Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects Act

This Act may be cited as the Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects Act.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —“Commissioner”, “Deputy Commissioner of Public Health” and “Assistant Commissioner of Public Health” mean respectively the Commissioner of Public Health, a Deputy Commissioner of Public Health and an Assistant Commissioner of Public Health appointed under section 4(1) of the Environmental Public Health Act [Cap. 95];“disease-bearing insect” includes every mosquito and house-fly and any insect carrying or causing, or capable of carrying or causing, any disease of human beings or domestic animals, and includes the eggs, larvae and pupae of such insect;“Medical Officer of Health” means any registered medical practitioner in the service of the Government who is for the time being carrying out the duties of a Health Officer in any area or district in Singapore or the port limits thereof, and includes the Airport Health Officer, the Port Health Officer and any registered medical practitioner in the service of the Government who is engaged in vector control duties;“occupier” means the person in occupation of any premises or having the charge, management or control thereof either on his own account or as agent of another person, but does not include a lodger;“owner” means the person for the time being receiving the rent of any premises, whether on his own account or as agent or trustee or as receiver, or who would receive the same if the land or house comprised in the premises were let to a tenant, and includes the Government;“premises” means messuages, buildings, lands, easements and hereditaments of any tenure, whether open or enclosed, whether built on or not, whether public or private, and whether maintained or not under statutory authority, and includes any place or structure, or any part thereof, used or intended to be used for human habitation or for employment or any other purpose whatsoever;“public health auxiliary” means a public health inspector, public health assistant or public health overseer in the service of the Government, or other public officer authorised by the Commissioner to carry out the duties imposed upon a public health auxiliary under this Act;“vessel” includes all classes of ships and aircraft.

“Commissioner”, “Deputy Commissioner of Public Health” and “Assistant Commissioner of Public Health” mean respectively the Commissioner of Public Health, a Deputy Commissioner of Public Health and an Assistant Commissioner of Public Health appointed under section 4(1) of the Environmental Public Health Act [Cap. 95];

“disease-bearing insect” includes every mosquito and house-fly and any insect carrying or causing, or capable of carrying or causing, any disease of human beings or domestic animals, and includes the eggs, larvae and pupae of such insect;

“Medical Officer of Health” means any registered medical practitioner in the service of the Government who is for the time being carrying out the duties of a Health Officer in any area or district in Singapore or the port limits thereof, and includes the Airport Health Officer, the Port Health Officer and any registered medical practitioner in the service of the Government who is engaged in vector control duties;

“occupier” means the person in occupation of any premises or having the charge, management or control thereof either on his own account or as agent of another person, but does not include a lodger;

“owner” means the person for the time being receiving the rent of any premises, whether on his own account or as agent or trustee or as receiver, or who would receive the same if the land or house comprised in the premises were let to a tenant, and includes the Government;

“premises” means messuages, buildings, lands, easements and hereditaments of any tenure, whether open or enclosed, whether built on or not, whether public or private, and whether maintained or not under statutory authority, and includes any place or structure, or any part thereof, used or intended to be used for human habitation or for employment or any other purpose whatsoever;

“public health auxiliary” means a public health inspector, public health assistant or public health overseer in the service of the Government, or other public officer authorised by the Commissioner to carry out the duties imposed upon a public health auxiliary under this Act;

“vessel” includes all classes of ships and aircraft.

The Commissioner shall be responsible for the administration of this Act, subject to the general or special directions of the Minister.

A Senior Health Officer shall have and may exercise all the powers conferred on the Commissioner and on a Medical Officer of Health under this Act.

The Minister may, in his discretion, by writing under his hand, vest any medical practitioner in the service of the Government with all or any of the powers conferred on a Medical Officer of Health under this Act.

A Deputy Commissioner of Public Health and an Assistant Commissioner of Public Health shall have and may exercise all the powers conferred on the Commissioner under this Act, subject to such limitations as the Commissioner may consider fit to impose.

The Commissioner, a Medical Officer of Health or a public health auxiliary may, between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., with or without assistants, enter and examine any premises or vessel and, subject to such directions as the Commissioner may give, either generally or to meet the circumstances of a particular case, ascertain whether the premises or vessel or anything therein is in a condition favourable to the propagation or harbouring of disease-bearing insects and carry out, where necessary, the spraying of the premises or vessel with insecticides; and the Medical Officer of Health may, in addition —

Where it is necessary and expedient for such functions to be carried out outside the hours specified in subsection (1), the Commissioner or a Medical Officer of Health may enter the premises for the purpose thereof only after giving at least 24 hours’ previous notice to the occupier thereof, if any.

Subject to such notice, the owner and the occupier of any premises shall permit the Commissioner or a Medical Officer of Health or a public health auxiliary, with or without assistants, to have access to the premises and to any part thereof for the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), and shall supply all such information as the Commissioner or the Medical Officer of Health or the public health auxiliary may require or as he may consider to be reasonably necessary for such purpose.

No person shall take, do or perform any act or thing which may, or be liable to, create such conditions as may be favourable to the propagation or harbouring of disease-bearing insects.

Every person shall comply with all such reasonable directions as may be given by the Commissioner or a Medical Officer of Health or a public health auxiliary with a view to ensuring that such conditions do not arise or with a view to terminating such conditions.

Such directions may be given to the owner or occupier of any premises and to any person therein, including his agents and servants.

Any person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months, and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

If in any proceedings for a contravention of subsection (1), it is shown that an act or thing done or performed in any premises may, or is liable to, create such conditions as may be favourable to the propagation or harbouring of disease-bearing insects, it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, that the act or thing was done or performed by, or with the permission of, the owner or the occupier of the premises.

No person shall breed, keep, collect, distribute, sell, import or export any disease-bearing insects without the permission in writing of the Commissioner or a Medical Officer of Health.

Any permission granted under subsection (1) —

Any person who contravenes subsection (1) or commits a breach of any condition imposed under subsection (2)(b) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000, and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

No person may undertake, execute or carry out any building, land development, land reclamation, excavation, quarrying or other operations as appear likely to create conditions which may be favourable to the propagation or harbouring of disease-bearing insects unless the plans for the building, land development, land reclamation, excavation, quarrying or other operations have been approved in writing by the Commissioner or a Medical Officer of Health who may in granting such approval, impose such condition or conditions as he may consider necessary for the purposes of this Act.

Any person who undertakes, executes or carries out any building, land development, land reclamation, excavation, quarrying or other operations in contravention of subsection (1) or who refuses, fails or neglects to comply with any condition imposed under that subsection shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months, and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

Where it appears to the Commissioner or a Medical Officer of Health that any premises or anything therein is or may become favourable to the propagation or harbouring of disease-bearing insects, he may, by order in writing addressed to the owner or occupier of the premises, direct the owner or occupier to take such specified measure or measures with regard to the premises or for the treatment, destruction or removal of anything therein as may bring them into a condition unfavourable to the propagation or harbouring of disease-bearing insects.

The Commissioner or a Medical Officer of Health may, in any such order, direct —

The Commissioner or a Medical Officer of Health may, by order in writing, direct the occupier of any premises so to cover, within a specified time, and keep continuously covered any specified tank, cistern, receptacle or any manner of container whatsoever in or appertaining to the premises, that disease-bearing insects shall be unable to enter therein, and where any premises are unoccupied, the order may be addressed to the owner thereof as if he were the occupier.

In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the powers under this section, the Commissioner or a Medical Officer of Health may, in any such order, direct the owner or occupier to drain any land in accordance with such specifications or in such manner as he may specify in the order, or to fill up inequalities in the surface thereof to a specified level so as to prevent the breeding of disease-bearing insects or so as to keep the land permanently free from standing water to an extent specified in the order.

Notwithstanding subsections (1), (3) and (4), the Commissioner or a Medical Officer of Health may, in his discretion, if in his opinion the circumstances so warrant, himself cause any measure or work specified in those subsections to be done instead of proceeding by way of order in writing addressed to the owner or occupier of the premises concerned, but in every such case the Commissioner or the Medical Officer of Health shall notify the owner or occupier as to the nature of the measure or work that is so intended to be done.

Where on any land there is any stream or seepage or running or standing water to which shade may be afforded by the development of undergrowth or other vegetation, no person shall cut down or clear or cause or permit to be cut down or cleared any undergrowth or vegetation within 6 metres of any such stream or seepage or running or standing water without the previous sanction of the Commissioner or a Medical Officer of Health.

No owner or occupier of any premises, including any agricultural holding, shall permit any hole or depression likely to hold water to remain in or upon the land owned or occupied by him for a longer period than 7 days from the time when the hole or depression was made, whether the hole or depression was made in the course of clearing, planting or other agricultural operation or by the fall of any tree or in any artificial manner whatsoever, and every such owner or occupier shall fill or cause to be filled in any such hole or depression to the level of the surrounding ground within 7 days of the making of that hole or depression.

Any owner or occupier of any agricultural holding who intends to cut down or clear any jungle, undergrowth or other vegetation for the purpose of planting or replanting the holding or who intends to make holes in the ground for the purpose of the planting or replanting shall notify the Commissioner or a Medical Officer of Health in writing of his intention to do so not less than 14 days before the commencement of the operations.

Any person who contravenes this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months, and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

The Commissioner or a Medical Officer of Health or a public health auxiliary may, with the consent of the occupier of any premises, or after 3 days’ notice in writing to the occupier of any premises if the consent is in the opinion of the Commissioner or a Medical Officer of Health unreasonably withheld, take such measures as are reasonably necessary —

to destroy disease-bearing insects wherever found;

to collect and remove empty tins, cans, bottles or other receptacles in which disease-bearing insects may breed;

to cut down and remove any grass, bamboo stumps, fern or undergrowth in which disease-bearing insects are likely to breed or be harboured;

to bring any water or swamp into a condition unfavourable to the propagation or harbouring of disease-bearing insects;

to fill with concrete or otherwise treat holes or hollows in trees which hold or are likely to hold water; and

generally to prevent the propagation of disease-bearing insects.

A Medical Officer of Health may require any person suspected of being infected with insect-borne disease to submit to medical examination, including the examination of the person’s blood; and, if the person is found to be infected, the Medical Officer of Health may require the person to undergo treatment. The Medical Officer of Health may, in his discretion, require such treatment to be obtained at a Government hospital.

Any person who refuses, fails or neglects to comply with any requisition made in pursuance of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000.