Clause 4

The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, appoint such number of inspectors as it may consider necessary for carrying this Act into effect.(2) The Commissioner for Labour and any Deputy Commissioner for Labour, Assistant Commissioner for Labour or inspecting officer appointed under the Employment Act (Cap. 122) may exercise any or all of the powers of an inspector.(3) In the course of an inspection, an inspector may at any reasonable time —

enter any premises or place where he has reasonable cause to believe that a person is employed therein;

examine, either alone or in the presence of any other person with respect to any matters under this Act or which he may reasonably require information, any person whom he has reasonable cause to believe to be or to have been an employee or an employer, and require every such person to be examined and for the purposes of such examination may summon any such person to attend at the place and time specified in such summons;

put questions concerning employees to their employers or to any person who may be in charge of them, or to the employees themselves, or to any other person whom he may consider it desirable to question, and such employers or employees or other person shall be legally bound to answer such questions truthfully to the best of his ability;

require any employer to produce before him all or any of the employees employed by him together with any contract of service, book of account of salary, register and other document concerning such employees or their employment and to answer such questions relating thereto as he may think proper to ask;

make copies of any book, document or paper required to be produced under paragraph (d) of this subsection and take possession of such book, document or paper when in his opinion —

the copying thereof cannot reasonably be performed without taking possession; or

the book, document or paper may be tampered with unless possession is taken; or

the book, document or paper may be required as evidence in any proceedings for an offence under this Act or in any proceedings for the recovery of any monies due to the Fund.(4) If any person wilfully delays an inspector or any of the officers referred to in subsection (2) of this section in the exercise of any power under this section, or fails to comply with the requisition of an inspector or an aforesaid officer in pursuance of this section or to produce any record, certificate, notice or document which he is required by or in pursuance of this section to produce, or wilfully withholds any information as to who are the employees of any employer or as to who is the employer of any employee or conceals or prevents or attempts to conceal or prevent, a person from appearing before or being examined by an inspector or an aforesaid officer, that person shall be deemed to obstruct an inspector or an aforesaid officer in the execution of his duties under this Act.(5) Any person who obstructs an inspector or any of the officers referred to in subsection (2) of this section shall be guilty of an offence.”.