Schedule 1

An inquiry body shall not rule on and has no power to determine the civil or criminal liability of any person, but an inquiry body is not to be inhibited in the discharge of its functions by any likelihood of liability being inferred from facts that it determines or recommendations that it makes.(2) For the purposes of conducting an inquiry under this Act, the inquiry body shall have powers to —

procure and receive all such evidence, written or oral, as the inquiry body may think it necessary or desirable to procure;

examine all such persons as witnesses as the inquiry body may think it necessary or desirable to examine, and determine the order in which those witnesses shall be examined;

require the evidence (whether written or oral) of any witness to be made on oath or affirmation (such oath or affirmation to be that which could be required of the witness if he were giving evidence in a court) or by statutory declaration;

summon any person in Singapore to attend any meeting of the inquiry body to do all or any of the following:

give evidence;

produce any document, record or other thing in his custody or under his control;

issue a warrant of arrest to compel the attendance of any person who, after having been summoned to attend, fails to do so, and does not excuse such failure to the satisfaction of the inquiry body, and order him to pay all costs which may have been occasioned in compelling his attendance or by reason of his refusal to obey the summons; and

require a witness to execute a bond binding himself to attend when called upon before the inquiry body to give evidence.(3) The inquiry body shall have the powers of a judge for the purposes of —

recovering any costs awarded;

enforcing any forfeiture of a bond; or

giving effect to any warrant of arrest. (4) In addition to the powers described in sub-paragraph (3), a commission of inquiry shall have the powers of a Judge of the High Court for the purposes of giving effect to any order of imprisonment and enforcing the payment of any fine imposed.(5) Notwithstanding any of the provisions of the Evidence Act (Cap. 97), the inquiry body may admit any evidence (whether written or oral) which might be inadmissible in civil or criminal proceedings.(6) Subject to any direction contained in the terms of reference, the inquiry body may admit or exclude the public or the press from the proceedings or any part of the proceedings of the inquiry body.(7) The inquiry body may award any person who has attended any proceedings of the inquiry body, including any interpreter appointed under paragraph 3, such sums as may be assessed in accordance with rules made under section 15(2)(b) or 16(2)(b) (as the case may be) to have been reasonably incurred by the person by reason of his attendance.(8) Any sums awarded pursuant to sub-paragraph (7) shall be charged on and paid out of the Consolidated Fund.Power to suspend inquiry2.—

The chairman may at any time, with the consent of the appointing authority, issue a notice to suspend an inquiry for such period as appears to him to be necessary to allow for —

the completion of any other investigation relating to any of the matters to which the inquiry relates; or

the determination of any civil or criminal proceedings (including proceedings before a disciplinary tribunal) arising out of any of those matters.(2) The power conferred by sub-paragraph (1) may be exercised whether or not the investigation or proceedings have begun.(3) A notice under sub-paragraph (1) may suspend the inquiry until a specified day, until the happening of a specified event or until the chairman, with the consent of the appointing authority, gives further notice to the other members of the inquiry body.Interpreters

Any person who, during the course of an inquiry —

wilfully gives false evidence when examined on oath or on affirmation before an inquiry body;

does anything that is intended to have the effect of, or anything that he knows or believes is likely to have the effect of —

distorting or otherwise altering any evidence, document, record or other thing that is given, produced or provided to the inquiry; or

preventing any evidence, document, record or other thing from being given, produced or provided to the inquiry; (c)intentionally suppresses or conceals any document that is, and that he knows or believes to be, a relevant document; or

intentionally alters or destroys any document that is, and that he knows or believes to be, a relevant document,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 7 years or to both.(2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(c) and (d), a document is a “relevant document” if it is likely that the inquiry body would (if aware of the existence of the document) wish to be provided with it.Penalty for threats, etc., to witnesses6.—

Any person who —

hinders or attempts to hinder any person, who has been summoned to attend as a witness before any inquiry body, from attending as a witness or from giving evidence before the inquiry body; or (b)by threats or coercion, deters or attempts to deter any person from giving such evidence,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 7 years or to both.(2) Any person who wilfully threatens, insults, injures or causes loss or disadvantage to any person for having given evidence, or on account of the evidence which he has given before the inquiry body, 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 7 years or to both.Contempt7.—

Any person who —

offers any act of disrespect or any insult or threat to an inquiry body or to any member in the exercise of that member’s powers or functions as a member while sitting in the inquiry body;

offers any act of disrespect or any insult or threat at any other time and place to an inquiry body or to any member on account of the exercise of that member’s powers or functions as a member;

wilfully interrupts, obstructs or disturbs the proceedings of an inquiry body;

without lawful excuse, refuses to take an oath or make an affirmation when required to do so by an inquiry body;

having been served with a summons referred to in paragraph 1(2)(d), without lawful excuse, disobeys the summons;

as a witness, without lawful excuse, refuses to answer any question relevant to the inquiry to which a member requires an answer; or

does any other act or thing that would, if the inquiry body were a court of record, constitute a contempt of court,shall be guilty of contempt.(2) Any person who is guilty of contempt 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.Commissioners’ powers to punish contempt8.—

Where an act of contempt referred to in paragraph 7(1) is committed in the presence of the commissioners sitting in commission, the commissioners may after hearing the offender in his defence pass sentence upon him immediately in accordance with paragraph 7(2).(2) In any other case the commissioners may summon the offender to appear before them at a time and place to be specified in the summons, to show cause why he should not be adjudged to have committed an act of contempt and dealt with in accordance with paragraph 7(2).(3) If any person who has been summoned in accordance with sub-paragraph (2) fails to attend at the time and place specified in the summons, the commissioners may issue a warrant to compel the attendance of that person.Public Prosecutor to aid inquiry body9.—

An inquiry body may require the Public Prosecutor to cause any matter relevant to the inquiry to be investigated.(2) Any person appointed by the Public Prosecutor to investigate any such matter shall for the purposes of such investigations —

have all the powers in relation to police investigations given to police officers in any seizable case under the provisions of Chapter XIII of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68); and (b)when authorised in writing by the Public Prosecutor, have the power to search any premises and take possession of any articles or documents as specified in the authorisation.Representation before inquiry body10.—

Any person whose conduct is the subject of inquiry under this Act, or who is in any way implicated or concerned in the matter under inquiry, shall be entitled to be represented by an advocate at the whole of the inquiry.(2) Any other person who considers it desirable that he should be represented by an advocate may, by leave of the inquiry body, be represented by an advocate.Role of Attorney-General11.—

If the Attorney-General has been appointed to lead evidence in an inquiry under the terms of reference, the Attorney-General or, at the direction of the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General or State Counsel shall lead evidence in the inquiry.(2) Notwithstanding sub-paragraph (1), the Attorney-General or, at the direction of the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General or State Counsel shall be entitled at any time to appear before and address the inquiry body on any matter which appears to the Attorney-General to be relevant to the inquiry.Protection of members, advocates, assessors and witnesses12.—

Every member of an inquiry body shall, in the exercise of his duty as a member, have the same protection and immunity as a judge.(2) Every witness summoned to attend or appearing before the inquiry body shall have the same privileges and immunities, and shall in addition to the penalties provided by this Act be subject to the same liabilities in any civil or criminal proceedings, as a witness in any case tried in a court.(3) An assessor assisting an inquiry body shall have the same protection and immunity as an assessor assisting in proceedings in a court.(4) An advocate assisting an inquiry body or an advocate appearing on behalf of a person at a hearing before an inquiry body shall have respectively the same protection and immunity as an advocate assisting in or an advocate appearing for a party in proceedings in a court.(5) For the purposes of the law of defamation, that same privilege attaches to —

any statement made in or for the purposes of proceedings before an inquiry body (including the report and any interim report of the inquiry body); and

reports of proceedings before an inquiry body,as would be the case if those proceedings were proceedings before a court.Procedure and form

The appointing authority may agree to pay such remuneration and expenses as the appointing authority may determine to —

any of the members of the inquiry body;

any assessor to the inquiry; and

any person engaged to provide assistance to the inquiry body.(2) Any sums agreed by the appointing authority under sub-paragraph (1) shall be charged on and paid out of the Consolidated Fund.Reports15.—

The inquiry body shall deliver a report to the appointing authority setting out —

the facts determined by the inquiry body; and

the recommendations of the inquiry body (where the terms of reference require the inquiry body to make recommendations).(2) The report may also contain anything else that the inquiry body considers to be relevant to the terms of reference (including any recommendations the inquiry body sees fit to make despite not being required to do so by the terms of reference).(3) Before making a report under sub-paragraph (1), the inquiry body may submit to the appointing authority an interim report containing anything that a report under that sub-paragraph may contain.(4) A report of an inquiry must be signed by each member of the inquiry body.(5) If the inquiry body is unable to produce a unanimous report, the report must reflect the points of disagreement.(6) In sub-paragraphs (4) and (5), “report” includes an interim report submitted under sub-paragraph (3).(7) The appointing authority may cause the report of the inquiry body to be made public at such time and in such manner as he thinks fit.Reference to court and judge

where the inquiry body is a commission of inquiry, a reference to a court shall be construed as a reference to the High Court and a reference to a judge shall be construed as a reference to a Judge of the High Court; and

where the inquiry body is a committee of inquiry, a reference to a court shall be construed as a reference to a District Court and a reference to a judge shall be construed as a reference to a District Judge.