Taking possession of land
Open ↗8.—(1) A competent authority may, if it appears to that authority to be necessary or expedient for the defence of the country, for the securing of public safety or for the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community, take or authorise in writing the taking of possession of any land and may give such directions as appear to be necessary for taking and maintaining possession of such land and for the eviction of any person who is, enters or remains on such land without the consent of the competent authority.[10/2008]
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), any direction given under that subsection may authorise any authorised officer to break open, enter forcibly and remain on any land the taking of possession of which has been authorised by the competent authority and to evict forcibly from that land any persons that the competent authority may specify or any persons other than such persons as the competent authority may specify.
(3) Whether or not any specified direction has been given under subsection (2), an authorised officer may take such steps and use such force as appears to him or her to be reasonably necessary for securing compliance with any direction given under subsection (1).
(4) While any land is in the possession of a competent authority by virtue of this section, the land may, despite any restriction imposed on the use thereof (whether by any other written law or other instrument or otherwise), be used by, or under the authority of, the competent authority for the defence of the country, for the securing of public safety or for the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community, and the competent authority, so far as appears to the competent authority to be necessary or expedient in connection with the taking of possession or use of the land pursuant to this subsection, may —(a)
do, or authorise persons using the land as aforesaid to do, in relation to the land, anything which any person having an interest in the land would be entitled to do by virtue of that interest; and
(b)
by order provide for prohibiting or restricting the exercise of rights of way over the land, and of other rights relating thereto which are enjoyed by any person, whether by virtue of an interest in land or otherwise.[10/2008]
(5) The owner or occupier of any land must, if requested by or on behalf of a competent authority to do so, furnish to that competent authority or person as may be specified in the request such information in the owner’s or occupier’s possession relating to the land (being information which may reasonably be demanded of the owner or occupier in connection with the execution of this section) as may be so specified.
(6) A competent authority may, to such extent and subject to such restriction as the competent authority thinks proper, delegate all or any of the competent authority’s functions under this section to any specified person or class of persons.
(7) A competent authority must not take possession of land pursuant to this section for any period exceeding the period during which this section is in operation.
Use of land by armed forces and civil defence force
Open ↗9.—(1) The Minister may by order authorise, subject to any restrictions and conditions imposed by the order, the use of any land specified in the order for naval, military, air force or civil defence purposes (as the case may be) during such period as may be specified in the order; and any such order may, so far as appears to the Minister to be necessary or expedient for the purposes thereof, provide —(a)
for entitling persons using any land pursuant to the order to do such acts in relation to that land as may be specified in the order; and
(b)
for prohibiting or restricting the exercise of rights of way over that land, and of other rights relating thereto which are enjoyed by any person, whether by virtue of an interest in land or otherwise.
(2) Any person who contravenes any order made under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
Power to do work on land
Open ↗10.—(1) Any member of the armed forces or the civil defence force acting in the course of his or her duty as such may, for any purpose connected with the defence of the country, the securing of the public safety or the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community, do any work on any land or place anything in or over any land.
(2) A person (other than a police officer or a public officer acting in the course of his or her duty as such) must not, except with permission granted by or on behalf of the armed forces or the civil defence force, remove, alter or tamper with any work done, or thing placed in, on or over any land pursuant to subsection (1).[Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024]
(2A) Without affecting subsection (1) or (2), in the case of a public health emergency —(a)
in addition to a member of the armed forces or the civil defence force acting in the course of his or her duty, a person authorised in writing by a competent authority and acting in the course of his or her duty, may, for the purpose of securing the safety of human life and health, do any work on any land or place anything in or over any land; and
(b)
a person (other than a police officer or a public officer acting in the course of his or her duty) must not, except with permission granted by or on behalf of the armed forces, the civil defence force or the competent authority mentioned in paragraph (a), remove, alter or tamper with any work done, or thing placed in, on or over any land pursuant to this subsection.[Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024]
(3) For the purpose of this section, the doing of work is, in relation to any land, deemed to include the demolition, pulling down, destruction or rendering useless of anything placed in, on or over that land, the maintenance of any work or thing in, on or over the land, and the removal from the land of anything so placed, demolished or pulled down pursuant to this section.
Entry and inspection of land
Open ↗11.—(1) Any member of the armed forces or the civil defence force, acting in the course of his or her duty as such, or any person authorised by the Minister to act under this subsection on producing, if so required, a duly authenticated document showing his or her authority may —(a)
enter any land for the purpose of exercising any of the powers conferred in relation to that land by any of the provisions of this Act;
(b)
enter and inspect any land for the purpose of determining whether, and if so, in what manner, any of these powers are to be exercised in relation to the land; and
(c)
for any purpose in the public interest, pass (with or without vehicles) over any land.[Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024]
(2) Without affecting subsection (1), in the case of a public health emergency, any person authorised by the appropriate Minister under the Infectious Diseases Act 1976 to act under this subsection may, on producing (if so required) a duly authenticated document showing his or her authority, exercise the powers under subsection (1)(a), (b) and (c).[Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024]
Requisitioning of property other than land
Open ↗12.—(1) Subject to this section, a competent authority may, if it appears to the competent authority to be necessary or expedient to do so in the defence of the country, or for the securing of the public safety or the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community, or for the conduct of exercises for those purposes, requisition —(a)
any chattel in Singapore; and
(b)
any Singapore ship or aircraft or anything on board a Singapore ship or aircraft, wherever the ship or aircraft may be,
and may give such directions as appear to the competent authority to be necessary or expedient in connection with the requisition.
(2) Where any chattel is requisitioned under this section, a competent authority may use or deal with, or authorise the use or dealing with, the chattel for such purposes and in such manner as the competent authority thinks fit and may —(a)
hold, or sell or otherwise dispose of, the chattel as if the competent authority were the owner thereof and as if the chattel were free from any mortgage, pledge, lien or other similar obligation; and
(b)
in a case where the chattel requisitioned is a vehicle, vessel or aircraft, acquire it by serving on the owner thereof a notice stating that the competent authority has acquired it pursuant to this section.
(3) When a notice of acquisition has been served under subsection (2), then, at the beginning of the day on which the notice is served —(a)
the vehicle, vessel or aircraft vests in the Government free from any mortgage, pledge, lien or other similar obligation; and
(b)
the period of the requisition thereof ends.
(4) Without affecting the powers conferred by subsections (1) and (2), the competent authority may by order require the owners of, and the persons having power to dispose of, chattels of any description specified in the order, being chattels situate outside Singapore, to comply with such directions as may be given by or on behalf of the competent authority for the purpose of securing that the ownership of the chattels or the right to dispose of the chattels is transferred to the competent authority.
(5) A competent authority may, if it appears to the competent authority to be necessary for the effectual exercise of the competent authority’s powers under subsection (1) to do so, by order —(a)
direct that any person who, at the time when the order takes effect, has in the person’s possession or under the person’s control, at any premises, any such articles as may be described in the order, must not remove the articles, or cause or permit them to be removed, from the premises until the removal of the articles from the premises is permitted by that competent authority or person as may be specified in the order;
(b)
require the owner or occupier of any premises to send to the competent authority or person as may be specified in the order a written declaration stating or estimating whether or not, on such date as may be specified in the order, any such articles were or will be on the premises, and if so, the number or quantity of those articles which was or will be on the premises on that date, according as the order may direct.
(6) In any case in which the chattel requisitioned is a chattel other than a vehicle, vessel or aircraft, the chattel, as soon as possession thereof is taken pursuant to this section, vests in the Government free from any mortgage, pledge, lien or other similar obligation.
(7) Where a competent authority has issued a notice of requisition in respect of any chattel, the chattel must be furnished by the owner and the person having the possession, custody or control thereof to the competent authority or to such persons as the competent authority must appoint for the purpose forthwith or (if such is the case) within such period as may be prescribed or mentioned in the requisition.
(8) On any refusal or neglect to furnish such chattel in the manner aforesaid, or if the competent authority has reasonable ground for believing that it is not practicable without undue delay to give any direction for the chattel requisitioned to be furnished or delivered to the competent authority, then the competent authority or any authorised officer acting on behalf of the competent authority may take possession (and if need be may enter any premises by force for the purpose) of the chattel requisitioned and may use the chattel in a similar manner as if it had been furnished pursuant to the requisition.
(9) Payment for the chattel taken possession of under subsection (8) must nevertheless be made in a similar manner as if the chattel had been duly furnished according to the requisition, provided that the chattel specified in the requisition is not deemed to have been furnished except insofar as possession is taken by or by the direction of the competent authority.[26/89]
(10) Where the Accountant-General is satisfied that any vehicle in respect of which a licence to keep has been granted has, in exercise of the powers conferred by this section, been acquired before the expiry of the period of the validity of the licence, the Accountant‑General may authorise the refund to the person who at the date of such acquisition was the owner of the vehicle of a proportionate part of the fee paid for the licence in respect of that part of the period of its validity which remains unexpired at that date, if a claim for the refund is made to the Accountant‑General in writing by that person not later than 3 months after the date when the vehicle was acquired as aforesaid.
(11) A competent authority may, to such extent and subject to such restrictions as the competent authority thinks proper, delegate all or any of the competent authority’s functions under subsections (1) and (2) to any persons or class of persons specified by the competent authority.
(12) The Commissioner of Police must, on a request to that effect made by or on behalf of the authorised officer to whom an order is issued to requisition chattels, give instructions for securing that, so far as practicable, police officers will be available (if required) for accompanying authorised officers requisitioning chattels pursuant to the order.
(13) The authorised officer to whom the requisitioning order is issued, or any member of the armed forces or the civil defence force authorised by the authorised officer in writing, may without warrant stop and search any vehicle, vessel or aircraft with a view to ascertaining whether the vehicle, vessel or aircraft is to be requisitioned.
(14) The powers conferred by this section for the purpose of conducting exercises for the purposes mentioned in subsection (1) are exercisable only in relation to vehicles, vessels or aircraft.
(15) In this section, “chattel” includes any substance, machine, equipment, vehicle, vessel or aircraft but does not include currency, gold, securities or negotiable instruments.
Period for which vehicles, etc., are to be requisitioned
Open ↗13. Where a vehicle, vessel or aircraft is requisitioned pursuant to section 12, the period for which it is requisitioned must not exceed the duration for which that section is in operation.
Requisitioned vehicle, vessel or aircraft to be kept in good order pending delivery to competent authority
Open ↗14. The owner and all persons having charge or custody of a vehicle, vessel or aircraft in respect of which notice of requisition has been given must preserve and keep the vehicle, vessel or aircraft in good order and condition pending delivery to the competent authority.
Special powers as to ships and aircraft
Open ↗15.—(1) Subject to this section, a competent authority may require any space or accommodation in any Singapore ship or aircraft to be placed at the disposal of that competent authority, and may give such directions as appear to that competent authority to be necessary or expedient in connection with any such requirement; and if any directions given under this subsection with respect to any ship or aircraft are contravened or not complied with, the master of the ship or the pilot of the aircraft (as the case may be) and the person having the management thereof, shall each be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
(2) Where, in respect of any ship or aircraft, there subsists between a person to whom this section applies and any other person a charter‑party or other contract under which the firstmentioned person is entitled to possession of the ship or aircraft, or has the right to have any articles carried in the ship or aircraft or to use any space or accommodation in the ship or aircraft —(a)
the competent authority may serve on the firstmentioned person, in any manner appearing to the competent authority to be convenient, a notice stating that on such date as may be specified in the notice the firstmentioned person’s rights and liabilities under the contract will be transferred to the competent authority; and
(b)
in that event the contract, as regards any rights exercisable, or liabilities incurred on or after that date, has effect (subject to subsection (4)) as if the competent authority were a party to the contract instead of the person on whom the notice was served, and as if for any reference in the contract to that person there were substituted a reference to the competent authority.
(3) The persons to whom subsection (2) applies are —(a)
every citizen of Singapore; and
(b)
every corporation incorporated in Singapore.
(4) The competent authority may at any time cancel a notice served under subsection (2) in respect of a contract, and thereupon, unless a further notice is served under that subsection in respect of that contract, that subsection ceases to operate in relation to the contract as regards any rights exercisable, or liabilities incurred, on or after the date on which the cancellation takes effect.
(5) Notice of any such cancellation must be given as soon as possible by the competent authority in such manner as the competent authority thinks best for informing the person concerned.
(6) The competent authority may, to such extent and subject to such restrictions as the competent authority thinks proper, delegate all or any of the competent authority’s functions under subsections (1) to (5) to any specified persons or class of persons.
Competent authority may require undertakings to carry out work
Open ↗16.—(1) A competent authority may, if it appears to the competent authority to be necessary or expedient to do so in the interests of public safety, the defence of the country, or for maintaining supplies and services essential to the life of the community, or for carrying out exercises for any of those purposes, direct any person carrying on any undertaking to perform any service or carry out any work for the competent authority or for such persons or class of persons as may be specified by the competent authority for such period as may be specified by the authority.
(2) Any direction given under subsection (1) must not require any person to perform any work or service beyond the period during which this section is in operation.
Competent authority may direct persons to carry out work in a disaster, etc.
Open ↗17.—(1) A competent authority may, if it appears to the competent authority to be necessary for any works or operations to be carried out to deal or cope with a disaster or public health emergency, direct any person to carry out or assist in any such works or operations.[10/2008]
(2) Where a vehicle, vessel or aircraft is requisitioned by a competent authority under the provisions of this Act, the competent authority may direct the driver, operator or crew of the vehicle, vessel or aircraft to render such service as the competent authority may require.
(3) Any direction given under subsection (1) or (2) must not, unless a proclamation of emergency is in force, require any person to perform any work for a period exceeding 7 days or exceeding the period during which this section is in operation, whichever is shorter.
(4) An employer must not dismiss an employee solely or mainly by reason of any duties or service which the employee is required by a competent authority to perform pursuant to this section unless the employee is employed only for an agreed definite period.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
