Singapore legislation

Clause 47

of Skills and Workforce Development Agency Bill

Clause 47

Powers to verify information collected or for grants, etc.

(1)

The powers under this section may be exercised only for the purpose of inquiring into or ascertaining —

(a)

the truth or correctness of any statement made, or of any information given, by a person who applies or has applied for an incentive, a grant or a loan from the Agency; or

(b)

whether any incentive, grant or loan from the Agency has been properly applied by the person to whom the incentive, grant or loan is given.

(2)

An authorised person may, at any reasonable time, do any of the following, without involving any search of any property or person:

(a)

enter any premises;

(b)

photograph or film, or make audio recordings or make sketches of, any part of the premises or anything at the premises;

(c)

require any person to provide or grant access to, without charge, any document or information reasonably required for any purpose mentioned in subsection (1);

(d)

inspect and make copies of or take extracts from any such document;

(e)

take possession of such a document if, in the opinion of the authorised person —

(i)

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

(ii)

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

(iii)

the document may be required as evidence in any proceedings instituted or commenced for any of the purposes of, or in connection with, this Act;

(f)

require any person to complete and deliver any return specified within the time specified in the notice.

(3)

The power to require a person to provide any document or information under subsection (2)(c) includes the power —

(a)

to require the person, or any person who is or was an officer or employee of that person, to explain the document or information;

(b)

if the document or information is not provided, to require the person to state, to the best of the person’s knowledge 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 authorised person in legible form.

(4)

If any document is kept in electronic form, the power of an authorised person who is an officer of the Agency, a public officer or an officer of another public body —

(a)

to inspect and make copies of or take extracts from any document under subsection (2)(d) includes the power to —

(i)

access any computer or other equipment (including a mobile telephone, thumb drive or hard disk) in which the document 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)

to take possession of the document under subsection (2)(e) includes the power to —

(i)

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

(ii)

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

Read in full context — Skills and Workforce Development Agency Bill →