Preventive measures notice to prevent, reduce or control haze pollution
Open ↗9.—(1) Where —(a)
there is air pollution of the environment in Singapore, or there is air pollution of the environment in any part of a country or territory outside Singapore, because of any land or forest fire on any land situated outside Singapore; and
(b)
based on satellite information, wind velocity and direction and meteorological information, the smoke from that fire is likely to move in the direction of Singapore,
the Director‑General may, if he or she thinks it necessary or expedient to prevent, reduce or control any haze pollution in Singapore, give a preventive measures notice to any entity that, in the Director‑General’s opinion, is directly or indirectly involved in any conduct which is causing or contributing to, or is likely to cause or contribute to, any haze pollution in Singapore.
(2) A preventive measures notice under subsection (1) is a written request to an entity (called in this subsection the recipient entity) requiring it to do or refrain from doing anything specified by the Director‑General in the notice for the purpose of preventing, reducing or controlling any haze pollution in Singapore, such as but not limited to any of the following:(a)
to deploy firefighting personnel and to use any other reasonable methods to extinguish or prevent the spread of any land or forest fire on any land situated outside Singapore which is owned or occupied by the recipient entity, or by another entity, the management of which the recipient entity participates in;
(b)
to discontinue, or not commence, any burning activities on such land mentioned in paragraph (a);
(c)
to submit to the Director-General any plan of action to extinguish or prevent the spread of any fire on any land mentioned in paragraph (a) and to prevent its recurrence.
(3) In this section, “fire” includes a fire the Director‑General has reasonable grounds for believing may exist.
Power to obtain information
Open ↗10.—(1) The Director-General or an authorised officer may give written notice to any person (whether in or outside Singapore) requiring the person to provide, within such reasonable period and in such form and manner as specified in the notice, all documents and information —(a)
which relate to any matter necessary to carry out the functions or duties of, or assigned to, the Director‑General or the Agency by or under any provision of this Act; and
(b)
which are within that person’s knowledge or in that person’s custody or under that person’s control.
(2) The power to require a person to provide any document or information under subsection (1) includes the power —(a)
to require that person, or any individual who is or was an officer or employee of that person, to provide an explanation of the document or information;
(b)
if the document or information is not provided, to require that person to state, to the best of that person’s knowledge and belief, where it is; and
(c)
if the information is recorded otherwise than in legible form, to require the information to be made available to the Agency in legible form.
(3) A notice under subsection (1) must be served on a person in the following manner and no other manner:(a)
where the person is an individual in Singapore — by delivering the notice personally to the person;
(b)
where the person is a body corporate, an unincorporated association or a partnership in Singapore — by delivering the notice personally to an officer of the body corporate or unincorporated association, or a partner of the partnership;
(c)
where the person is a body corporate, an unincorporated association or a partnership in Singapore and participates in the management of a body corporate, an unincorporated association or a partnership outside Singapore — by delivering the notice personally to an officer of the firstmentioned body corporate or unincorporated association, or a partner of the firstmentioned partnership;
(d)
where the person is a body corporate, an unincorporated association or a partnership which does not have any place of business in Singapore — by delivering the notice personally to an officer of the body corporate or unincorporated association, or a partner of the partnership when the officer or partner is in Singapore;
(e)
where the person has consented to the service of the notice by any mode — by that mode.
(4) A notice under subsection (1) to any person takes effect only from the date the notice is served on the person and must also specify the period (which runs from the date the notice takes effect) within which the person must comply with the notice.
(5) Where a court is satisfied that any person served with a notice under subsection (1) intends to leave Singapore, the court may, on the application of the Public Prosecutor but after giving due regard to the person’s circumstances, by order require the person to remain in Singapore for such period as the court considers reasonable to ensure that the person complies with the notice.
(6) If a person (whether in or outside Singapore) who is served with a notice under subsection (1), without reasonable excuse, fails to do or refrain from doing anything required of the person by that notice, the person 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 one month or to both.
(7) If a person in Singapore on whom a notice under subsection (1) is served —(a)
intentionally alters, suppresses or destroys any document or information which the person has been required by the notice to provide; or
(b)
in providing any document or information required by the notice, makes any statement which the person knows to be false in a material particular, or recklessly makes such a statement,
that person 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 3 months or to both.
(8) If any person fails to comply with a notice under subsection (1), the court may, on the application of the Director‑General or an authorised officer, make such order as the court thinks fit to secure compliance with that notice, and any such order may provide that all the costs or expenses of and incidental to the application must be borne by that person or by any officer or employee of that person who is responsible for the failure.
(9) Where a notice under subsection (1) is issued in connection with investigations into a suspected offence under this Act, the Agency through an authorised officer may, at any time after the expiry of the period specified in the notice, enter any building or place where the Agency has reason to believe that any document or information, in respect of which it has given the notice, may be found, and seize or take extracts from or copies of any such document or information.
(10) The Agency is entitled without payment to keep any document or information, or any copy or extract thereof, provided to it under subsection (1) or obtained under subsection (9).
(11) In this section —“body corporate” includes a limited liability partnership registered under the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005;
“officer” —(a)
in relation to a body corporate, means any director, partner, member of the committee of management, chief executive, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate and includes any person purporting to act in any such capacity; or
(b)
in relation to an unincorporated association (other than a partnership), means the president, the secretary, or any member of the committee of the unincorporated association, or any person holding a position analogous to that of president, secretary or member of a committee and includes any person purporting to act in any such capacity;
“partner” includes a person purporting to act as a partner.
Power to examine and secure attendance, etc.
Open ↗11.—(1) For the purpose of investigating any offence under section 5, the Director‑General or an authorised officer may do all or any of the following:(a)
examine orally any person who appears to be acquainted with matters related to the offence;
(b)
require by written notice the attendance before himself or herself of any person in Singapore who, from information given or otherwise, appears to be acquainted with matters related to the offence;
(c)
require any person to provide any information or produce any book or document, or any copy thereof, in that person’s possession and, without payment, inspect, keep, copy or take extracts from that book, document or copy.
(2) Any person examined under this section is bound to state truly what the person knows of the matters related to the offence, whether or not the provision of information or production of any book or document or other disclosure might incriminate the person.
(3) A statement made by any person examined under this section must —(a)
be in writing;
(b)
be read over to the person;
(c)
if the person does not understand English, be interpreted for the person in a language that the person understands; and
(d)
after correction, if necessary, be signed by the person.
(4) If any person fails to attend as required by a notice under subsection (1)(b), the Director‑General or authorised officer may report such failure to a Magistrate, who may then issue a warrant to secure that person’s attendance as required by the notice.
Public servants
Open ↗12. The Director-General and all authorised officers, when performing or exercising any function, duty or power under this Act, are deemed to be public servants for the purposes of the Penal Code 1871.
Protection from personal liability
Open ↗13. No liability shall be incurred by the Director‑General, any authorised officer, any member, officer or employee of the Agency, or any other person acting under the direction of the Agency, for anything which is done or purported to be done in good faith and with reasonable care in —(a)
the exercise or purported exercise of any power under this Act; or
(b)
the performance or purported performance of any function or duty under this Act.
Penalty for obstructing Director-General or authorised officer in his or her duty
Open ↗14. Any person who at any time obstructs, hinders or delays the Director‑General or any authorised officer in the performance or execution of his or her duty or of anything which the Director‑General or authorised officer is empowered or required to do by or under this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —(a)
to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both; and
(b)
in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
