Powers of entry and inspection
Open ↗23.—(1) An inspecting officer may exercise all or any of the powers in this section for the purpose of ascertaining whether any requirement of the Act is being complied with.
(2) An inspecting officer may —(a)
enter and inspect any premises which are used or which the inspecting officer has reasonable cause to believe are used for the purposes of an establishment for massage;
(b)
photograph or film, or make a record or sketches of, any part of the premises, or any person or thing at the premises;
(c)
require any person on those premises to produce or grant access to, without charge, any document, information or article reasonably required for any purpose in subsection (1), which is in the possession or under the control of that person;
(d)
inspect and make copies of, or take extracts from, any such document or article;
(e)
subject to section 24(6), take possession of such a document or article if, in the opinion of the inspecting officer —(i)
the inspection or copying of or extraction from the document or article cannot reasonably be performed without taking possession;
(ii)
the document or article may be interfered with or destroyed unless possession is taken; or
(iii)
the document or article may be required as evidence in any proceedings instituted or commenced under this Act.
(3) The power to require a person to produce or grant access to any document, information or article under subsection (2)(c) includes the power —(a)
to require the person, or any person who is or was an officer or employee of that person, to explain the document, information or article;
(b)
if the document, information or article is not provided, to require the person to state, to the best of the person’s knowledge and belief, where it is; and
(c)
if the document, information or article is recorded otherwise than in legible form, to require the document, information or article to be made available to the inspecting officer in legible form.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (2), if any document or information required by an inspecting officer is kept in electronic form —(a)
the power of the inspecting officer to inspect the document or to obtain the information includes the power to —(i)
access any computer or other equipment (including a mobile telephone) in which the document or information is stored; and
(ii)
require any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer or equipment to provide assistance in gaining such access; and
(b)
the power of the inspecting officer to seize such document includes the power —(i)
to make copies of the document in legible or electronic form; and
(ii)
to transfer the information from the document to a disk, tape or other storage device.
(5) If the inspecting officer under subsection (4)(b) is unable to make copies of the document or transfer the information from the document, the Licensing Officer or a police officer (whether or not the same inspecting officer) may —(a)
subject to section 24(6), seize the computer or other equipment (including a mobile telephone) in which the document or information is stored, as evidence in proceedings for an offence under this Act; and
(b)
require any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer or equipment to disclose any password or access code for gaining access to the document or information held in the computer or equipment.
(6) Nothing in this section or section 24 or 25 derogates from the powers of a police officer under the Criminal Procedure Code 2010.
Powers of investigation
Open ↗24.—(1) The Licensing Officer or a police officer may, for the purposes of investigating an offence under this Act or the contravention of any provision of this Act, do all or any of the following:(a)
require any person whom the Licensing Officer or police officer reasonably believes to have committed that offence or contravention to provide evidence of that person’s identity;
(b)
require any person whom the Licensing Officer or police officer reasonably believes has —(i)
any information; or
(ii)
any document or article in the person’s possession, custody or control,
relevant to the investigation, to provide that information, or produce that document or article;
(c)
issue a written notice requiring any person within the limits of Singapore, who appears to be acquainted with the facts or circumstances of the matter, to attend before the Licensing Officer or police officer;
(d)
examine orally any person who appears to be acquainted with the facts or circumstances of the matter —(i)
whether before or after that person or anyone else is charged with an offence in connection with the matter; and
(ii)
whether or not that person is to be called as a witness in any inquiry, trial or other proceeding in connection with the matter;
(e)
without a warrant enter and search any place or premises in which the Licensing Officer or police officer reasonably suspects that an offence under this Act is being or has been committed;
(f)
if free entry or access to the place or premises cannot be obtained under paragraph (e), the Licensing Officer or police officer may, with any assistance that the Licensing Officer or police officer considers necessary, break open any door, window, lock or fastener, or use any other reasonable means in order to gain entry or access into the place or premises.
(2) Any person examined under this section is bound to state truly what the person knows of the facts and circumstances of the matter, except that the person need not say anything that might expose the person to a criminal charge, penalty or forfeiture.
(3) A statement made by any person examined under this section must —(a)
be reduced to writing;
(b)
be read over to the person;
(c)
if the person does not understand English, be interpreted in a language that the person understands; and
(d)
after correction (if necessary), be signed by the person.
(4) If any person fails to comply with a written notice issued to the person under subsection (1)(c), the Licensing Officer or police officer may report the failure to a Magistrate who may then, in the Magistrate’s discretion, issue a warrant ordering that person to comply with the written notice.
(5) Subject to subsection (6), the Licensing Officer or a police officer may take possession or make copies of any document or article produced under subsection (1)(b), for further investigation.
(6) Anything taken possession of by the Licensing Officer or police officer under subsection (5) —(a)
must be placed in safe custody by the Licensing Officer or police officer; and
(b)
unless ordered otherwise by the court, may be retained until the completion of the investigation or any proceedings (including proceedings on appeal) in which it may be in evidence.
(7) Any person who, without reasonable excuse, refuses or fails —(a)
to provide any information, or produce any document or article, required of the person by the Licensing Officer or police officer under subsection (1)(a) or (b); or
(b)
to comply with any notice issued to the person under subsection (1)(c),
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
Disposal and forfeiture of documents and articles
Open ↗25.—(1) Any document or article taken into possession or seized under section 23(2)(e) or (5) or 24(5) (as the case may be) must —(a)
where the document or article is produced in any criminal trial — be dealt with in accordance with section 364 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010; or
(b)
in any other case — be returned to the owner or, if the owner is not known, reported to a Magistrate.
(2) Where the report of any document or article is made to a Magistrate under subsection (1)(b), the Magistrate may order the document or article to be forfeited or to be disposed of in any manner that the Magistrate thinks fit.
(3) Nothing in this section is to be taken to affect any right to retain or dispose of any property which may exist in law apart from this section.
Power to require records, accounts and other information, etc.
Open ↗26.—(1) An inspecting officer may, without entering or inspecting any premises, require a licensee to provide records, accounts and other information relating to the licensee’s establishment for massage within the time required by the inspecting officer.
(2) Any licensee who, without reasonable excuse, refuses or fails to provide the records, accounts or other information required under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
