Singapore legislation
Clause 9
Clause 9
Power of Commissioner to call for documents and search records
(1)
The Commissioner may, for the purpose of discharging his functions under this Act, by order —
require any person to furnish the Commissioner with any information in his possession which relates to any charity; and
require any person who has in his custody or under his control any document which relates to any charity —
to furnish the Commissioner with a copy of or extract from the document; or
unless the document forms part of the records or other documents of a court or public authority, to transmit the document itself to the Commissioner for his inspection.
(2)
The Commissioner shall be entitled without payment to keep any copy or extract furnished to him under subsection (1); and where a document transmitted to him for his 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 charity trustees or to any other person who may be so entitled.
(3)
The Commissioner or any officer authorised by him in that behalf shall at all times have full and free access to all buildings, places, books, documents and other papers for the purpose of discharging his functions under this Act, and may, without payment, inspect, copy or make extracts from any such books, documents or papers.
(4)
The Commissioner may take possession of any books, documents or papers where in his 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.
(5)
The Commissioner may require any person to give orally or in writing, as may be required, all such information concerning any charity as may be demanded of him by the Commissioner for the purposes of this Act.
(6)
The rights conferred by this section shall, 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.
(7)
Any person who fails to comply with any requirement specified in any order under subsection (1) or any requirement under subsection (5) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $50 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after conviction.
(8)
Subject to section 11(2), no person shall by virtue of this section be obliged to disclose any particulars as to which he is under any statutory obligation to observe secrecy.