Singapore legislation
Section 23
Section 23
Sale of meat products and fish products
(1)
A person must not sell or supply, or have in the person’s possession for the purpose of selling or supplying, or advertise the sale or supply of, any meat product or fish product —
which has been imported in contravention of section 5 or 6;
which has not been inspected, examined and certified by an authorised examiner as required under section 10;
which has been derived from any animal that has been slaughtered in Singapore in contravention of section 11, 17 or 18;
which has been —
processed in a processing establishment; or
kept for any period of time in a cold store,that has not been licensed under section 13;
which has not been marked, branded or tagged in accordance with section 20;
which has not been labelled in the prescribed manner or which has been labelled with any information that is false, inaccurate or misleading;
which has been obtained from a wholesale market that has not been licensed under section 13; or
which is diseased, adulterated or unfit for human consumption or which is otherwise in contravention of any of the other provisions of this Act or the rules.
(2)
Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.
(3)
Subject to subsection (4), in any proceedings for an offence under subsection (2), it is a defence for the person charged to prove —
that the commission of the offence was due to the act or default of another person or to some other cause beyond the control of the person charged; and
that the person charged took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of such an offence by the person charged or by any person under the control of the person charged.
(4)
If in any proceedings the defence provided by subsection (3) involves the allegation that the commission of the offence was due to the act or default of another person, the person charged is not, without leave of the court, entitled to rely on that defence unless, within a period ending 7 clear days before the hearing, the person charged has served on the prosecutor a written notice giving such information as was then in the possession of the person charged identifying or assisting in the identification of that other person.
(5)
For the purpose of this section, where any meat product or fish product is found on any premises used by any person for the sale of meat products or fish products or for the storage of meat products or fish products intended for sale, it is deemed to be in that person’s possession for sale until the contrary is proved.