Companies Act 1967 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 12 · General
401. False and misleading statement
Last amended by an amending law of 2014.
Official textFrom Singapore Statutes Online, unchanged
Every corporation which advertises, circulates or publishes any statement of the amount of its capital which is misleading, or in which the amount of capital or subscribed capital is stated but the amount of paid‑up capital or the amount of any charge on uncalled capital is not stated as prominently as the amount of subscribed capital is stated, and every officer of the corporation who knowingly authorises, directs or consents to such advertising, circulation or publication shall be guilty of an offence.
corporation
“corporation” means any body corporate formed or incorporated or existing in Singapore or outside Singapore and includes any foreign company but does not include —(a)any body corporate that is incorporated in Singapore and is by notification of the Minister in the Gazette declared to be a public authority or an instrumentality or agency of the Government or to be a body corporate which is not incorporated for commercial purposes;(b)any corporation sole;(c)any cooperative society;(d)any registered trade union; (da)any platform work association registered under the Platform Workers Act 2024; or(e)any limited liability partnership;
Every person who in any return, report, certificate, balance sheet, financial statements or other document required by or for the purposes of this Act wilfully makes or authorises the making of a statement false or misleading in any material particular knowing it to be false or misleading or wilfully omits or authorises the omission of any matter or thing without which the document is misleading in a material respect shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
balance sheet
“balance sheet”, in relation to a company, means the balance sheet, by whatever name called, prepared in accordance with the Accounting Standards;
Any person who, for any purpose under this Act —
lodges or files with or submits to the Registrar any document; or
authorises another person to lodge or file with or submit to the Registrar any document,knowing that document to be false or misleading in a material respect, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
For the purposes of subsection (2), where a person at a meeting votes in favour of the making of a statement mentioned in that subsection the person is deemed to have authorised the making of that statement.
Terms defined in this Act
balance sheet
Defined · s 209A“balance sheet”, in relation to a company, means the balance sheet, by whatever name called, prepared in accordance with the Accounting Standards;
charge
Defined · s 4“charge” includes a mortgage and any agreement to give or execute a charge or mortgage whether upon demand or otherwise;
corporation
Defined · s 4“corporation” means any body corporate formed or incorporated or existing in Singapore or outside Singapore and includes any foreign company but does not include —(a)any body corporate that is incorporated in Singapore and is by notification of the Minister in the Gazette declared to be a public authority or an instrumentality or agency of the Government or to be a body corporate which is not incorporated for commercial purposes;(b)any corporation sole;(c)any cooperative society;(d)any registered trade union; (da)any platform work association registered under the Platform Workers Act 2024; or(e)any limited liability partnership;
document
Defined · s 4“document” includes summons, order and other legal process, and notice and register;
financial statements
Defined · s 209A“financial statements” means the financial statements of a company required to be prepared by the Accounting Standards;
officer
Defined · s 4“officer”, in relation to a corporation, includes —(a)any director or secretary of the corporation or a person employed in an executive capacity by the corporation;(b)a receiver and manager of any part of the undertaking of the corporation appointed under a power contained in any instrument; and(c)any liquidator of a company appointed in a voluntary winding up,but does not include —(d)any receiver who is not also a manager;(e)any receiver and manager appointed by the Court;(f)any liquidator appointed by the Court or by the creditors; or(g)a judicial manager appointed under Part 7 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018;
Registrar
Defined · s 4“Registrar” means the Registrar of Companies appointed under this Act and includes any Deputy or Assistant Registrar of Companies;