s 17H Offences relating to reports
17H.—(1) Where —(a) any donation report, foreign affiliations report or key management report which is required under Part 4* in respect of a religious group; or (b) any declaration relating to any report mentioned in paragraph (a), which is required under Part 4* in respect of a religious group, is not given to a competent authority in accordance with the requirements of that Part, every responsible officer of the religious group shall be guilty of an offence and shall each be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $200 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction. [*Updated to be consistent with the 2020 Revised Edition] (2) Where a responsible officer of a religious group, with an intent to deceive, makes —(a) in a donation report, foreign affiliations report or key management report which is required to be given under Part 4* in respect of the religious group —(i) a statement that is false or misleading in a material particular; or (ii) an omission of any matter or thing without which such a report is misleading in a material particular; or (b) a false declaration required to be given under Part 4* in respect of a donation report, foreign affiliations report or key management report of the religious group, the responsible officer shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $20,000. [*Updated to be consistent with the 2020 Revised Edition] (3) Where in a donation report, foreign affiliations report or key management report, or a declaration relating to such a report, which is required to be given under Part 4* in respect of a religious group, there is —(a) a statement that is false or misleading in a material particular; or (b) an omission of any matter or thing without which the donation report or declaration is misleading in a material particular, and the report or declaration is given to a competent authority, every responsible officer of the religious group shall be guilty of an offence and shall each be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000. [*Updated to be consistent with the 2020 Revised Edition] (4) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (1) in relation to a donation report, foreign affiliations report or key management report, or a declaration relating to any such report, it is a defence to the charge for the accused to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that the accused took all reasonable steps, and exercised all due diligence, to ensure that a requirement in Part 4* has been complied with in relation to the report or declaration.[*Updated to be consistent with the 2020 Revised Edition] (5) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (3) in relation to a donation report, foreign affiliations report or key management report, or a declaration relating to any such report, which is required under Part 4*, it is a defence to the charge for the accused to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that the accused took all reasonable steps, and exercised all due diligence, to ensure that —(a) a statement in the report or declaration (as the case may be) was not false or misleading in a material particular; or (b) the report or declaration did not contain any omission which would have made the report or declaration misleading in a material particular.[*Updated to be consistent with the 2020 Revised Edition] (6) An offence under subsection (1) or (3) is a strict liability offence.[Act 31 of 2019 wef 01/11/2022]