Singapore legislation

Clause 2

of Registration of Criminals (Amendment) Bill

Clause 2

Amendment of section 2

Section 2 of the Registration of Criminals Act 1949 (called in this Act the principal Act) is amended —

(a)

by inserting, immediately after the definition of “authorised officer”, the following definition:“ “body sample” means —

(a)

a sample of blood;

(b)

a sample of head hair, including the roots of the head hair;

(c)

a swab taken from an individual’s mouth; or

(d)

any other sample that is prescribed under subsection (2);”;

(b)

by deleting the definition of “crime”;

(c)

by deleting the words “section 13F” in the definition of “DNA database” and substituting the words “section 31”;

(d)

by inserting, immediately after the definition of “DNA information”, the following definitions:“ “DNA officer” means an individual who is qualified and authorised under section 18(1) to take body samples;“eligible crime” means any offence that is, at the time of the commission of the offence —

(a)

punishable by imprisonment; (b)not a registrable crime; and

(c)

not compoundable under any written law (unless the offence is specified in the third column of the Fourth Schedule to the Criminal Procedure Code 2010);”;

(e)

by deleting the words “section 13A(3)” in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the definition of “forensic procedure” and substituting in each case the words “subsection (3)”;

(f)

by inserting, immediately after the definition of “forensic specialist”, the following definitions:“ “identification database” means the database maintained under section 29;“identifying information”, in relation to an individual, means all of the following information:

(a)

any description of the individual, including —

(i)

the individual’s sex;

(ii)

the individual’s age or apparent age;

(iii)

the individual’s bodily appearance; and

(iv)

the individual’s height;

(b)

any document that contains information that identifies the individual;

(c)

any finger impression of the individual;

(d)

any name of the individual or any name by which the individual is or is believed to have been known;

(e)

any photograph of the individual;”;

(g)

by deleting the words “registrable particulars” in the definition of “other particulars” and substituting the words “identifying information”;

(h)

by deleting the definition of “registrable particulars” and substituting the following definitions:“ “registrable crime” means any offence included for the time being in the First Schedule;“registrable particulars”, in relation to an individual, means —

(a)

the individual’s identifying information;

(b)

any record of any other particulars about the individual that has been made under section 9(2)(b)(iii), 10(2)(a)(ii)(C) or 11(4)(a)(ii)(C) or (6)(b)(iii);

(c)

the particulars of —

(i)

any conviction for a registrable crime;

(ii)

any sentence or order for that conviction; or

(iii)

any order of banishment, deportation, expulsion or removal,in respect of the individual; and

(d)

any particulars of any charge for an offence (whether or not a registrable crime) that was taken into consideration in determining and passing sentence on the conviction for the registrable crime;”;

(i)

by deleting the full‑stop at the end of the definition of “Registrar” and substituting a semi‑colon, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following definitions:“ “Reviewing Tribunal” means a Reviewing Tribunal established by section 41;“volunteer” means an individual who voluntarily gives his or her consent under section 14 or 23 for the taking of any identifying information or body sample (as the case may be) from him or her.”; and

(j)

by renumbering the section as subsection (1) of that section, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following subsections:“(2) Subject to subsection (3), the Minister may prescribe any additional type of sample of or from an individual’s body that may be taken under this Act.(3) The additional type of sample that may be prescribed under subsection (2) must not include body samples to be obtained from —

(a)

an individual’s genital or anal region;

(b)

an individual’s body orifice other than the mouth; or

(c)

the breasts of a woman.”.