Power of arrest
Open ↗40.—(1) An authorised officer may —(a)
arrest without warrant any person whom he or she has reason to believe to be committing or to have committed an offence under section 6, 7, 12 or 15; and
(b)
search the person arrested and seize anything which he or she reasonably considers to be evidence of the commission of the offence.
(2) A woman or girl must not be searched except by a woman.
(3) Where the authorised officer makes an arrest without warrant, he or she must, without unnecessary delay, bring the person arrested before a Magistrate.
(4) The authorised officer must not detain in custody a person arrested without a warrant for a longer period than is reasonable under the circumstances of the case.
(5) The period that a person arrested without a warrant may be detained in custody must not exceed 48 hours, excluding the time for any necessary journey to the Magistrate’s Court.[27
Warrant for search and seizure
Open ↗41.—(1) If a Magistrate is satisfied, on information on oath, that —(a)
there is reasonable ground for suspecting that an offence under this Act is being, has been or is about to be committed on any premises; or
(b)
evidence of the commission of such an offence is to be found there,
the Magistrate may issue a warrant in writing to an authorised officer to enter the premises, if necessary by force, at such time as may be specified in the warrant and within 14 days of the issue of the warrant (or within such longer period as may be specified in the warrant) and to search them.
(2) An authorised officer who enters the premises under the authority of the warrant may —(a)
take with him or her such other person and such equipment as appear to him or her to be necessary;
(b)
inspect any record, register or other document found on the premises which he or she has reasonable cause to believe may be required as evidence for the purposes of proceedings in respect of an offence under this Act;
(c)
take copies of, or seize and remove, such document;
(d)
inspect, seize and remove any device, apparatus or equipment found on the premises which he or she has reasonable cause to believe may be required as such evidence;
(e)
inspect, sample, seize and remove any substance, material, or other matter or thing found on the premises which he or she has reasonable cause to believe may be required as such evidence; or
(f)
search or cause to be searched any person found on the premises whom he or she has reasonable cause to believe to be in possession or control of any document, device, apparatus, equipment, substance, material or other matter or thing.
(3) A woman or girl must not be searched except by a woman.[28
Use of force
Open ↗42. If force is required to enter and inspect any premises specified in a warrant issued under section 25, 26 or 41 (whether by breaking down a door or otherwise), or in breaking open anything in the premises, the person executing the warrant may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances.[29
Forfeiture
Open ↗43.—(1) A court may order that anything shown to the court’s satisfaction to be the subject matter of an offence under this Act or to have been used in the commission of such an offence is to be forfeited to the Agency, and either destroyed or otherwise dealt with in such manner as the court may order.
(2) The court may, in particular, order that the thing be dealt with as the Director‑General may think fit, and in such a case the Director‑General may direct that it be destroyed or otherwise dealt with.
(3) Where —(a)
the court proposes to order anything to be forfeited under this section; and
(b)
a person claiming to have an interest in it applies to be heard by the court,
the court must not order it to be forfeited unless that person has been given an opportunity to show cause why the order should not be made.
(4) The court may make an order under this section even though no person has been charged with or convicted of an offence under this Act in relation to the thing to be forfeited.[30
False or misleading statements and documents
Open ↗44. Any person who, for the purpose of obtaining (whether for the person or any other person) the grant of any licence or approval under this Act, or for any other purpose in relation to this Act —(a)
in any document prepared pursuant to this Act, makes any declaration or statement or omits any matter knowing that, or being reckless as to whether, the declaration, statement or omission makes the document false or misleading in a material particular; or
(b)
otherwise produces or makes use of any document which the person knows is false or misleading in any material particular,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
[31
Obstruction, etc., of authorised officer or IAEA inspector
Open ↗45.—(1) Any person who obstructs, hinders, resists or deceives any authorised officer or IAEA inspector who is exercising any function contemplated, or any power provided for, in this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) applies to a refusal to give consent to entry —(a)
by a national inspector who is not acting pursuant to a warrant mentioned in section 25 or 26;
(b)
by an IAEA inspector who is not acting pursuant to a warrant mentioned in section 26; or
(c)
by an authorised officer who is not acting pursuant to a warrant mentioned in section 41.[32
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
