s 17L Offence of not giving information
17L.—(1) Subject to subsection (3), a person commits an offence if —(a) the person is required by a notice given to the person under section 16G to provide a document or information or material to a competent authority; and (b) the person —(i) fails to provide the document or the information or material to the competent authority; or (ii) alters, suppresses or destroys any document or any information or material which the person has been required by the notice to provide. (2) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $500 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction. (3) In any proceedings for an offence under subsection (1), it is a defence for the accused to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that —(a) the person does not possess the document or the information or material required; or (b) the person has taken all reasonable steps available to the person to obtain the document or the information or material required and has been unable to obtain it. (4) The offence under subsection (1) is a strict liability offence. (5) To avoid doubt, for the purposes of subsection (1), it is not a defence for a person to refuse or fail to provide any document or any information or material if doing so might tend to incriminate that person. (6) Where a person claims, before producing any document or giving any information or material that the person is required by section 16G to produce or give, that the production of the document or the giving of the information or material might tend to incriminate him —(a) that document or information or material; (b) the production of that document or the provision of that information or material; or (c) any information, document or thing obtained as a direct or an indirect consequence of the production of the document or giving of the information or material, is not admissible in evidence against the person in any criminal proceedings other than proceedings for an offence under this Act or any written law in respect of the falsity of the document or the information or material. [Act 31 of 2019 wef 01/11/2022]