Preservation of secrecy
s 16A
16A.—(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (5), the following persons (each called in this section a specified person) must not publish, or communicate or disclose to any person, any particulars, information or document submitted or given to the specified person for the purposes of this Act, unless the specified person has the prior written consent of the person to whom the information relates:(aa) [Deleted by Act 33 of 2023 wef 25/11/2024] (a) a licensed FTZ operator; (b) an FTZ cargo handler; (c) a shipping agent; (d) an air cargo agent; (e) any officer or employee of a licensed FTZ operator, an FTZ cargo handler, a shipping agent or an air cargo agent; [Act 33 of 2023 wef 25/11/2024] (f) an officer of customs; (g) any person employed or engaged in the administration of this Act. (2) Subsection (1) does not apply where the publication, communication or disclosure is necessary for the purposes of —(a) a prosecution under this Act; (b) enabling an officer of customs to enforce a provision of this Act; (c) enabling an officer of customs to investigate a suspected offence under this Act; (d) a prosecution of any offence under any written law (other than this Act) that may be prescribed; (e) enabling a public agency to enforce any provision of any written law (other than this Act) that may be prescribed; (f) enabling a public agency to investigate any suspected offence under any written law (other than this Act) that may be prescribed; (g) subject to subsection (3), enabling a public agency to discharge its function, duty or power of collecting, compiling and analysing the particulars, information or document, and —(i) providing its collection, compilation or analysis to another public agency for policy formulation or review by that other public agency; or (ii) publishing its collection, compilation or analysis in any form that will not identify, and is not reasonably capable of being used to identify, any person to which the particulars, information or document relates; (h) subject to subsection (3), enabling a public agency to take steps to protect individuals and communities from risks or threats to public health or safety, or to protect against risks or threats to the security of Singapore (including her financial and economic security); (ha) enabling a Suspicious Transaction Reporting Officer to carry out any of the responsibilities of the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office, including for the purpose of detecting the possible commission of an offence specified in the First, Second or Third Schedule to the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992;[Act 24 of 2024 wef 14/11/2024] (i) satisfying a request for information under section 353 of the Copyright Act 2021, section 59B or 67D of the Geographical Indications Act 2014, section 68I of the Registered Designs Act 2000, or section 85B or 93E of the Trade Marks Act 1998; or (j) complying with any request pursuant to a provision of any prescribed agreement, where the conditions specified in subsection (8) are satisfied. (3) No particulars, information or document mentioned in subsection (1) may be published, communicated or disclosed under subsection (2)(g) and (h) except with the approval of the Minister. (4) The approval of the Minister mentioned in subsection (3) may be given in respect of —(a) a specific public agency or a class of public agencies; and (b) a specific request for particulars, information or documents, or requests for particulars, information or documents falling within any class that the Minister may specify. (5) Nothing in subsection (1) prevents the Minister, and any public officer assisting the Minister and duly authorised by the Minister for the purposes of this subsection, from having access to any particulars, information or document mentioned in subsection (1) that may be necessary for the performance of the Minister’s official duties in connection with this Act. (6) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $6,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both. (7) Any person having possession of any particulars, information or document that to the person’s knowledge has been published, communicated or disclosed in contravention of this section, who publishes, communicates or discloses those particulars, information or document to any other person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $6,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both. (8) The conditions mentioned in subsection (2)(j) are as follows:(a) the particulars, information or documents requested by the foreign country are available to the Director-General; (b) unless the Government otherwise allows, the foreign country undertakes to keep the information given confidential at all times; (c) the disclosure of the information is not likely to prejudice the essential security interests of Singapore. (9) In this section —“foreign country” means any country or territory outside Singapore; “prescribed agreement” means an agreement between Singapore and a foreign country which is prescribed as an agreement for the purpose of subsection (2)(j); “public agency” means a public officer, an Organ of State or a ministry or department of the Government, or a public authority established by or under any public Act for a public purpose or a member, an officer or an employee, or any department, of the public authority;[Act 24 of 2024 wef 14/11/2024] “Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office” means the office mentioned in section 5(1) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992;[Act 24 of 2024 wef 14/11/2024] “Suspicious Transaction Reporting Officer” means a Suspicious Transaction Reporting Officer as defined in section 2(1) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 who is a Commercial Affairs Officer appointed under section 64 of the Police Force Act 2004.[Act 33 of 2023 wef 01/03/2024] [Act 24 of 2024 wef 14/11/2024]