Notices, orders and other documents may be given by authorised officer
Open ↗65.—(1) All notices, orders, receipts, warrants and other documents of any nature which the Director‑General is empowered to give by this Act may, subject to the direction of the Director‑General, be given by any authorised officer on behalf of the Director‑General.
(2) Where the notice, order, receipt, warrant or document requires authentication, the signature, or an official fax of the signature, of the Director‑General or any authorised officer affixed thereto is sufficient authentication.
Service of documents, etc.
Open ↗66.—(1) Subject to subsection (3), any notice, order or other document required or authorised to be given or served under this Act may be served —(a)
in the case of an individual —(i)
by delivering it to the individual personally;
(ii)
by leaving it with an adult person apparently resident at, or by sending it by prepaid registered post to, the usual or last known address of the individual’s place of residence;
(iii)
by leaving it with an adult person apparently employed at, or by sending it by prepaid registered post to, the usual or last known address of the individual’s place of business;
(iv)
by affixing a copy of the document in a conspicuous place at the usual or last known address of residence or business of the individual;[Act 24 of 2021 wef 28/02/2022]
(v)
by sending it by fax to the fax number operated at the usual or last known address of the individual’s place of residence or business, or the last fax number given to the Agency or an authorised officer by the individual as the fax number for the service of documents on the individual; or[Act 24 of 2021 wef 28/02/2022]
(vi)
by sending it by email to the individual’s last email address;[Act 24 of 2021 wef 28/02/2022]
(b)
in the case of a partnership other than a limited liability partnership —(i)
by delivering it to any one of the partners or the secretary or other like officer of the partnership;
(ii)
by leaving it at, or by sending it by prepaid registered post to, the principal or last known place of business of the partnership in Singapore; [Act 24 of 2021 wef 28/02/2022]
(iii)
by sending it by fax to the fax number operated at the principal or last known place of business of the partnership in Singapore; or[Act 24 of 2021 wef 28/02/2022]
(iv)
by sending it by email to the partnership’s last email address; and[Act 24 of 2021 wef 28/02/2022]
(c)
in the case of any body corporate (including a limited liability partnership) or an unincorporated association —(i)
by delivering it to the secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or unincorporated association or the limited liability partnership’s manager;
(ii)
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;
(iii)
by sending it by fax to the fax number operated at the registered office or principal office in Singapore of the body corporate or unincorporated association; or
(iv)
by sending it by email to the last email address of the body corporate or unincorporated association.[Act 24 of 2021 wef 28/02/2022]
(2) Service of a notice, an order or other document under this section takes effect —(a)
if the notice, order or other document is sent by fax and a notification of successful transmission is received, on the day of transmission;
(b)
if the notice, order or other document is sent by email, at the time that the email becomes capable of being retrieved by the person to whom it is sent; and
(c)
if the notice, order or other document is sent by prepaid registered post, 2 days after the day the notice, order or other document was posted (even if it is returned undelivered).[Act 24 of 2021 wef 28/02/2022]
(3) Any notice, order or other document required or authorised by this Act to be served on the owner or occupier of any premises may be served —(a)
by delivering it or a true copy thereof to an adult person on the premises; or
(b)
by affixing it to a conspicuous part of the premises if there is no adult person on the premises to whom it can with reasonable diligence be delivered.[12/2011]
(4) Any notice, order or other document required or authorised by this Act to be served on the owner or occupier of any premises is deemed to be properly addressed if addressed by the description of the owner or occupier of the premises without further name or description.[12/2011]
(4A) A notice, an order or other document may be served on a person under this Act by email only with that person’s prior written consent.[Act 24 of 2021 wef 28/02/2022]
(5) This section does not apply to notices, summonses and other documents to be served in proceedings in court.[12/2011]
(6) In this section, “last email address” means the last email address given by the addressee concerned to the person giving or serving the notice, order or other document as the email address for the service of documents under this Act.[Act 24 of 2021 wef 28/02/2022]
General penalties
Open ↗67.—(1) Any person who is guilty of an offence under this Act (except for an offence under Part 7) for which no penalty is expressly provided shall be liable —(a)
on the first conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction; and
(b)
on a second or subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $2,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.
(2) The court before which the conviction is heard may, in addition to the fine, order the person to pay to the Director‑General the amount of any expense in connection with the execution of any work, together with any interest due thereon or any interest certified by the Director‑General to be due from the person at the date of the person’s conviction.
(3) The amount may be recovered according to any written law for the time being in force for the recovery of fines.
Furnishing of deposits
Open ↗68.—(1) Where any permit, consent or approval is given by the Director‑General under this Act for the execution of any work, the Director‑General may require a deposit or other security in lieu thereof to be furnished by the person applying for the permit, consent or approval to secure the execution of the work.
(2) Where the work is not executed to the satisfaction of the Director‑General, he or she may utilise the deposit or security or any part thereof to make good the defects.
Inaccuracies in document
Open ↗69.—(1) No misnomer or inaccurate description of any person, premises, building, holding, street or place named or described in any document prepared, issued or served under, by virtue of or for the purposes of this Act, in any way affects the operation of this Act as respects that person or place if that person or place is so designated in the document as to be identifiable.
(2) No proceedings taken under or by virtue of this Act are invalid for want of form.
Evidence
Open ↗69A.—(1) The contents of any document prepared, issued or served under or for the purposes of this Act are, until the contrary is proved, presumed to be correct and the production of any book purporting to contain any apportionment made under this Act shall, without any other evidence, be received as prima facie proof of the making and validity of the apportionment mentioned in the book.
(2) All records, registers and other documents kept by the Agency or by any authorised officer for the purposes of this Act are deemed to be public documents, and copies thereof or extracts therefrom certified by the officer or employee of the Agency responsible for the custody thereof to be true copies or extracts (as the case may be) and subscribed by the officer or employee with his or her name and his or her official title is admissible in evidence as proof of the contents of the documents or extracts therefrom.
Evidence of analyst
Open ↗70.—(1) The Director-General may, by instrument in writing under the hand of the Director‑General, appoint persons who in his or her opinion are qualified to be analysts for the purposes of this Act.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), a certificate of an analyst appointed under subsection (1) stating that the analyst has analysed or examined a substance and stating the result of the analyst’s analysis or examination is admissible in evidence in any proceedings for an offence under this Act as prima facie evidence of the facts stated in the certificate and of the correctness of the result of the analysis or examination.
(3) A certificate of an analyst mentioned in subsection (2) shall not be received in evidence under that subsection unless the person charged has been given a copy of the certificate together with reasonable notice of the intention of the prosecution to produce the certificate as evidence in the proceedings.
(4) Where a certificate of an analyst appointed under subsection (1) is admitted in evidence under subsection (2), the person charged may require the analyst to be called as a witness for the prosecution and the analyst may be cross‑examined as if the analyst had given evidence of the matters stated in the certificate.
(5) For the purposes of this section, a document purporting to be a certificate mentioned in subsection (2) on its production by the prosecution is, unless the contrary is proved, deemed to be such a certificate.
Offences by bodies corporate, etc.
Open ↗71.—(1) Where an offence under this Act committed by a body corporate is proved —(a)
to have been committed with the consent or connivance of an officer; or
(b)
to be attributable to any act or default on his or her part,
the officer as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
[12/2011]
(2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) applies in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his or her functions of management as if he or she were a director of the body corporate.[12/2011]
(3) Where an offence under this Act committed by a partnership is proved —(a)
to have been committed with the consent or connivance of a partner; or
(b)
to be attributable to any act or default on his or her part,
the partner as well as the partnership shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
[12/2011]
(4) Where an offence under this Act committed by a limited liability partnership is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any act or default on the part of, a partner or manager of the limited liability partnership, the partner or manager (as the case may be) as well as the partnership shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.[12/2011]
(5) Where an offence under this Act committed by an unincorporated association (other than a partnership) is proved —(a)
to have been committed with the consent or connivance of an officer of the unincorporated association or a member of its governing body; or
(b)
to be attributable to any act or default on the part of such an officer or a member,
the officer or member as well as the unincorporated association shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
[12/2011]
(6) In this section —“body corporate” and “partnership” exclude a limited liability partnership within the meaning of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005;
“officer” —(a)
in relation to a body corporate, means any director, member of the committee of management, chief executive, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate and includes any 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, or any member of the committee of the unincorporated association, or any person holding a position analogous to that of the president, secretary or member of the committee and includes any person purporting to act in any such capacity;
“partner” includes a person purporting to act as a partner.[12/2011]
(7) Regulations may provide for the application of any provision of this section, with any modification that the Agency considers appropriate, to any body corporate, limited liability partnership or unincorporated association formed or recognised under the law of a territory outside Singapore.[12/2011]
Composition of offences
Open ↗72.—(1) The Director-General may compound any offence under this Act which is prescribed to be a compoundable offence by accepting from the 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;
(b)
$15,000.[26/2007]
(2) On payment of the sum of money, no further proceedings may be taken against that person in respect of the offence except that any compensation, damages, fees, costs or expenses which are provided to be paid under this Act remain payable.
(3) Nothing in this section prevents the Director‑General from issuing any further notice in respect of the same matter to the person who has paid the sum of money.
Jurisdiction of court
Open ↗73. Despite anything to the contrary contained 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 any offence under this Act.
Saving of prosecutions under other laws
Open ↗74. Nothing in this Act prevents any person from being prosecuted under any other written law for any act or omission which constitutes an offence under this Act or from being liable under that other law to any other or higher punishment or penalty than that provided by this Act except that no person may be punished twice for the same offence.
Exemption
Open ↗75. The Agency may, subject to the general or special directions of the Minister, either permanently or for any period that the Agency thinks fit, by order in the Gazette, exempt any, or any class of, person, thing, premises or works from any provision of this Act.[Act 24 of 2021 wef 28/02/2022]
Amendment of Schedules
Open ↗76.—(1) The Minister may at any time, by order in the Gazette, amend any Schedule except the Third Schedule.
(2) The Minister may, in any order made under subsection (1), make any incidental, consequential or supplementary provision that may be necessary or expedient.
Regulations
Open ↗77.—(1) The Agency may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations —(a)
for or in respect of every purpose which is necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Act;
(b)
for prescribing any matter which is authorised or required under this Act to be prescribed; and
(c)
without limiting paragraphs (a) and (b) for or in respect of the matters specified in the Third Schedule.
(1A) Regulations made under this section may make different provision for different classes, descriptions or types of goods, persons, premises or works.[Act 24 of 2021 wef 28/02/2022]
(2) The Agency may, with the approval of the Minister, in making any regulations, provide that any contravention of or failure to comply with the regulations shall be an offence punishable with —(a)
a fine not exceeding $50,000 or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or with both; and
(b)
in the case of a continuing offence, a fine not exceeding $2,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.
(3) All regulations must be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication in the Gazette.
Transitional provisions
Open ↗78. Any licence, permit, document, application, approval, permission, order, direction, ruling or notice issued, made, given or approved by the Director of Environmental Pollution Control under any provision of this Act immediately before 1 July 2002 is deemed to have been issued, made, given or approved under the same provision by the Director‑General.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
