Clause 14

The Council may, with the approval of the Minister, in writing appoint any person or class of persons to be public transport officials for the purposes of this Part.(2) Any public transport official may do one or more of the following:

require any person making use of any bus service or rapid transit system service to produce a ticket for inspection;

subject to any specific or general direction given by the Council, require any person who has made use of any bus service or rapid transit system service without paying the appropriate fare for the distance which he has travelled to pay a penalty fee of such amount as may be prescribed by the Council;

issue a notice, in such form as may be approved by the Council, to the person referred to in paragraph (b), requiring that person to pay the penalty fee within such time and at such place as may be specified in the notice.Identification card to be produced24B.—

Every public transport official when exercising any powers under this Part shall —

declare his office; and

on demand, produce to any person affected by the exercise of those powers such identification card as the Council may direct to be carried by a public transport official.(2) It shall not be an offence for any person to refuse to comply with any request, demand or order made or given by any public transport official if the public transport official refuses to declare his office and produce his identification card, on demand being made by the person.Payment of penalty fee24C.—

Where a public transport official is satisfied that any person has made use of a bus service or rapid transit system service without paying the appropriate fare for the distance which he has travelled, the public transport official may, subject to any specific or general direction given by the Council, require such person to pay a penalty fee of such amount as may be prescribed by the Council.(2) Any person who is required by a public transport official to pay a penalty fee under subsection (1) shall pay the penalty fee —

to that public transport official immediately in such mode of payment as may be determined by the Council; or

within such time and at such place as may be specified by the public transport official.(3) Upon the payment of the penalty fee under subsection (2), the public transport official shall issue a receipt to the person who paid the penalty fee.(4) Any person who is required by a public transport official to pay a penalty fee under subsection (1) may, if aggrieved by that requirement, appeal within the prescribed period and in accordance with the prescribed procedure to the Council or to an officer authorised by the Council to hear such appeal and the decision of the Council or authorised officer shall be final.(5) Any person who fails or refuses to pay any penalty fee referred to in subsection (1) or, if he has made an appeal under subsection (4), pursuant to an order made by the Council or an authorised officer to pay the penalty fee following the appeal shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 and, in the case of a second or subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.Failure to pay taxi fare24D. Any person who, having made use of a taxi service and without reasonable excuse, fails or refuses to pay the fare as indicated on the taximeter shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 and, in the case of a second or subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.Power to require evidence of identity24E.—

Any person who is required by a public transport official to pay a penalty fee shall —

give his name and address and such other proof of identity; and

furnish such other particulars,as the public transport official may require, unless he pays, immediately and in such mode of payment as may be determined by the Council, the full amount of the penalty fee to that public transport official.(2) Any person who refuses to furnish any information required of him by any public transport official under subsection (1) or wilfully misstates such information shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.Powers of arrest24F.—

A public transport official or police officer may arrest without warrant any person whom he has reason to believe has committed an offence under this Part, if the name and address of the person are unknown to him and —

the person declines to give his name or address; or

there is reason to doubt the accuracy of the name or address, if given.(2) A person arrested under subsection (1) may be detained until his name and address are correctly ascertained.(3) No person arrested under subsection (2) shall be detained longer than is necessary for bringing him before a court.PART VBINVESTIGATIONSInvestigation into affairs of licensee24G.—

The Council may appoint one or more inspectors to investigate the affairs of a licensee or such aspects of the affairs of a licensee as are specified in the instrument of appointment.(2) An inspector appointed by the Council may, and if so directed by the Council shall, make interim reports to the Council and on the conclusion of the investigation the inspector shall report his opinion on or in relation to the affairs that he has been appointed to investigate together with the facts upon which his opinion is based to the Council.(3) A copy of the report shall be forwarded by the Council to the registered office of the licensee.(4) The Council may, if it is of the opinion that it is necessary in the public interest to do so, cause the report to be printed and published.(5) In this Part —“affairs”, in relation to a licensee, includes —

the promotion, formation, membership, control, trading, dealings, business and property of the licensee;

the ownership of shares in, debentures of and interests made available by the licensee;

the ascertainment of the persons who are or have been financially interested in the success or failure or apparent success or failure of the licensee or are or have been able to control or materially to influence the policy of the licensee; and

the circumstances under which a person acquired or disposed of or became entitled to acquire or dispose of shares in, debentures of or interests made available by the licensee;“officer or agent”, in relation to a licensee, includes —

a director, banker, solicitor or an auditor of the licensee;

a person who at any time —

has been a person referred to in paragraph (a); or

has been otherwise employed or appointed by the licensee;

a person who —

has in his possession any property of the licensee;

is indebted to the licensee; or

is capable of giving information concerning the promotion, formation, trading, dealings, affairs or property of the licensee; and

where there are reasonable grounds for suspecting or believing that a person is a person referred to in paragraph (c), that person.Procedure and powers of inspectors24H.—

If an inspector appointed to investigate the affairs of a licensee which is a company thinks it necessary for the purposes of the investigation to investigate also the affairs of any other company which is or has at any relevant time been deemed to be or have been related to the licensee by virtue of section 6 of the Companies Act (Cap. 50), he shall have power to do so.(2) The inspector shall report to the Council on the affairs of the other company so far as he thinks the results of the investigation thereof are relevant to the investigation of the affairs of the licensee.(3) The licensee and every officer or agent of the licensee shall, if required by an inspector appointed under this Part, produce to the inspector all books and documents in his custody or power and shall give to the inspector all assistance in connection with the investigation which he is reasonably able to give.(4) An inspector may, by notice in writing, require the licensee and any officer or agent of the licensee to appear for examination on oath or affirmation (which he is hereby authorised to administer) in relation to the business of the licensee.(5) The notice under subsection (4) may require the production of all books and documents in the custody or under the control of a licensee or any officer or agent of the licensee.(6) An inspector who pursuant to this section requires the production of all books and documents in the custody or power or under the control of an officer or agent of any licensee —

may take possession of all such books and documents;

may retain all such books and documents for such time as he considers to be necessary for the purpose of the investigation; and

shall permit the licensee to have access at all reasonable times to all such books and documents so long as they remain in the inspector’s possession.(7) A licensee or any officer or agent of the licensee who fails to comply with a requirement of any notice issued under subsection (4) or fails or refuses to answer any question which is put to him by an inspector with respect to the affairs of the licensee shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.(8) No person who is or has formerly been an officer or agent of a licensee shall be entitled to refuse to answer any question which is relevant or material to the investigation on the ground that his answer might tend to incriminate him.(9) If a person referred to in subsection (8) claims that the answer to any question might incriminate him and, but for that subsection, he would have been entitled to refuse to answer the question, the answer to the question shall not be used in any subsequent criminal proceedings except in the case of a charge against him for making a false statement.(10) Subject to subsection (8), a person shall be entitled to refuse to answer a question on the ground that the answer might tend to incriminate him.(11) An inspector may cause notes of any examination under this Part to be recorded and reduced to writing, to be read to or by and signed by the person examined.(12) Any such signed notes may, except in the case of any answer which that person would not have been required to give but for subsection (8), thereafter be used in evidence in any legal proceedings against that person.Report of inspector to be admissible in evidence24I. A copy of the report of any inspector appointed under this Part certified as correct by the Council shall be admissible in any legal proceedings as evidence of the opinion of the inspector and of the facts upon which his opinion is based in relation to any matter contained in the report.Costs of investigations24J. The expenses of and incidental to an investigation by an inspector appointed under this Part shall be paid out of the funds of the Council.Penalty for delaying or obstructing investigation24K.—

Any person who with intent to defeat the purposes of this Part, or to delay or obstruct the carrying out of an investigation under this Part —

destroys, conceals or alters any book, document or record of or relating to a licensee; or

sends or attempts to send or conspires with any other person to send out of Singapore any such book, document or record or any property of any description belonging to or in the disposition or under the control of a licensee,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 2 years or to both.(2) If in any prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) it is proved that the person charged with the offence —

has destroyed, concealed or altered any book, document or record of or relating to the licensee; or

has sent or attempted to send or conspired to send out of Singapore any book, document or record or any property of any description belonging to or in the disposition or under the control of the licensee,the onus of proving that in so doing he had not acted with intent to defeat the purposes of this Part, or to delay or obstruct the carrying out of an investigation under this Part shall lie on him.”.