Singapore legislation

Clause 41

of Social Residential Homes Bill

Clause 41

Powers of entry, etc., at premises

(1)

An inspecting officer may without warrant enter, at all reasonable times, and remain at any premises —

(a)

that are used as a licensable SRH; or

(b)

that the inspecting officer has reasonable grounds to believe have been or are being used as a licensable SRH without a licence.

(2)

Upon entering any premises under subsection (1), the inspecting officer may do all or any of the following:

(a)

examine anything or observe any activity conducted in or on the premises;

(b)

inspect the premises and anything in or on the premises;

(c)

make a still or moving image or recording of the premises or any document or other thing in or on the premises;

(d)

search any part of the premises;

(e)

inspect any document found in or on the premises and take extracts from, or make copies of, the document;

(f)

seize any document or thing found in or on the premises if, in the opinion of an inspecting officer —

(i)

the inspection or copying of or extraction from the document or thing cannot reasonably be performed without taking possession;

(ii)

the document or thing may be interfered with or destroyed unless possession is taken; or

(iii)

the document or thing may be required as evidence in any criminal proceedings or regulatory action instituted or commenced under this Act;

(g)

operate electronic equipment in or on the premises;

(h)

take into or onto the premises any equipment and materials that an inspecting officer requires for the purpose of exercising powers in this section in relation to those premises;

(i)

require any individual found in or on the premises to answer any question (to the best of that individual’s knowledge, information and belief) and to provide any document or information that the inspecting officer reasonably requires for any of the purposes of section 40(1).

(3)

An inspecting officer is not authorised to enter any premises which are not premises mentioned in subsection (1) to exercise any power mentioned in subsection (2) except —

(a)

with the consent of the occupier; or

(b)

under a warrant of a District Court or Magistrate’s Court.

(4)

A warrant mentioned in subsection (3)(b) may be issued if a District Court or Magistrate’s Court is satisfied that it is necessary for an inspecting officer to enter any premises to exercise any power mentioned in subsection (2) for any of the purposes of section 40(1).

(5)

For the purposes of subsection (2), if any information in a document or thing required by the inspecting officer is kept in electronic form —

(a)

the power of the inspecting officer to inspect the document or thing includes the power to —

(i)

access any computer or other equipment (including a mobile communication device) in which the information is stored; and

(ii)

require any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer or other equipment to provide assistance in gaining such access; and

(b)

the power of the inspecting officer to seize the document includes the power to —

(i)

make copies of the document in legible or electronic form; and

(ii)

transfer the information from the document to a disk, tape or other storage device.

(6)

If the inspecting officer is unable to make copies of the document or transfer the information from the document under subsection (5)(b), the inspecting officer may —

(a)

seize the computer or other equipment (including a mobile communication device) in which the document or information is stored as evidence in proceedings for an offence under this Act; and

(b)

require any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer or other equipment to disclose any username, password, access code or other authentication information required for gaining access to the document or information held in the computer or other equipment.

(7)

The power of the inspecting officer under subsection (2)(g) to operate electronic equipment in or on any premises includes the power to —

(a)

use a disk, tape or other storage device that is in or on the premises and can be used with or in association with the equipment;

(b)

operate electronic equipment in or on the premises to put the relevant data in documentary form and remove the documents so produced from the premises; and

(c)

operate electronic equipment in or on the premises to transfer the relevant data to a disk, tape or other storage device that —

(i)

is brought to the premises for the exercise of the power; or

(ii)

is in or on the premises and the use of which for that purpose has been agreed in writing by the occupier of the premises,and to remove the disk, tape or other storage device from those premises.

(8)

The power of the inspecting officer to require an individual to provide any document or information under subsection (2)(i) includes the power —

(a)

to require the individual to provide an explanation of the document or information;

(b)

if the document or information is not provided, to require the individual to state, to the best of the individual’s knowledge, information and belief, where it is; and

(c)

if the information is recorded otherwise than in legible form, to require the information to be made available to the inspecting officer in legible form.

Read in full context — Social Residential Homes Bill →