Singapore legislation
Section 4
Section 4
Power to obtain information
(1)
The Authority or any authorised officer may by notice require any person to furnish, within a reasonable period specified in the notice, all documents and information relating to any matter as reasonably required by the Authority to carry out the functions or duties assigned to the Authority by or under this Act, which are within the knowledge of that person or in that person’s custody or under that person’s control.
(2)
The power to require a person to furnish any document or information under subsection (1) includes the power —
to require that person, or any person who is or was an officer or employee of that person, to provide an explanation of the document or information;
if the document or information is not furnished, 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 Authority in legible form.
(3)
Any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to do anything required of the person by notice under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence.
(4)
Any person who —
intentionally alters, suppresses or destroys any document or information which the person has been required by a notice under subsection (1) to furnish; or
in furnishing any document or information required under subsection (1), makes any statement which the person knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes such a statement,shall be guilty of an offence.
(5)
If any person fails to comply with a notice under subsection (1), the court may, on the application of the Authority, make such order as the court thinks fit to secure compliance with such notice and any such order may provide that all the costs or expenses of and incidental to the application are to be borne by such person or by any officer of a company or other association who is responsible for the failure.
(6)
The Authority through an authorised officer may, at any time after the expiry of the period specified in the notice referred to in subsection (1), enter any building or place where the Authority has reason to believe that any document or information, in respect of which it has given the notice, may be found, and seize or take extracts or copies of any such document or information.
(7)
The Authority is entitled without payment to keep any document or information, or any copy or extract thereof, furnished to it under subsection (1) or obtained under subsection (6).
(8)
Except in the performance of the person’s functions or duties or when required to do so by any court or under any written law, no person who is or has been a member, an officer, an employee or an agent of the Authority or a member of a committee of the Authority may disclose any information relating to the affairs of the Authority or of any other person which has been obtained by the person in the performance of the person’s functions or duties.
(9)
Any person who contravenes subsection (8) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.