Singapore legislation
Section 6
of Motor Vehicles (Third-Party Risks and Compensation) Act 1960
Section 6
Payment of compensation under settlement agreements
(1)
This section applies to every payment (excluding any sum payable in respect of costs and interest) exceeding the relevant amount that —
is made by way of compensation by an insurer or the owner of a motor vehicle pursuant to a settlement agreement in respect of the death or bodily injury to a person arising out of the use of a motor vehicle on a road in Singapore or in any territory specified in the Schedule; and
is not a liquidated sum specified in a policy of insurance.
(2)
Subject to subsections (3) and (4), the insurer or the owner of a motor vehicle must make the payment, together with any sum payable in respect of costs and interest under the settlement agreement, directly to —
the Public Trustee as trustee for the person entitled to the benefit of the payment if the person is a specified person; or
in any other case, the person entitled to the benefit of the payment in accordance with the law for the time being in force and with any rules made under this Act.
(3)
Subject to subsection (5), payment under subsection (2) must not be made until —
in the case where the person entitled to the benefit of the payment is a person referred to in paragraph (a)(i) of the definition of “specified person” in section 2, the insurer or the owner of the motor vehicle obtains —
the approval of the Public Trustee of the adequacy of the payment to be made; or
where the Public Trustee considers it to be manifestly inadequate, the approval of the court of its adequacy; and
the costs payable to any public officer or any advocate and solicitor who acts or has acted in respect of the claim for compensation on behalf of the person entitled to the benefit of the payment have been determined in accordance with section 18(3).
(4)
Before making any payment under subsection (2), the insurer or the owner of a motor vehicle must deduct from it the costs referred to in subsection (3)(b) and pay the costs directly to the public officer or the advocate and solicitor entitled to it.
(5)
Nothing in subsection (2)(a), (3) or (4) prevents an insurer or the owner of a motor vehicle from making any interim payment of compensation of any amount to any person entitled to the benefit of compensation.
(6)
Every application to the Public Trustee for his or her approval under subsection (3)(a)(i) and every payment to the Public Trustee under subsection (2)(a) must be made in the manner, and together with the documents and information, that the Public Trustee may require.
(7)
Subject to subsection (8), the Public Trustee must, after deducting any fee payable to him or her for acting as trustee, distribute the moneys received by him or her under subsection (2)(a) directly to the persons entitled to the moneys in accordance with the law for the time being in force and with any rules made under this Act.
(8)
The Public Trustee may, where he or she receives moneys under subsection (2)(a) for a specified person who is below 21 years of age, hold the moneys on trust for that person until that person attains 21 years of age.