Singapore legislation
Section 15
Section 15
Power to act for protection of charities
(1)
Where the Commissioner is satisfied as the result of an inquiry instituted by him under section 7 —
that there has been in the administration of a charity any misconduct or mismanagement; and
that it is necessary or desirable to act for the purpose of protecting the property of the charity or securing a proper application for the purposes of the charity of that property or of property coming to the charity,then for that purpose the Commissioner may, with the consent of the Attorney-General, do all or any of the following things:
he may by order remove any trustee, charity trustee, officer, agent or employee of the charity who has been responsible for or privy to the misconduct or mismanagement or has by his conduct contributed to it or facilitated it;
he may make an order with respect to the vesting in or transfer to the Public Trustee of property held by or in trust for the charity;
he may order any bank or other person who holds money or securities on behalf of the charity or of any trustee for it not to part with the money or securities without his approval;
he may, notwithstanding anything in the trusts of the charity, by order restrict the transactions which may be entered into, or the nature or amount of the payments which may be made, in the administration of the charity without his approval.
(2)
The references in subsection (1) to misconduct or mismanagement shall (notwithstanding anything in the trusts of the charity) extend to the employment for the remuneration or reward of persons acting in the affairs of the charity, or for other administrative purposes, of sums which are excessive in relation to the property which is or is likely to be applied or applicable for the purposes of the charity.
(3)
The Commissioner may remove a charity trustee by order made of his own motion —
where the trustee has been convicted of an offence involving dishonesty, fraud or moral turpitude, or is a bankrupt or a corporation in liquidation, or is incapable of acting by reason of mental disorder within the meaning of the Mental Disorders and Treatment Act [Cap. 178];
where the trustee has not acted, and will not declare his willingness or unwillingness to act; or
where the trustee is outside Singapore or cannot be found or does not act, and his absence or failure to act impedes the proper administration of the charity.
(4)
The Commissioner may, by order made of his own motion, appoint a person to be a charity trustee —
in place of a charity trustee removed by him under this section or otherwise;
where there are no charity trustees, or where by reason of vacancies in their number or the absence or incapacity of any of their number the charity cannot apply for the appointment;
where there is a single charity trustee, not being a corporation, and the Commissioner is of the opinion that it is necessary to increase the number for the proper administration of the charity; or
where the Commissioner is of the opinion that it is necessary for the proper administration of the charity to have an additional charity trustee, because one of the existing charity trustees who ought nevertheless to remain a charity trustee cannot be found or does not act or is outside Singapore.
(5)
The powers of the Commissioner under this section to remove or appoint charity trustees shall include power to make any such order with respect to the vesting in or transfer to the charity trustees of any property as the Commissioner may make on the removal or appointment of a charity trustee by him under section 14.
(6)
Any order under this section for the removal or appointment of a charity trustee or trustee for a charity, or for the vesting or transfer of any property, shall be of the like effect as an order made under section 14.
(7)
Section 14(4) shall apply to orders under this section as it applies to orders under section 14.
(8)
The power of the Commissioner under subsection (1) to remove a trustee, charity trustee, officer, agent or employee of a charity shall include power to suspend him from the exercise of his office or employment pending the consideration of his removal (but not for a period longer than 3 months), and to make provision as respects the period of the suspension for matters arising out of it, and in particular for enabling any person to execute any instrument in his name or otherwise act for him and, in the case of a charity trustee, for adjusting any rules governing the proceedings of the charity trustees to take account of the reduction in the number capable of acting.
(9)
Before exercising any jurisdiction under this section, the Commissioner shall give notice of his intention to do so to each of the charity trustees except those who cannot be found or who have no known address in Singapore; and the notice may be given by post and, if given by post, may be addressed to the trustee’s last known address in Singapore.
(10)
If any person contravenes an order under subsection (1)(iii), he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.
(11)
This section shall not apply to an exempt charity.