Section 17

Any registration officer duly authorised by the Commissioner may, if the registration officer considers it necessary for administering or enforcing any requirement under this Act relating to the registration of any person or to the reporting of any change of residence, by written notice require the Board to disclose any secret or confidential document or information which is in the possession or control of the Board.

The Board must disclose the document or information required by a registration officer under subsection (1) despite any obligation as to secrecy or confidentiality imposed by any law.

Any registration officer to whom any document or information has been disclosed under subsection (2) must not disclose that document or information to any other person except —

Any registration officer who contravenes subsection (3), or any law enforcement officer who discloses any document or information obtained under that subsection to any other person other than for the purpose specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of that subsection, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

In this section, unless the context otherwise requires —

“Board” means the Housing and Development Board established under section 3 of the Housing and Development Act 1959;

“disclose”, in relation to any document or information, includes allowing access to the document or information;

“law enforcement officer” means —