Singapore legislation
Clause 20
Clause 20
Disclosure of information in aid of disbursement from Fund
(1)
Where the Minister certifies, under his hand, that it is necessary for a public officer, a public authority or an organisation appointed under section 19(1) or any other person (called a recipient organisation) to have access to any particular class of confidential information in the possession of a Government department or another public authority, in order to disburse or facilitate disbursement of any financial assistance or grant under section 16, or any benefit under a prescribed public scheme referred to in section 5(1)(b), using moneys in the Fund —
the Minister charged with the responsibility for that Government department or other public authority may, in addition to any other power conferred by any written law, direct that Government department or other public authority to provide so much of the confidential information to the recipient organisation as is necessary for that purpose; and
unless subsection (3) applies, that Government department or other public authority is to comply with the direction under paragraph (a), whether or not it is under any obligation (imposed by written law or otherwise) not to disclose such information.
(2)
Despite the provisions of this Act or any other written law —
no person shall be guilty of an offence under any written law or of any breach of confidence or incur any other civil liability, by virtue merely of the person disclosing any information in accordance with any direction under subsection (1)(a); and
no officer of a recipient organisation shall be guilty of an offence under any written law or of any breach of confidence or incur any other civil liability, by virtue merely of the officer accessing, or disclosing to another officer of that recipient organisation, any confidential information referred to in subsection (1) in the performance of his or her duties connected with disbursing any financial assistance or grant under section 16 or benefit under a prescribed public scheme referred to in section 5(1)(b).
(3)
This Act is a public scheme for the purposes of section 6(12) of the Income Tax Act (Cap. 134); otherwise nothing in this section is to apply to or authorise disclosure of any document, information, return and assessment to which section 6 of that Act applies.