Clause 24

For the purposes of this Part, the Commissioner may do all or any of the following in relation to a vehicle which the Commissioner reasonably believes is transporting any class of petroleum or any flammable material:

stop and detain the vehicle for as long as is reasonably necessary for the exercise of any other power under this section;

inspect the vehicle and any equipment in or on the vehicle;

take photographs or video recordings of the vehicle and anything in or on the vehicle;

inspect any document in the vehicle and take extracts from, or make copies of, any such document;

take, without payment, for the purpose of examination and testing reasonable samples of any substance found in or on the vehicle;

operate a computer or other thing in or on the vehicle;

require the driver of the vehicle or any other person in the vehicle, or any person who employed or engaged the driver to drive the vehicle —

to answer any question, to the best of that person’s knowledge, information and belief;

to produce any licence or permit issued to that person under this Part; and

to provide any document (other than a licence or permit issued to that person under this Part) or any information that the Commissioner reasonably requires for the purposes of this Part.

The power to require any person to provide any document or information under subsection (1)(g)(iii) includes the power —

to require that person to provide an explanation of the document or information;

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

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

The Commissioner may require the driver (D) of a vehicle which the Commissioner reasonably believes is transporting any class of petroleum or any flammable material —

to drive the vehicle to any place in Singapore (called in this section the destination) that, in the Commissioner’s opinion, is suitable for the safe unloading and disposal of the class of petroleum or flammable material being transported in the vehicle; and

after D arrives at the destination, to provide the Commissioner, as soon as is practicable, with any photographs, video recordings or other documents that the Commissioner may reasonably require in respect of the unloading and disposal of the class of petroleum or flammable material at the destination.

The Commissioner may require any person (E) who employed or engaged D to drive the vehicle to deploy or engage another person (X) to take the actions mentioned in subsection (3) instead of D.

For the purposes of subsections (3)(a) and (4), the Commissioner may specify the route or routes by which D or X (as the case may be) may or may not drive the vehicle to the destination.

The Commissioner may, in addition to subsection (3)(a) or (4), escort the vehicle to the destination.

A person who —

refuses or fails to comply with the Commissioner’s requirement under subsection (1)(g), (3) or (4);

provides any document or information required under subsection (1)(g) that is false in a material particular and that the person knows to be false or does not believe to be true; or

drives a vehicle in contravention of the Commissioner’s specification under subsection (5),shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

If —

D or X refuses or fails to comply with the Commissioner’s requirement under subsection (3) or drives a vehicle in contravention of the Commissioner’s specification under subsection (5); or

E refuses or fails to comply with the Commissioner’s requirement under subsection (4),the Commissioner may —

take any action that is reasonably necessary to ensure that —

the vehicle proceeds to the destination in a safe manner; and

the class of petroleum or flammable material transported in the vehicle is unloaded and disposed of at the destination in a safe manner; and

detain the vehicle for as long as is reasonably necessary for the exercise of the power under paragraph (c).”.