s 55 Powers of Director-General of Health and Health Officers in dealing with outbreaks and suspected outbreaks of infectious diseases
55. —(1) For the purpose of investigating into any outbreak or suspected outbreak of an infectious disease or for the purpose of preventing the spread or possible outbreak of an infectious disease, the Director-General of Health or any Health Officer authorised by the Director-General of Health may — ( a ) at any time without warrant and with such force as may be necessary — (i) enter, inspect and search any premises; or (ii) stop, board, inspect and search any conveyance, in which the outbreak or suspected outbreak has taken place; ( b ) take samples of any substance or matter, wherever found, if the Director-General of Health or Health Officer has reason to believe that the substance or matter is the cause of, is contributory to or is otherwise connected with, the occurrence of the outbreak or suspected outbreak, and send those samples for such test, examination or analysis as the Director-General of Health or Health Officer may consider necessary or expedient; [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] ( c ) seize any substance or matter, wherever found, if the Director-General of Health or Health Officer has reason to believe that that substance or matter is the cause of, is contributory to or is otherwise connected with, the occurrence of the outbreak or suspected outbreak; [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] ( d ) require any person or class of persons to destroy any food in the possession of the person or those persons, in such manner and within such time as he or she may specify, and impose any requirement that the Director-General of Health or Health Officer thinks fit in relation to the destruction of the food, if the Director-General of Health or Health Officer has reason to believe that the food is the cause of, is contributory to or is otherwise connected with, the occurrence of the outbreak or suspected outbreak; [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] ( e ) require any person or class of persons — (i) to furnish any information within the knowledge of the person or any person in that class of persons; or [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] (ii) to produce any book, document or other record which may be in the custody or possession of the person or any person in that class of persons for inspection by the Director-General of Health or Health Officer and the making of copies thereof, or to provide the Director-General of Health or Health Officer with copies of such book, document or other record, [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] within such time and in such form or manner as the Director-General of Health or Health Officer may specify and may, if necessary, further require the person to attend at a specified time and place for the purposes of complying with sub‑paragraph (i) or (ii); [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] ( f ) require, by written notice, any person who is, or is suspected to be, a case or an at-risk individual of an infectious disease to submit to medical examination and have his or her blood or other body sample taken for examination within or at such time, and at such place, and comply with such other measure relating to the medical examination, as may be specified in the notice, and to undergo such treatment as may be necessary; [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] ( g ) subject to subsection (5), order the closure or cordoning off of any public place in which the outbreak or suspected outbreak, or the transmission or suspected transmission, of an infectious disease has taken place, and require the owner or occupier of the public place to carry out any additional measures that the Director-General of Health or Health Officer considers necessary, in the manner and within the time specified in the order; [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] ( h ) subject to subsections (6) and (7), requisition, for such period as the Director-General of Health or Health Officer thinks necessary — (i) any premises (including any facility or equipment in those premises) which, in his or her opinion, is suitable for the isolation and treatment of persons who are, or are reasonably suspected to be, cases or at-risk individuals of the infectious disease; and [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] (ii) any conveyance which, in his or her opinion, is suitable and necessary for use in connection with the prevention of the spread or possible outbreak of the infectious disease; and [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] ( i ) by order prohibit or restrict the movement of any person or class of persons, animals and conveyances into, within or out of any public place mentioned in paragraph ( g ) or any premises mentioned in paragraph ( h )(i), subject to any condition that the Director-General of Health thinks fit. [10/2008; 5/2019] [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] (2) Where the Director-General of Health or Health Officer seizes any substance or matter under subsection (1)( c ) — ( a ) the Director-General of Health or Health Officer must immediately give written notice of the seizure to the owner of, or to the person from whom, the substance or matter was seized and may — (i) direct that the substance or matter under seizure be kept or stored in the premises or conveyance where it was seized or be removed to any other place to be kept or stored there; or (ii) dispose of the substance or matter immediately if the Director-General of Health or Health Officer is of the view that the substance or matter is decayed, putrefied or deleterious to health; and [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] ( b ) any person aggrieved by the seizure may, within 48 hours after the seizure, complain to a Magistrate’s Court and the Magistrate’s Court may — (i) confirm the seizure wholly or in part; (ii) disallow the seizure wholly or in part; (iii) order that any substance or matter that has been seized be returned to its owner, subject to any condition which the Court may think fit to impose to ensure that the substance or matter is preserved for any purpose for which it may subsequently be required; or (iv) order payment to be made to the owner of or person entitled to the substance or matter seized of such amount as the Court considers reasonable compensation to the owner or person for any loss or depreciation resulting from the seizure. [5/2019] [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] (3) Where — ( a ) no complaint is received by the Magistrate’s Court within 48 hours of the seizure under subsection (2)( b ); or ( b ) the Magistrate’s Court confirms the seizure under subsection (2)( b )(i), the substance or matter seized in its entirety or to the extent to which its seizure was confirmed by the Magistrate’s Court (as the case may be) becomes the property of the Government and must be disposed of in the manner that the Director-General of Health thinks fit. [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] (4) A person (including a person in a class of persons) must comply with a requirement under subsection (1)( e ) to disclose information or produce documents to the Director-General of Health despite any restriction on the disclosure of the information or documents imposed by any written law, rule of law, rule of professional conduct or contract; and the person must not by so doing be treated as being in breach of any such restriction despite anything to the contrary in that law, rule or contract. [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] (5) The power referred to in subsection (1)( g ) does not apply in respect of any public place where the power to order the closure or cordoning off of such public place in the same circumstances has been conferred by any other written law on some other public officer or statutory body. (6) Any premises that are unoccupied may be requisitioned under subsection (1)( h ) without notice being given to the owner of the premises, but premises that are occupied must not be so requisitioned unless a written notice has been served on the owner or occupier or posted in a conspicuous position at those premises. (7) Where any premises or conveyance is requisitioned under subsection (1)( h ), the owner or occupier of the premises or the owner or person having control and possession of the conveyance is entitled to a reasonable compensation for the occupation of the premises during the period of requisition, or for the use and detention of the conveyance, as the case may be. (8) Any person (including any person in a class of persons) who fails to comply with any requirement or order made by the Director-General of Health or a Health Officer under subsection (1)( d ), ( e ), ( f ), ( g ) or ( i ) shall be guilty of an offence. [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] (9) For the purposes of subsection (1)( e ), where any document or record required by the Director-General of Health or a Health Officer is kept in electronic form, then — ( a ) the power of the Director-General of Health or Health Officer to require the document or record to be produced for inspection includes the power to require a copy of the document or record to be made available for inspection in legible form; and [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] ( b ) the power of the Director-General of Health or Health Officer to inspect the document or record includes the power to require any person or class of persons on the premises in question to give the Director-General of Health or Health Officer such assistance as the Director-General of Health or Health Officer may reasonably require to enable him or her to inspect and make copies of the document or record in legible form or to make records of the information contained in the document or record. [10/2008] [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] —(1) For the purpose of investigating into any outbreak or suspected outbreak of an infectious disease or for the purpose of preventing the spread or possible outbreak of an infectious disease, the Director-General of Health or any Health Officer authorised by the Director-General of Health may — ( a ) at any time without warrant and with such force as may be necessary — (i) enter, inspect and search any premises; or (ii) stop, board, inspect and search any conveyance, in which the outbreak or suspected outbreak has taken place; ( b ) take samples of any substance or matter, wherever found, if the Director-General of Health or Health Officer has reason to believe that the substance or matter is the cause of, is contributory to or is otherwise connected with, the occurrence of the outbreak or suspected outbreak, and send those samples for such test, examination or analysis as the Director-General of Health or Health Officer may consider necessary or expedient; [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] ( c ) seize any substance or matter, wherever found, if the Director-General of Health or Health Officer has reason to believe that that substance or matter is the cause of, is contributory to or is otherwise connected with, the occurrence of the outbreak or suspected outbreak; [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] ( d ) require any person or class of persons to destroy any food in the possession of the person or those persons, in such manner and within such time as he or she may specify, and impose any requirement that the Director-General of Health or Health Officer thinks fit in relation to the destruction of the food, if the Director-General of Health or Health Officer has reason to believe that the food is the cause of, is contributory to or is otherwise connected with, the occurrence of the outbreak or suspected outbreak; [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] ( e ) require any person or class of persons — (i) to furnish any information within the knowledge of the person or any person in that class of persons; or [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] (ii) to produce any book, document or other record which may be in the custody or possession of the person or any person in that class of persons for inspection by the Director-General of Health or Health Officer and the making of copies thereof, or to provide the Director-General of Health or Health Officer with copies of such book, document or other record, [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] within such time and in such form or manner as the Director-General of Health or Health Officer may specify and may, if necessary, further require the person to attend at a specified time and place for the purposes of complying with sub‑paragraph (i) or (ii); [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] ( f ) require, by written notice, any person who is, or is suspected to be, a case or an at-risk individual of an infectious disease to submit to medical examination and have his or her blood or other body sample taken for examination within or at such time, and at such place, and comply with such other measure relating to the medical examination, as may be specified in the notice, and to undergo such treatment as may be necessary; [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] ( g ) subject to subsection (5), order the closure or cordoning off of any public place in which the outbreak or suspected outbreak, or the transmission or suspected transmission, of an infectious disease has taken place, and require the owner or occupier of the public place to carry out any additional measures that the Director-General of Health or Health Officer considers necessary, in the manner and within the time specified in the order; [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] ( h ) subject to subsections (6) and (7), requisition, for such period as the Director-General of Health or Health Officer thinks necessary — (i) any premises (including any facility or equipment in those premises) which, in his or her opinion, is suitable for the isolation and treatment of persons who are, or are reasonably suspected to be, cases or at-risk individuals of the infectious disease; and [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] (ii) any conveyance which, in his or her opinion, is suitable and necessary for use in connection with the prevention of the spread or possible outbreak of the infectious disease; and [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] ( i ) by order prohibit or restrict the movement of any person or class of persons, animals and conveyances into, within or out of any public place mentioned in paragraph ( g ) or any premises mentioned in paragraph ( h )(i), subject to any condition that the Director-General of Health thinks fit. [10/2008; 5/2019] [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] (2) Where the Director-General of Health or Health Officer seizes any substance or matter under subsection (1)( c ) — ( a ) the Director-General of Health or Health Officer must immediately give written notice of the seizure to the owner of, or to the person from whom, the substance or matter was seized and may — (i) direct that the substance or matter under seizure be kept or stored in the premises or conveyance where it was seized or be removed to any other place to be kept or stored there; or (ii) dispose of the substance or matter immediately if the Director-General of Health or Health Officer is of the view that the substance or matter is decayed, putrefied or deleterious to health; and [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] ( b ) any person aggrieved by the seizure may, within 48 hours after the seizure, complain to a Magistrate’s Court and the Magistrate’s Court may — (i) confirm the seizure wholly or in part; (ii) disallow the seizure wholly or in part; (iii) order that any substance or matter that has been seized be returned to its owner, subject to any condition which the Court may think fit to impose to ensure that the substance or matter is preserved for any purpose for which it may subsequently be required; or (iv) order payment to be made to the owner of or person entitled to the substance or matter seized of such amount as the Court considers reasonable compensation to the owner or person for any loss or depreciation resulting from the seizure. [5/2019] [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] (3) Where — ( a ) no complaint is received by the Magistrate’s Court within 48 hours of the seizure under subsection (2)( b ); or ( b ) the Magistrate’s Court confirms the seizure under subsection (2)( b )(i), the substance or matter seized in its entirety or to the extent to which its seizure was confirmed by the Magistrate’s Court (as the case may be) becomes the property of the Government and must be disposed of in the manner that the Director-General of Health thinks fit. [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] (4) A person (including a person in a class of persons) must comply with a requirement under subsection (1)( e ) to disclose information or produce documents to the Director-General of Health despite any restriction on the disclosure of the information or documents imposed by any written law, rule of law, rule of professional conduct or contract; and the person must not by so doing be treated as being in breach of any such restriction despite anything to the contrary in that law, rule or contract. [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] (5) The power referred to in subsection (1)( g ) does not apply in respect of any public place where the power to order the closure or cordoning off of such public place in the same circumstances has been conferred by any other written law on some other public officer or statutory body. (6) Any premises that are unoccupied may be requisitioned under subsection (1)( h ) without notice being given to the owner of the premises, but premises that are occupied must not be so requisitioned unless a written notice has been served on the owner or occupier or posted in a conspicuous position at those premises. (7) Where any premises or conveyance is requisitioned under subsection (1)( h ), the owner or occupier of the premises or the owner or person having control and possession of the conveyance is entitled to a reasonable compensation for the occupation of the premises during the period of requisition, or for the use and detention of the conveyance, as the case may be. (8) Any person (including any person in a class of persons) who fails to comply with any requirement or order made by the Director-General of Health or a Health Officer under subsection (1)( d ), ( e ), ( f ), ( g ) or ( i ) shall be guilty of an offence. [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024] (9) For the purposes of subsection (1)( e ), where any document or record required by the Director-General of Health or a Health Officer is kept in electronic form, then — ( a ) the power of the Director-General of Health or Health Officer to require the document or record to be produced for inspection includes the power to require a copy of the document or record to be made available for inspection in legible form; and [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] ( b ) the power of the Director-General of Health or Health Officer to inspect the document or record includes the power to require any person or class of persons on the premises in question to give the Director-General of Health or Health Officer such assistance as the Director-General of Health or Health Officer may reasonably require to enable him or her to inspect and make copies of the document or record in legible form or to make records of the information contained in the document or record. [10/2008] [Act 11 of 2023 wef 01/05/2023] [Act 13 of 2024 wef 09/04/2024]