Singapore legislation
Section 44
Section 44
Power of Commissioner to call for documents and search records
(1)
The Commissioner may, for the purpose of discharging the functions of the Commissioner under this Act, by order require any person to furnish the Commissioner, within the time specified in the order —
any information relating to any charity or fund‑raising appeal that —
is within the knowledge of the person; or
comes within the knowledge of the person within a period specified in the order that does not exceed 2 years after the date of the order; and
any document relating to any charity or fund-raising appeal that —
is in the possession or under the control of the person; or
comes into the possession or under the control of the person within a period specified in the order that does not exceed 2 years after the date of the order.
(2)
An order under subsection (1)(b) may require —
a copy or extract of the document to be furnished to the Commissioner; or
unless the document forms part of the records or other documents of a court or public authority, the document itself to be furnished to the Commissioner for the Commissioner’s inspection.
(3)
The Commissioner is entitled without payment to keep any copy or extract furnished to the Commissioner under subsection (1); and where a document furnished to the Commissioner for his or her inspection relates only to one or more charities and is not held by any person entitled as trustee or otherwise to the custody of the document, the Commissioner may keep it or may deliver it to the governing board members or to any other person who may be so entitled.
(4)
The Commissioner or any officer authorised by the Commissioner in that behalf has at all times full and free access to all buildings, places, books, documents and other papers for the purpose of discharging his or her functions under this Act, and may, without payment, inspect, copy or make extracts from any such books, documents or papers.
(5)
The Commissioner may take possession of any books, documents or papers where in his or her opinion —
the inspection, copying thereof or extraction therefrom cannot reasonably be performed without taking possession;
the books, documents or papers may be interfered with or destroyed unless possession is taken; or
the books, documents or papers may be required as evidence in proceedings for an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder.
(6)
The Commissioner may require any person to give orally or in writing, as may be required, all such information concerning any charity or fund‑raising appeal as may be demanded of the person by the Commissioner for the purposes of this Act.
(7)
The rights conferred by this section, in relation to information recorded otherwise than in legible form, include the right to require the information to be made available in legible form for inspection or for a copy or extract to be made of or from it.
(8)
Any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with any requirement specified in any order under subsection (1) or any requirement under subsection (6) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $100 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.
(9)
Subject to section 46(2), no person is, by virtue of this section, obliged to disclose any particulars as to which the person is under any statutory obligation to observe secrecy.
(10)
In this section, “fund-raising appeal” has the meaning given by section 35(1).[41A