Application of funds of Council
Open ↗63.—(1) All fees, penalties and other moneys payable under this Act must be paid to the Council and any fee, penalty or other money not paid is recoverable by the Council as a debt due to the Council.
(2) Subject to subsection (2A) and section 69(4), all moneys received by the Council or the Registrar must be paid into the funds of the Council.[Act 19 of 2025 wef 05/12/2025]
(2A) All penalties collected or recovered under this Act must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.[Act 19 of 2025 wef 05/12/2025]
(3) The costs and expenses of and incidental to the performance of the functions of the Council and any committee appointed by the Council under this Act must be paid by the Council out of its funds.
(4) 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.
Fees payable to members of Council and members of committees
Open ↗64. There must be paid to —(a)
the members of the Council; and
(b)
the members of any committee appointed by the Council,
who are not public officers such fees as the Minister may approve.
Inspectors
Open ↗65.—(1) The Council may appoint one or more public officers or officers of the Council as inspectors to investigate the commission of an offence under this Act.
(2) In any case relating to the commission of an offence under this Act, an inspector has the power to do all or any of the following:(a)
to require any person whom the inspector has reason to believe has any article, document or information relevant to the carrying out of the provisions of this Act to produce that article or document, or give that information, and to retain that article or document, or make copies of that 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 and to reduce into writing the answer given or statement made by that person;
(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.
(3) A person examined under subsection (2)(b) is bound to state truly the facts and circumstances with which the person is acquainted, and the statement made by that person under that subsection must be read over to that person and, after correction, be signed by that person.
(4) 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 can be found therein; and the Magistrate may, if satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for doing so, issue the warrant.
(5) Any inspector authorised by a search warrant issued under subsection (4) may enter and search the premises referred to in the warrant and seize any thing found on the premises which the inspector reasonably believes is evidence of the commission of an offence under this Act.
(6) 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 (4); or
(b)
fails to comply with any requirement 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.
Assessors to Council
Open ↗66.—(1) For the purposes of advising the Council and any committee appointed by the Council, the Council may appoint a legal assessor who must be an advocate and solicitor of at least 10 years’ standing.
(2) The legal assessor must not participate or sit in any deliberation of the Council or any committee appointed by the Council unless invited to do so, and the legal assessor’s participation is limited only to questions of law arising from the proceedings.
(3) The Council may appoint a medical assessor to assist the Council and any committee appointed by the Council in proceedings before any of them under the provisions of this Act.
(4) The Council may pay to the legal assessor and medical assessor, as part of the expenses of the Council, such remuneration as the Council may determine.
Protection against liability
Open ↗67. No action shall lie against the Council, any committee or inspector appointed by the Council, or any member or employee of the Council or committee, for any act or thing done under this Act in respect of any matter or thing done in good faith for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this Act.
Jurisdiction of court
Open ↗68. Despite anything to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, a District Court has jurisdiction to try any offence under this Act and has power to impose the full penalty or punishment in respect of the offence.
Composition of offences
Open ↗69.—(1) The Council may compound any offence 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;
(b)
$2,000.
(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 that may be compounded.
(4) All sums collected under this section must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.[Act 19 of 2025 wef 05/12/2025]
Exemption in respect of pharmacy training
Open ↗70. Nothing in this Act prevents the doing of any act within the practice of pharmacy by any person if the act is carried out —(a)
in the course of the person’s training;
(b)
under the supervision of a pharmacist registered under section 16(1); and
(c)
in an establishment approved by the Council for the purpose of section 16(1)(b) or 17(3)(a).
General exemption
Open ↗71. The Minister may, after consultation with the Council, by order in the Gazette and subject to any conditions that the Minister may impose, exempt any person or class of persons from all or any of the provisions of this Act.
Service of documents
Open ↗72.—(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]
Amendment of Schedule
Open ↗73. The Minister may, after consultation with the Council, by order in the Gazette, amend the Schedule.
Regulations
Open ↗74.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Council may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations which are necessary or expedient to give effect to the provisions and purposes of this Act and the due administration of this Act.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), regulations may be made to —(a)
provide for the duties of the Registrar;
(b)
regulate the registration of pharmacists and specialists;
(c)
regulate the certification of specialists;
(d)
provide for the form of the appropriate register and the mode in which it must be kept;
(e)
regulate the grant and renewal of practising certificates;
(f)
regulate the procedure and the conduct of proceedings of a Complaints Committee, a Disciplinary Committee, the Health Committee, and Interim Orders Committee or any committee appointed by the Council under this Act;
(g)
regulate the professional practice, etiquette, conduct and discipline of registered pharmacists and specialists;
(h)
regulate the removal and restoration of names in an 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 the legal assessor and medical assessor appointed under section 66;
(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 matters necessary or expedient for carrying out the provisions of this Act.
Saving and transitional provisions
Open ↗75.—(1) To avoid doubt, sections 26, 48 and 52 of this Act also apply to any person whose name was removed from the register kept under the repealed Act.
(2) Any certificate of registration issued under section 8(7) of the repealed Act, if still in force immediately before 1 September 2008, is deemed as from that date to be a certificate of registration issued under section 22 of this Act and is subject to the provisions of this Act.
(3) This Act does not affect the continued operation or force of any finding or order following every disciplinary proceeding, inquiry or investigation commenced or pending under the repealed Act before 1 September 2008.
(4) Any written law or document referring to the repealed Act is, as far as may be necessary for preserving its effect, to be construed as referring or as including a reference to this Act.
(5) Any reference in any written law or document to the Pharmacy Board is to be read as a reference to the Singapore Pharmacy Council.
(6) Any subsidiary legislation made under the repealed Act and in force immediately before 1 September 2008, so far as it is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, continues in force as if made under this Act until it is revoked or repealed.
(7) In this section —“Pharmacy Board” means the Pharmacy Board established under section 3 of the repealed Act;
“repealed Act” means the Pharmacists Registration Act (Cap. 230, 1985 Revised Edition) repealed by this Act.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
