Singapore legislation
Section 14
Section 14
Liability of owner of vehicles for parking offences
(1)
When a parking offence is committed, the person who, at the time of the commission of the offence, is the owner of the vehicle in respect of which the offence is committed shall be guilty of an offence under the rules made under this Act in all respects as if the person were the actual offender guilty of the parking offence unless —
the person satisfies the Superintendent that the vehicle was at the relevant time a stolen vehicle or a vehicle illegally taken or used; or
the court is satisfied that the vehicle was at the relevant time a stolen vehicle or a vehicle illegally taken or used.
(2)
Nothing in this section shall affect the liability of the actual offender except that where a penalty has been imposed on or recovered from a person in relation to any parking offence, no further penalty shall be imposed on or recovered from any other person in relation to that offence.
(3)
Despite subsection (1), no owner of a vehicle shall, by virtue of this section, be guilty of an offence if the owner —
within 14 days after service on the owner of a notice alleging that the owner has been guilty of the offence, furnishes by statutory declaration to the Superintendent the name and address of the person who was in charge of the vehicle at all relevant times relating to the parking offence concerned;
satisfies the Superintendent that the owner did not know and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained such name and address; or
satisfies the court that the owner did not know and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained such name and address.
(4)
A statutory declaration made under subsection (3)(a) if produced in any proceedings against the person named in the statutory declaration and in respect of the parking offence concerned is prima facie evidence that the person was in charge of the vehicle at all relevant times relating to the parking offence.
(5)
A statutory declaration which relates to more than one parking offence must not be regarded as a statutory declaration under, or for the purposes of, subsection (3)(a).
(6)
In this section —
Definition
“owner”, in relation to a motor vehicle, means —
for a motor vehicle which is registered under the Road Traffic Act 1961 —
each person in whose name the vehicle is registered under the Road Traffic Act 1961 unless the person has sold or ceased to have possession of the vehicle and has complied with the provisions of the rules applicable in regard to the sale or disposal; (ii)each person, although not a registered owner of the vehicle, who is a sole or joint owner of the vehicle unless that person has sold or ceased to have possession of that vehicle; or
if any such registered owner has sold or ceased to have possession of the vehicle, any person who solely or jointly or in common with any other person is entitled to the immediate possession of the vehicle;
for a motor vehicle that is unregistered, the person who solely or jointly or in common with any other person is entitled to the immediate possession of the vehicle;
for a motor vehicle in respect of which a general licence is issued under section 28 of the Road Traffic Act 1961, the person to whom the general licence is issued; or
for a motor vehicle which is the subject of a hiring agreement or hire-purchase agreement, the person in possession or entitled to possession of the vehicle under that agreement;
Definition
“parking offence” means an offence of parking a vehicle or causing or permitting a vehicle to stand, wait or be parked in contravention of any rules made under this Act.
(7)
For the purposes of the definition of “owner” in subsection (6), a person is taken not to have ceased to have possession or (as the case may be) not to have acquired possession of a vehicle where a change of possession occurs by way of —
any hiring (not being a hiring under a hire-purchase agreement) or lending of the vehicle; or
the passing of the possession of the vehicle to a bailee for the purpose of sale or disposal or for the purpose of alteration, repair, renovation, storing or other like purpose involving the use or operation of the vehicle for the benefit of the bailee.