Singapore legislation

Clause 52

of Skills and Workforce Development Agency Bill

Clause 52

False or misleading advertisements

(1)

A person commits an offence if —

(a)

the person publishes or causes to be published, or distributes or causes to be distributed, any advertisement that is false or misleading in a material particular; and

(b)

the person knows or ought reasonably to have known that, or is reckless as to whether, the advertisement is false or misleading in a material particular.

(2)

A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

(3)

For the purposes of subsection (1), a person publishes, or causes to be published, an advertisement if the advertisement is made accessible to, or accessed by, persons by means of —

(a)

a newspaper, magazine, journal or any other periodical;

(b)

a sound or television broadcast transmitted for reception; or

(c)

any other means of broadcasting or communication for circulation or reception.

(4)

For the purposes of subsection (1), an advertisement is false or misleading in a material particular if the advertisement —

(a)

falsely represents that a person is eligible for, or has been given, an incentive, a grant or a loan from the Agency in respect of a course or programme;

(b)

falsely represents that the Agency has accredited, or facilitated the accreditation by others in Singapore of, a provider of a course or programme;

(c)

falsely represents that the Agency has accredited, or facilitated the accreditation by others in Singapore of, a course or programme;

(d)

falsely represents that a provider of a course or programme, or a course or programme, is approved or endorsed by the Agency;

(e)

contains any false or misleading information concerning a provider of a course or programme who is eligible for, or has been given, an incentive, a grant or a loan from the Agency; or

(f)

concerns a course or programme in respect of which a person is eligible for, or has been given, an incentive, a grant or a loan from the Agency, and contains any false or misleading description of, or false or misleading information concerning —

(i)

the curriculum, modules or subjects to be covered by that course or programme; or

(ii)

the competencies, expertise or skills to be advanced by that course or programme.

(5)

In this section and section 53 —

Definition

“advertisement” means any writing, still or moving picture, sign, symbol (whether 3‑dimensional or 2‑dimensional) or other visual image, or any audible message, or any combination of 2 or more of those things, that gives publicity to, or otherwise promotes or is intended to promote, a course or programme;

Definition

“distribute” includes —

(a)

in relation to a printed advertisement — to deliver or send to one or more persons, or to leave at any premises or on any vehicle; and

(b)

in relation to an advertisement in electronic form, in the form of an audio or a visual recording, or in a combination of any of those forms — to transmit to one or more persons by use of the Internet or a mobile telephone network.

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