Control of Plants Bill

“agricultural officer” means any officer appointed as an agricultural officer by the Director under section 3;

“certified pesticide operator” means a person who is certified as a pesticide operator under section 13;

“conveyance” includes any aircraft, vessel, train, vehicle or any other artificial contrivance, whether mechanically-propelled or otherwise used or capable of being used as a means of transport on land, water or air;

“Director” means the Director of Primary Production and includes the Deputy Director of Primary Production and the Director, Agriculture Division of the Primary Production Department;

“diseased” means attacked by or infected with any pest;

“fresh fruits and vegetables” means unprocessed and raw fruits and vegetables which are intended for human consumption;

“import”, with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means to bring or cause to be brought into Singapore by land, sea or air from any place which is outside Singapore but does not include the bringing into Singapore by land, sea or air (whether landed or transhipped in Singapore) for the sole purpose of being carried to any other country either by the same or another conveyance;

“label” includes any written, printed, pictorial or other descriptive matter;

“land” includes —

“licensed grower” means a person who is issued with a licence under section 11;

“occupier”, in relation to any land, includes every person in actual possession, management or control thereof;

“owner”, in relation to any land, includes every lessee or tenant of the land;

“package” includes every means by which plants, plant products and pests are encased, covered, enclosed, contained or packed for conveyance from one place to another;

“pest” means any vertebrate or invertebrate animal (including the eggs of such animal), fungus, bacterium, virus or any other organism which is or is capable of being injurious or destructive to plants or plant products;

“pesticide” means any substance or mixture of substances prepared or used for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest and any substance or mixture of substances prepared or used as a plant regulator, defoliant or desiccant;

“pesticide residue” means the remains of any substance resulting from the use of any pesticide, the level of which is prescribed by rules made under this Act;

“phytosanitary certificate” means a phytosanitary certificate referred to in section 29(1);

“plant” means any species of plant or any part thereof whether living or dead and includes any vegetable, fruit, flower, leaf, stem, branch, spore, seed, root, cutting, graft, scion and any other part whatsoever, whether severed or attached, intended for propagation or from which further plants may be propagated;

“plant product” means any product derived from plants, either in their natural, manufactured or processed form;

“premises” includes land;

“sell” includes offering or attempting to sell, or receiving for sale, or having in possession for sale, or exposing for sale, or sending or delivering for sale, or causing or allowing to be sold, offered or exposed for sale and “sale” has a corresponding meaning;

“soil” includes earth, water, peat, manure, compost, sand, clay and any other substance capable of supporting plant life, or transmitting any pest, whether or not used or intended to be used as a growing medium, or in any process of manufacture, or as ballast or for any other purpose whatsoever;

“supply” includes offering or attempting to supply or having in possession for supply or causing or allowing to be supplied;

“toxic chemical residue” means the remains of any chemical substance, other than pesticides, the level of which is prescribed by rules made under this Act;

“tranship” means to transfer from one conveyance to another conveyance for the purpose of export;

“treatment” means disinfection and disinfestation to ensure the removal, sterilisation or killing of any pest by appropriate means.

If as a result of any inspection or examination of any land, premises or plant by an agricultural officer, it appears to the agricultural officer that any land or premises or plant is in a condition favourable to the introduction or spread of any pest or that any plant is diseased, the Director may, by notice in writing under his hand addressed to the owner or occupier of the land or premises where that condition exists or where the plant is, direct him to take within a time to be stated in the notice such measures as may appear to the Director necessary or expedient for —

If an owner or occupier of any land or premises fails to comply with a notice under subsection (1) within the time stated for the performance of the acts required to be done, any agricultural officer may enter upon the land or premises to which the notice refers and may cause such duly authorised persons to enter with such instruments and things as are necessary and may proceed to perform all acts required by the notice, and the costs and expenses thereof shall be recoverable as a debt due from the owner or occupier to the Government.

Nothing in subsection (2) shall affect the liability of any person to prosecution and punishment under subsection (4).

Any owner or occupier of any land or premises who wilfully fails to comply with the notice under subsection (1) within the time stated 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 3 years or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $100 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.

Where the Director is of the opinion that any plant on any land is diseased, he may make an order placing the land or any part thereof in quarantine for such period as may be prescribed by the order.

So long as an order of quarantine applies to any land, no person shall remove any plant therefrom except under and in accordance with the direction of an agricultural officer.

Any land placed in quarantine under subsection (1) shall continue in quarantine until the Director certifies that no plant thereon is diseased.

Any owner or occupier of any land quarantined under section 21(1) may apply to an agricultural officer to examine the quarantined area with a view to obtaining from the agricultural officer the certificate referred to in section 21(3).

The agricultural officer shall, as soon as possible after receipt of such an application, visit and examine the quarantined area and may charge such fees as may be prescribed for such visit and examination.

If in the opinion of the Director the destruction of any diseased plant is a matter of necessity and extreme urgency, he may forthwith make an order in writing directing the immediate destruction of the plant by any person referred to in the order.

Such plant shall be destroyed accordingly and the cost of the destruction, if incurred by any person other than the owner or occupier of the land where the diseased plant was, shall be defrayed by the owner or occupier.

Where it appears to an agricultural officer that any plant on any land is diseased and he is of the opinion that it is necessary for the prevention of the spread of any pest that the land be entirely cleared of cultivation or cleared of all cultivation of any particular species, the Director may, with the approval of the Minister, by notice in writing addressed to the owner or occupier of the land where the plant is, direct him to fell and burn or otherwise destroy within a time to be stated in the notice and to the satisfaction of the agricultural officer all cultivation or all cultivation of the species named in the notice.

The action directed by a notice under subsection (1) may be enforced in the manner provided by section 20(2) for the enforcement of the action directed by a notice under section 20(1).

If the owner or occupier of any land on whom a notice under subsection (1) has been served fails to comply with the notice, he 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 3 years or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $500 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.

The Minister may, if he considers it necessary or expedient for the purpose of securing that fresh fruits and vegetables imported are safe and wholesome, by order prohibit either absolutely or conditionally the import for sale or supply of any fresh fruit or vegetable from any country, territory, place or farm.

An order made under subsection (1) may provide that no person shall import for sale or supply any fresh fruit or vegetable from the country, territory, place or farm specified in the order except under and in accordance with a permit issued by the Director.

No person shall import for sale or supply any fresh fruit or vegetable where the container of the fruit or vegetable does not bear the name and address of its producer and such other particulars as may be prescribed.

In subsection (1), “container” means the basket, carton, bag, box, packet or other receptacle which contains the fresh fruit or vegetable and where any such receptacle is contained in another such receptacle, includes the latter receptacle.

No person shall use any pesticide in the cultivation of any plant unless —

Any person who uses any pesticide in the cultivation of any plant shall ensure that —

A person who desires to be certified as a pesticide operator may make an application to the Director.

The Director may certify a person as a pesticide operator if the Director is satisfied that —

Where a person is certified as a pesticide operator, the Director shall issue him a certificate to that effect.

Every pesticide for use in the cultivation of any plant shall be registered with the Director.

An application for registration under subsection (1) shall be made in such manner and form and accompanied by such documents and particulars as may be required by the Director.

The Director may establish one or more committees consisting of such persons as he may appoint for the purpose of advising him on such matters arising out of any application for registration under this section as are referred to any such committee by the Director.

The Minister may by order prohibit, either absolutely or conditionally, the cultivation of any plant in Singapore (referred to in this Act as prohibited plant).

An order made under subsection (1) may provide that no person shall cultivate any prohibited plant except under and in accordance with a permit issued by the Director.

Any prohibited plant cultivated in contravention of any order made under section 16 may be eradicated and destroyed by the Director or any person acting under his authority.

The cost of such eradication and destruction shall be recoverable from the owner or occupier of the land on which the prohibited plant was planted or permitted to grow or from the person who planted it, as a debt due to the Government.

The Minister may by order prohibit, either absolutely or subject to such conditions as may be specified in the order, the export of any plant from Singapore to any country, territory or place.

An order under subsection (1) may specify that no person shall export any plant except under and in accordance with a permit issued by the Director.

Any agricultural officer may, on application and on such terms as the Director may require, issue a phytosanitary certificate stating that any plant or plant product is free from pests for the purpose of export.

Any person who wilfully —

An application —

Every licence or permit issued shall be in such form and for such period and may contain such terms and conditions as the Director may determine.

Every licence or permit issued shall, unless earlier revoked, be valid for such period as may be specified therein and may be renewed.

The Director may vary or revoke any of the existing conditions of a licence or permit or impose new conditions.

The Director may at any time revoke or suspend a licence or permit.

The Director shall before taking any action referred to in subsection (1) notify the person concerned of his intention to take such action and shall give the person concerned an opportunity to submit reasons why such action should not be taken against him.

Where the Director has revoked or suspended a licence or permit under this Act, he shall give notice in writing of the suspension or revocation to the person concerned.

Where a licence issued by the Director pursuant to an order made under section 16 is revoked or has expired, the licensee shall eradicate and destroy all or any of the prohibited plants planted or cultivated or maintained in pursuance thereof and any prohibited plant not eradicated and destroyed shall be deemed to have been grown in contravention of section 16.

Notwithstanding subsection (2), a permit issued pursuant to section 7(2) may be revoked without notice by the Director.

For the purpose of ascertaining whether any offence under this Act or any rules made thereunder has been or is being committed, any agricultural officer may, on producing, if so requested, an identification card —

The owner or occupier of any land, premises or conveyance shall, if requested by an agricultural officer, provide reasonable assistance to the agricultural officer for the purpose of the exercise of his powers under this section and furnish any information relating to the land or premises which is reasonably required by the agricultural officer for the purposes of the discharge of his duties under this Act.

A police officer may arrest without warrant any person who has committed or whom he reasonably suspects to have committed an offence under this Act or any rules made thereunder —

A person arrested under this section may be detained until his name and address are correctly ascertained except that no person shall be detained longer than is necessary for bringing him before a court.

Any person who obstructs or hinders any agricultural officer in the exercise of any of his powers under this Act or any rules made thereunder 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 3 years or to both.

Any agricultural officer may, where he considers it necessary for the purposes of identification, label permanently or temporarily, any consignment of plants or plant products.

Any person who wilfully counterfeits, alters, defaces, erases or removes any such label 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 3 years or to both.

Any agricultural officer may, for the purpose of ascertaining the levels of pesticide residue or toxic chemical residue contained in any fresh fruit or vegetable, enter any premises, at all reasonable times, to take, without payment, any reasonable sample of fresh fruits and vegetables for analysis and detain the whole lot from which the sample is taken under normal storage conditions until a report of the result of the analysis is obtained.

Any report issued under subsection (1) which is signed by a Scientific Officer shall be admissible as conclusive evidence of the facts stated therein in any proceedings under this Act or any rules made thereunder.

Where any sample of fresh fruits or vegetables is determined by a Scientific Officer to contain pesticide residue or toxic chemical residue exceeding the prescribed levels, the Director may, in his discretion, cause the whole lot of fresh fruits or vegetables from which the sample is taken, to be —

The cost of, and all expenses incurred in, the re-exporting, returning, treatment or disposal under subsection (1) shall be defrayed by the owner, grower or importer of the fresh fruits or vegetables.

Where any person is convicted of any offence under this Act or any rules made thereunder, the court may order that any article seized under this Act or any rules made thereunder or in respect of which the offence was committed, be forfeited to the Government.

Where a person who is charged for an offence under this Act or any rules made thereunder is acquitted, the court may order any article seized under this Act or any rules made thereunder to be released to the person from whom the article was seized; and where the owner of the article cannot be ascertained, the Government may confiscate the article seized.

Every article so forfeited to the Government shall be disposed of in such manner as the Minister may direct.

Where under this Act or any rules made thereunder any notice, order or document is required or authorised to be served on any person, it may be served by —

Any notice, order or document required or authorised by this Act to be served on the owner or the occupier of any premises shall be deemed to be properly addressed if addressed by the description of the “owner” or “occupier” of the premises without further name or description.

The Director may, in his discretion, compound any offence under this Act or any rules made thereunder which is prescribed as an offence which may be compounded by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding $1,000.

The Minister may prescribe the offences which may be compounded.

Where an offence is compounded under this Act or any rules made thereunder, any article seized shall be forfeited to the Government.

The Minister may make rules for or with respect to any matter which may be necessary or expedient for carrying out the provisions of this Act.

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), rules may be made —

The Minister may, in any rules made under this Act, provide that any contravention of or failure to comply with any provision thereof shall be an offence and may prescribe a penalty for any such offence of a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both.