Singapore legislation

Section 138

of Copyright Act

Section 138

Powers of police officer

Amended by52/200452/2004

(1)

Any police officer may arrest without warrant any person who, in any street or public place —

(a)

sells or exposes or offers for sale; or

(b)

has, or is reasonably suspected of having, in his possession for the purpose of selling or letting for hire,any infringing copy of any work or other subject-matter.

(2)

Any authorised officer may, without a warrant issued under section 136(9) —

(a)

stop, search and board, whether forcibly or otherwise, any conveyance in which he reasonably suspects that there is any infringing copy of any work or other subject-matter; and

(b)

seize, remove or detain any such infringing copy and anything which appears to him —

(i)

to be or to contain; or

(ii)

to be likely to be or to contain,evidence of an offence under this Act.

Amended by52/2004

(3)

In this section, “authorised officer” means —

(a)

a police officer;

(b)

an officer of customs as defined in the Customs Act (Cap. 70);

(c)

an immigration officer as defined in the Immigration Act (Cap. 133); or

(d)

any officer or class or description of officers appointed by the Minister, by notification in the Gazette, to exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred and imposed on an authorised officer by this section.

Amended by52/2004