Singapore legislation
Section 60
Section 60
Powers of inspectors in investigations
(1)
For the purposes of an investigation of a Town Council, an inspector assigned to carry out the investigation has right of access at any reasonable time in the day, and after giving 6 hours’ prior notice of the exercise of the right to access at any other time, to —
the premises of the Town Council concerned; and
the records or other documents of the Town Council, whether or not on the premises of the Town Council concerned.
(2)
The members, secretary, employees, officers and committee members of a Town Council, or a managing agent of a Town Council and its employees (as the case may be) must, at the request of an inspector —
do anything reasonably necessary to facilitate the exercise of powers of the inspector under this section;
answer questions relevant to the investigation asked by the inspector;
produce specified records or documents relevant to the investigation;
give other assistance the inspector reasonably requires; or
do any combination of paragraphs (a) to (d).
(3)
For the purposes of an investigation of a Town Council, an inspector assigned to carry out the investigation may, by notice, require —
a person to produce, within a reasonable time allowed in the notice, written answers to specified questions or other specified written information, which are within the knowledge of that person or in the person’s custody or under the person’s control;
a person within Singapore who appears to be acquainted with the circumstances of the investigation to attend before the inspector at a specified time and place for examination on a subject stated in the notice; or
a person to produce, within a reasonable time allowed in the notice, specified records or documents or records or documents of a specified kind, which are within the custody or under the control of that person.
(4)
The power to require a person to produce any record, document or information under subsection (2) or (3) includes the power —
to require that person, or any person who is or was an officer or employee of that person, to provide an explanation of the record, document or information;
if the record, document or information is not produced, to require that person to state, to the best of that person’s knowledge and belief, where it is; and
if the information is recorded otherwise than in legible form, to require the information to be made available to the inspector in legible form.
(5)
A person required by notice under subsection (3) to produce written answers to questions or other written information must, if the notice requires, verify the answers or information by statutory declaration.
(6)
A person who, in response to a notice under subsection (3), attends for examination before an inspector —
must, if the inspector so requires, take an oath or make an affirmation (which may be administered by the inspector) to answer truthfully all questions put to the person by the inspector; and
must answer questions put to the person at the examination.
(7)
Any statement made by a person at an examination before an inspector must —
be reduced to writing;
be read over to the person;
if the person does not understand English, be interpreted in a language that the person understands; and
after correction (if necessary) be signed by that person.
(8)
If an inspector considers it necessary to do so for the purpose of obtaining evidence of the contravention of any provision of this Act, the inspector may seize any equipment, record, document, information or other thing.
(9)
An inspector may, at any time after the expiry of the period specified in the notice mentioned in subsection (3), enter any building or place where the inspector has reason to believe that any record, document or information, in respect of which the inspector has given the notice, may be found, and seize or take extracts or copies of any such record, document or information.
(10)
An inspector is entitled without payment to keep any record, document or information, or any copy or extract of it, produced to the inspector under subsection (2) or (3) or obtained under subsection (8) or (9).[43C