Singapore legislation
Section 83J
Section 83J
Disposal of item furnished or seized
(1)
Any item furnished to or seized by the Comptroller or an officer authorised by the Comptroller under section 81 or 84 must —
where the item is produced in any criminal proceedings, be dealt with in accordance with section 364 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010; or
in any other case, be dealt with in accordance with subsections (2), (3) and (4).
(2)
The Comptroller or an officer authorised by the Comptroller must serve a notice on the owner of the item instructing the owner to take custody of it within the period specified in the notice, which must be at least 5 days after the date of service of the notice.
(3)
If the owner fails to take custody of the item within the period specified in the notice, or where the owner is unknown or cannot be found —
if the item is a document (other than one specified in paragraph (d) or (e) of the definition of “document” in section 81(5)), the item may be disposed of in such manner as the Comptroller directs; or
if the item is anything not specified in paragraph (a), the Comptroller must make a report of this to a Magistrate.
(4)
The Magistrate to whom a report is made under subsection (3)(b) may order the item to be forfeited or disposed of in such manner as the Magistrate thinks fit.
(5)
Nothing in this section affects any right to retain or dispose of any item which may exist in law apart from this section.