Section 52 — False or misleading advertisements

(1)A person commits an offence if —

(a)the person publishes or causes to be published, or distributes or causes to be distributed, any advertisement that is false or misleading in a material particular; and

(b)the person knows or ought reasonably to have known that, or is reckless as to whether, the advertisement is false or misleading in a material particular.

(2)A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) 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.

(3)For the purposes of subsection (1), a person publishes, or causes to be published, an advertisement if the advertisement is made accessible to, or accessed by, persons by means of —

(a)a newspaper, magazine, journal or any other periodical;

(b)a sound or television broadcast transmitted for reception; or

(c)any other means of broadcasting or communication for circulation or reception.

(4)For the purposes of subsection (1), an advertisement is false or misleading in a material particular if the advertisement —

(a)falsely represents that a person is eligible for, or has been given, an incentive, a grant or a loan from the Agency in respect of a course or programme;

(b)falsely represents that the Agency has accredited, or facilitated the accreditation by others in Singapore of, a provider of a course or programme;

(c)falsely represents that the Agency has accredited, or facilitated the accreditation by others in Singapore of, a course or programme;

(d)falsely represents that a provider of a course or programme, or a course or programme, is approved or endorsed by the Agency;

(e)contains any false or misleading information concerning a provider of a course or programme who is eligible for, or has been given, an incentive, a grant or a loan from the Agency; or

(f)concerns a course or programme in respect of which a person is eligible for, or has been given, an incentive, a grant or a loan from the Agency, and contains any false or misleading description of, or false or misleading information concerning —

(i)the curriculum, modules or subjects to be covered by that course or programme; or

(ii)the competencies, expertise or skills to be advanced by that course or programme.

(5)In this section and section 53 —“advertisement” means any writing, still or moving picture, sign, symbol (whether 3‑dimensional or 2‑dimensional) or other visual image, or any audible message, or any combination of 2 or more of those things, that gives publicity to, or otherwise promotes or is intended to promote, a course or programme; “distribute” includes —

(a)in relation to a printed advertisement — to deliver or send to one or more persons, or to leave at any premises or on any vehicle; and

(b)in relation to an advertisement in electronic form, in the form of an audio or a visual recording, or in a combination of any of those forms — to transmit to one or more persons by use of the Internet or a mobile telephone network.