s 20 Refusal of assistance
20.—(1) A request by a foreign country for assistance under this Part must be refused by the Attorney‑General if, in the opinion of the Attorney‑General —(a) the appropriate authority of that country has, in respect of that request, failed to comply with the terms of any treaty, memorandum of understanding or other agreement between Singapore and that country; (b) the request relates to the investigation, prosecution or punishment of a person for an offence that is, or is by reason of the circumstances in which it is alleged to have been committed or was committed, an offence of a political character; (c) the request relates to the investigation, prosecution or punishment of a person in respect of an act or omission that, if it had occurred in Singapore, would have constituted an offence under the military law applicable in Singapore but not also under the ordinary criminal law of Singapore; (d) there are substantial grounds for believing that the request was made for the purpose of investigating, prosecuting, punishing or otherwise causing prejudice to a person on account of the person’s race, religion, sex, ethnic origin, nationality or political opinions; (e) the request relates to the investigation, prosecution or punishment of a person for an offence in a case where the person —(i) has been convicted, acquitted or pardoned by a court or other competent authority of that country, and all rights of appeal against the conviction, acquittal or pardon have expired or are exhausted; or[Act 42 of 2024 wef 28/03/2025] (ii) has undergone the punishment provided by the law of that country, in respect of that offence or of another offence constituted by the same act or omission as the firstmentioned offence; (f) the offence to which the request relates is not an offence of sufficient gravity; (g) the thing requested for is of insufficient importance to the investigation or could reasonably be obtained by other means; (h) it is contrary to public interest to provide the assistance; or[Act 42 of 2024 wef 28/03/2025] (i) [Deleted by Act 42 of 2024 wef 28/03/2025] (j) [Deleted by Act 42 of 2024 wef 28/03/2025] (k) the provision of the assistance could prejudice a criminal matter in Singapore.[23/2014] [Act 42 of 2024 wef 28/03/2025] (2) A request by a foreign country for assistance under this Part may be refused by the Attorney‑General —(a) pursuant to the terms of any treaty, memorandum of understanding or other agreement between Singapore and that country; (b) if, in the opinion of the Attorney‑General, the provision of the assistance would, or would be likely to, prejudice the safety of any person (whether in Singapore or elsewhere); (c) if, in the opinion of the Attorney‑General, the provision of the assistance would impose an excessive burden on the resources of Singapore; or (d) if, in the case of any assistance under sections 21 and 27(1) and Divisions 7 and 8, that country is not declared as a prescribed foreign country under section 17 and the appropriate authority of that country fails to give an undertaking to the Attorney‑General that that country will comply with a future request by Singapore to that country for similar assistance in a criminal matter involving an offence that corresponds to the foreign offence for which assistance is sought.[8/2006] (2A) A request by a foreign country for assistance to obtain any thing under section 22 or 23 or Division 6 must be refused by the Attorney‑General if the appropriate authority of that country —(a) fails to undertake that the thing will not be used for a matter other than the criminal matter in respect of which the request was made, except with the consent of the Attorney‑General; or (b) fails to undertake to do any of the following, upon conclusion of the criminal matter in respect of which the request was made, if the Attorney‑General so requests:(i) return the thing to the Attorney‑General; (ii) dispose of the thing; (iii) otherwise handle the thing in accordance with the Attorney‑General’s request.[Act 42 of 2024 wef 28/03/2025] (3) Subject to subsections (4) and (5), a request by a foreign country for assistance under Division 2, 5 or 6 must be refused if, in the opinion of the Attorney‑General, the request relates to the investigation, prosecution or punishment of a person in respect of any conduct which, if it had occurred in Singapore, would not have constituted a Singapore offence.[23/2014] (4) Subsection (3) does not apply to a request by a foreign country for assistance under Division 2 if the request relates to the investigation, prosecution or punishment of a person in respect of a foreign tax evasion offence of that country.[23/2014] (5) Subsection (3) does not apply to a request by a foreign country for assistance under Division 5 or 6 if —(a) the request relates to the investigation, prosecution or punishment of a person in respect of a foreign tax evasion offence of that country; and (b) the Attorney‑General is satisfied that an arrangement having effect under section 49 or 105BA of the Income Tax Act 1947, or an international tax compliance agreement as defined in section 105I of that Act, has been made with the government of that foreign country.[23/2014]