Singapore legislation
Section 71
Section 71
Personal liability of members, etc., for certain offences
(1)
Where a Town Council commits an offence under section 24(4) or 61(4), an individual —
who is the chairperson of, or secretary to, the Town Council, or who was purporting to act in any such capacity; and
who —
consented or connived to effect the commission of the offence;
is in any other way, whether by act or omission, knowingly concerned in, or is party to, the commission of the offence by the Town Council; or
knew or ought reasonably to have known that the offence by the Town Council (or an offence of the same type) would be or is being committed, and failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent or stop the commission of that offence,shall be guilty of that same offence as is the Town Council, and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $50 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.
(2)
Where a Town Council commits a relevant offence, an individual —
who is the chairperson of, or secretary to, the Town Council, or who was purporting to act in any such capacity; and
who —
consented or connived to effect the commission of the offence;
is in any other way, whether by act or omission, knowingly concerned in, or is party to, the commission of the offence by the Town Council; or
knew or ought reasonably to have known that the offence by the Town Council (or an offence of the same type) would be or is being committed, and failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent or stop the commission of that offence,shall be guilty of that same offence as is the Town Council, and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.
(3)
In subsection (2), “relevant offence” means an offence —
under section 21(8), 25(6), 47(9) or 52(15);
under the Financial Rules made under section 57; or
under any rules made under section 82 about the governance of Town Councils.
(4)
To avoid doubt, subsections (1) and (2) do not affect the liability of a Town Council for an offence mentioned in that subsection, and apply whether or not the Town Council is convicted of the offence.
(5)
To avoid doubt, this section also does not affect the application of —
Chapters 5 and 5A of the Penal Code 1871; or
the Evidence Act 1893 or any other law or practice regarding the admissibility of evidence.[48A