Committee or Interim Orders Committee in any proceedings before any of them under the provisions of this Act, the Council may appoint an assessor to the Council who is an advocate and solicitor of at least 10 years’ standing.
(2) The assessor must not participate or sit in any deliberations of the Council, Complaints Committees, Disciplinary Committees, Health Committee or Interim Orders Committee unless invited to do so, and the assessor’s participation must be limited only to questions of law arising from the proceedings.
(3) The Council may pay to the assessor, as part of the expenses of the Council, any remuneration that the Council may determine.[57
Protection from personal liability
72. No liability shall lie against —(a)
any member of the Council;
(b)
any member of —(i)
the Dental Specialists Accreditation Board; and
(ii)
any committee appointed by the Dental Specialists Accreditation Board under section 41(10);
(c)
the chairperson of the Complaints Panel;
(d)
any member of —(i)
any Complaints Committee, Disciplinary Committee or Interim Orders Committee;
(ii)
the Health Committee; and
(iii)
any committee appointed by the Council under this Act; or
(e)
any employee of the Council or any other person acting under the direction of the Council,
for anything which is done or purported to be done, or omitted to be done, in good faith and with reasonable care in the exercise or purported exercise of any power or the performance or purported performance of any function under this Act or any regulations made under this Act.
[58
[20/2021]
Service of documents
72A.—(1) A document that is permitted or required by or under this Act to be served on a person may be served as described in this section.
(2) A document permitted or required by or under this Act 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 generally, or specifically for the document, 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; or
(e)
by sending it by email to the individual’s last email address.
(3) A document permitted or required by or under this Act 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, or an authorised representative, of the partnership;
(b)
by leaving it at, or by sending it by prepaid registered post to, the partnership’s business address; or
(c)
by sending it by email to the partnership’s last email address.
(4) A document permitted or required by or under this Act 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 registered office or principal office in Singapore of the body corporate or unincorporated association; or
(c)
by sending it by email to the last email address of the body corporate or unincorporated association.
(5) Service of a document under this section takes effect —(a)
if the document is sent by prepaid registered post, 2 days after the day the document was posted (even if it is returned undelivered); or
(b)
if the document is sent by email, at the time that the email becomes capable of being retrieved by the person to whom it is sent.
(6) However, service of any document under this Act on a person by email may be effected only with the person’s prior written consent to service in that way.
(7) This section does not apply to documents to be served in proceedings in court.
(8) In this section —“authorised representative”, in relation to a partnership (other than a limited liability partnership), means any person authorised to accept service of documents on behalf of the partnership;
“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;
“document” includes a direction, an order or a notice permitted or required by or under this Act to be served;
“last 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;
“residential address” means an individual’s usual or last known place of residence in Singapore.[Act 19 of 2025 wef 05/12/2025]
Exemption in respect of medical practitioners
73. Nothing in this Act prevents the practice of medicine or surgery by any medical practitioner registered under the Medical Registration Act 1997.[60
Exemption in respect of dental training
74. Nothing in this Act prevents the doing of any act within the practice of dentistry by any oral health therapist, dental student or medical student if the act is carried out —(a)
in the course of his or her training;
(b)
under the supervision of a registered dentist whose name appears in the first division of the Register of Dentists; and
(c)
in a hospital or dental school approved for the purposes of this section by the Council.[61
Exemption
75. The Minister may, by order in the Gazette and subject to any conditions that he or she may impose, exempt any person or class of persons from all or any of the provisions of this Act or any regulations made under this Act.[61A
Composition of offences
76.—(1) The Council may compound any offence under this Act or any regulations made under this Act 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; or
(b)
$500.[20/2021]
(2) On payment of the sum of money, no further proceedings are to be taken against that person in respect of the offence.
(3) The Council may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations to prescribe the offences which may be compounded.
(4) All sums collected under this section must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.[61B
[20/2021]
Jurisdiction of court
77. Despite anything to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, a District Court has jurisdiction to try any offence under this Act or any regulations made under this Act, and has power to impose the full penalty or punishment in respect of the offence.[61C
[20/2021]
Amendment of Schedule
78.—(1) The Minister may, after consultation with the Council, by order amend the Schedule.[20/2021]
(2) The Minister may, in any order made under subsection (1), make any saving or transitional provisions that may be necessary or expedient.[61D
[20/2021]
Power of Council to make regulations
79.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Council may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations necessary or expedient to give effect to the provisions and purposes of this Act and for the due administration of the Act.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), regulations may be made to —(a)
provide for the duties of the Registrar;
(b)
regulate the registration of dentists and oral health therapists;
(c)
provide for the form of the appropriate register and the mode in which it must be kept;
(d)
regulate the grant of practising certificates;
(e)
regulate the procedure of any committee appointed by the Council or the president under this Act and the conduct of any proceedings of such committee;
(f)
regulate the professional practice, etiquette, conduct and discipline of registered dentists and registered oral health therapists;
(g)
define the scope of practice of registered oral health therapists;
(h)
regulate the removal and restoration of names in the appropriate register;
(i)
prescribe the forms necessary for the administration of this Act;
(j)
prescribe the fees and other charges for the purposes of this Act;
(k)
provide for the duties, functions and payment of medical assessors appointed under section 54 and the assessor appointed under section 71;
(l)
provide that any person who contravenes the regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both; and
(m)
prescribe any other matter that is necessary or authorised to be prescribed under this Act.[62
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
