Protection of confidentiality
77.—(1) A court may, on the application of the Commissioner, make any of the following orders in or for any proceedings that involve or may involve a protected document:(a)
an order that the protected document must not be disclosed in the proceedings;
(b)
an order that the protected document may be disclosed in the proceedings after the document has been redacted in the manner directed by the court.
(2) In deciding whether to make an order under subsection (1), the court may have regard to the following factors:(a)
the security risk to any protected infrastructure if the protected document is disclosed in the proceedings;
(b)
the relevance of the protected document to the proceedings;
(c)
the injustice that would be caused to any party if the protected document is not disclosed in the proceedings.
(3) Any court proceedings involving a protected document must be heard in private.[Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022]
(4) A person must not, without the permission of court, inspect or take a copy of a protected document disclosed in any court proceedings.[Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022]
(5) Where any protected document is disclosed in any proceedings, a person must not publish, without the permission of court, the protected document, or any information about or contained in the protected document.[Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022]
(6) Any person who fails to comply with subsection (4) or (5) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
(7) In this section, unless the context otherwise requires —“proceedings” includes arbitration and mediation proceedings;
“protected document” means any of the following:(a)
any protected area order or protected place order that is not published in the Gazette;
(b)
any security plan approved by or submitted to the Commissioner under this Act, including any correspondence or other document relating to the preparation of, and the Commissioner’s approval of or other decision on, the security plan;
(c)
any security directive issued by, or any report submitted to, the Commissioner under Part 5;
(d)
any order or notice issued by the Minister under Part 6;
(e)
any appeal made under section 62, including any decision made on the appeal under that section, and any correspondence or other document relating to the making and the decision‑maker’s consideration of the appeal;
“security plan” includes any amended or modified security plan.
Service of documents
78.—(1) A document that is permitted or required by this Act to be served on a person may be served as described in this section.
(2) A document permitted or required by 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 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;
(e)
by sending it by fax to the fax number last known to the person giving or serving the document as the fax number for the service of documents on the individual; or
(f)
by sending it by email to the individual’s email address.
(3) A document permitted or required by 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 like officer of the partnership;
(b)
by leaving it at, or by sending it by prepaid registered post to, the partnership’s business address;
(c)
by sending it by fax to the fax number used at the partnership’s business address; or
(d)
by sending it by email to the partnership’s email address.
(4) A document permitted or required by 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 like 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 body corporate’s or unincorporated association’s registered office or principal office in Singapore;
(c)
by sending it by fax to the fax number used at the body corporate’s or unincorporated association’s registered office or principal office in Singapore; or
(d)
by sending it by email to the body corporate’s or unincorporated association’s email address.
(5) Service of a document under this section takes effect —(a)
if the document is sent by fax and a notification of successful transmission is received, on the day of transmission;
(b)
if the document is sent by email, at the time that the email becomes capable of being retrieved by the person; and
(c)
if the document is sent by prepaid registered post, 2 days after the day the document was posted (even if it is returned undelivered).
(6) This section does not apply to documents to be served in proceedings in court.
(7) In this section —“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;
“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.
Inaccuracies in documents
79.—(1) A misnomer or an inaccurate description of any person or premises named or described in any document prepared, issued or served under, by reason of or for the purposes of this Act does not in any way affect the operation of this Act as respects that person or premises if that person or premises is so designated in the document as to be identifiable.
(2) Proceedings taken under or by reason of this Act are not invalid for want of form.
(3) A reference to a document prepared, issued or served under, by reason of or for the purposes of this Act in subsection (1) includes a reference to the following:(a)
an authorisation of a person under section 3 of the repealed Act that is treated by section 85(1) to be an authorisation made under this Act;
(b)
an order declaring a protected area under section 4(1) of the repealed Act that is treated by section 85(2) to be a protected area order made under section 8(1);
(c)
an order declaring a protected place under section 5(1) of the repealed Act that is treated by section 85(3) to be a protected place order made under section 14(1);
(d)
a pass‑card or permit issued under section 5(1) of the repealed Act that is treated by section 85(4) to be a permit issued under section 20(1)(a);
(e)
an authorisation of any step or measure under section 10(1) of the repealed Act that is treated by section 85(5) to be an authorisation to implement a measure under section 25(1).
Costs, etc.
80.—(1) Where any of the persons mentioned in subsection (2) is required under this Act to do anything, that person is responsible for the costs of doing that thing (or causing that thing to be done), and of removing (or causing the removal of) that thing.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the persons are as follows:(a)
the authority of a protected area or a protected place;
(b)
the responsible person of a special development or a special infrastructure;
(c)
the owner of any premises mentioned in section 55(1)(c);
(d)
the owner of any premises mentioned in Part 6.
(3) Where the Commissioner or any member of a state force enters any premises mentioned in Part 6 and carries out any direction mentioned in section 58 or 59, the Government is not liable to compensate the owner or occupier of the premises for any loss (including reinstatement costs) incurred by the owner or occupier, or for any damage caused to the premises, as a result of anything done or omitted to be done in good faith and with reasonable care by the Commissioner or that member.
Protection from personal liability
81.—(1) No liability shall lie personally against the Commissioner or any other public officer, any member of a state force, any authorised officer of a protected area or a protected place or any member of the Appeal Advisory Board who, acting in good faith and with reasonable care, does or omits to do anything in the execution or purported execution of this Act.
(2) To avoid doubt, nothing in this Act makes it obligatory for the Commissioner to inspect any protected infrastructure to ascertain whether the provisions of this Act have been complied with, or any information or document furnished to the Commissioner is accurate, with respect to the protected infrastructure.
Exemption
82. The Minister may, by order in the Gazette, exempt any person or premises, or any class of persons or premises, from all or any of the provisions of this Act, either generally or in a particular case and subject to the conditions that the Minister may impose.
Regulations
83.—(1) The Minister may make regulations prescribing matters necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Minister may make regulations for any of the following matters:(a)
the notices required to be displayed under Part 3;
(b)
the modification of approved security plans of special infrastructures (whether on the requirement of the Commissioner or otherwise);
(c)
the implementation and maintenance of security measures for protected infrastructures;
(d)
the requirement for owners or occupiers of premises to furnish information and documents that the Minister or the Commissioner may require for the purpose of assessing the need for, or determining the contents of, orders, security directives or notices to be issued under this Act with respect to those premises;
(e)
the requirement for owners or occupiers of premises to maintain the documents mentioned in paragraph (d);
(f)
the requirement for the Minister or the Commissioner to be notified of the changes, intended changes or impending changes to the ownership or occupation of protected infrastructures (including the persons responsible for notifying such changes and the period within which such changes must be notified);
(g)
in the event of changes to the ownership or occupation of protected infrastructures, the duties of the outgoing owners or occupiers;
(h)
the approval of competent persons for the purposes of this Act;
(i)
the contents of orders, security directives and notices issued under this Act;
(j)
the manner of making, and the procedures for, appeals to the Minister under this Act;
(k)
the prescribing of fees and charges for the purposes of this Act;
(l)
the prescribing of anything that is required or permitted to be prescribed under this Act.
(3) The regulations may provide that any contravention of any provision of the regulations shall be an offence punishable with a fine not exceeding $10,000 or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or with both.
Repeal
84. Any written law or document referring to the repealed Act is, as far as necessary for preserving its effect, to be construed as referring to or including a reference to this Act.
Saving and transitional provisions
85.—(1) Where any area in Singapore is a protected area under section 4(1) of the repealed Act immediately before 18 December 2018 —(a)
the area is deemed to be a protected area declared under section 8(1) of this Act;
(b)
the order made under section 4(1) of the repealed Act declaring the area to be a protected area is deemed to be a protected area order made under section 8(1) of this Act (called in this section the deemed protected area order);
(c)
the person designated as the authority of the protected area in the order made under section 4(1) of the repealed Act is deemed to be designated as the authority of the protected area in the deemed protected area order under section 9(1) of this Act; and
(d)
section 12 of this Act applies to the authority of the protected area with the modification that a reference to the effective date of a protected area order in that section is a reference to 18 December 2018.
(2) Where any premises in Singapore is a protected place under section 5(1) of the repealed Act immediately before 18 December 2018 —(a)
the premises is deemed to be a protected place declared under section 14(1) of this Act;
(b)
the order made under section 5(1) of the repealed Act declaring the premises to be a protected place is deemed to be a protected place order made under section 14(1) of this Act (called in this section the deemed protected place order);
(c)
the person designated as the authority of the protected place in the order made under section 5(1) of the repealed Act is deemed to be designated as the authority of the protected place in the deemed protected place order under section 15(1) of this Act; and
(d)
section 18 of this Act applies to the authority of the protected place with the modification that a reference to the effective date of a protected place order in that section is a reference to 18 December 2018.
(3) A pass-card or permit that is issued under section 5(1) of the repealed Act and remains valid immediately before 18 December 2018 is deemed to be a permit issued under section 20(1)(a) of this Act.
(4) Any authorisation by the Minister under section 10(1) of the repealed Act of any step or measure for the protection of a protected area or a protected place that is in force immediately before 18 December 2018 is deemed to be an authorisation by the Minister under section 25(1) of this Act to implement a measure for the protection of that protected area or that protected place.
(5) This section does not affect the operation of, or derogate from, section 16 of the Interpretation Act 1965.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
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