Enlistment Bill

“annually” or “year” mean the period from the first day of April of each year to the last day of March of the following year;

“armed forces” means any force constituted under the provisions of the Singapore Army Act, 1965 (Act 13 of 1965), the People’s Defence Force Act, 1965 (Act 23 of 1965), the Police Force Ordinance, 1958 (Ord. 32 of 1958), or the Vigilante Corps Act, 1967 (Act 24 of 1967), and such other force as may be constituted under any written law;

“duty” includes training;

“employer” means any person who employs another person under a contract of service and includes the person who owns or is carrying on or is for the time being responsible for the management of a profession, business, trade or work in which other persons are employed;

“fitness examination” means any examination which is considered by the proper authority to be necessary for the purpose of determining the fitness of a person for service;

“full-time service” means service pursuant to section 12 of this Act;

“medical examination” includes a dental examination, blood test, X-ray examination and any other examination or test as a medical board may consider necessary;

“mobilized service” means service pursuant to section 16 of this Act;

“national service” means service under Part III of this Act in the armed forces and service in such other force, body or organisation as the Minister may designate for this purpose by notification in the Gazette;

“national serviceman” means a person in national service;

“permanent resident” means any person who is not subject to any restriction as to his period of residence imposed under the provisions of any written law relating to immigration for the time being in force in Singapore;

“person subject to this Act” means a person who is a citizen of Singapore or a permanent resident thereof and who is not less than sixteen and a half years of age and not more than forty years of age except that if a person —

“proper authority” means the Minister and any person appointed by him by name or by office for the purposes of the whole or any Part of this Act;

“registered medical practitioner” has the same meaning as in the Medical Registration Ordinance (Cap. 191);

“regular service” means service pursuant to section 19 of this Act;

“regular serviceman” means a person in regular service;

“reserve service” means service pursuant to section 14 of this Act;

“service” means national service and regular service.

Every employer, who has had in his employment a person for a continuous period of at least six months immediately preceding the day on which such person was ordered to report for or actually perform full-time or mobilized service, shall reinstate such person in his employment at the termination of such service.

Where a person is reinstated under subsection (1) of this section the employer shall whenever practicable reinstate him in an occupation and under conditions not less favourable than those which would have been applicable to him had he not been in service.

Any employer who fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to both such imprisonment and fine, and the Court by which he is convicted may order the employer to pay to the person whom he has failed to reinstate a sum not exceeding an amount equal to three months remuneration at the rate at which remuneration was last payable to him by the employer:Provided that in any proceedings under this section it shall be a defence for the employer to prove that the person formerly employed by him did not before the expiration of three months after termination of the service for which such person was called up apply to the employer for reinstatement.

No employer shall dismiss a person solely or mainly by reason of any duties or liabilities which that person is, or may become, liable to perform or discharge by reason of his being or being liable to be called up for service under this Act.

For the purpose of this section where the duties or liabilities of service under this Act caused or contributed to the dismissal of a person, he shall be deemed to have been dismissed by reason of those duties or liabilities, unless the employer proves that the dismissal was for a reason unconnected therewith.

Any employer who dismisses a person subject to this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to both such imprisonment and fine, and the Court by which he is convicted may order the employer to pay to the dismissed person as compensation a sum not exceeding an amount equal to three months remuneration at the rate at which his remuneration was last payable to him by the employer.

The employer of a person in reserve service pursuant to paragraph (b) of section 14 of this Act or of a person in mobilized service pursuant to section 18 of this Act shall pay to such person any amount by which his civilian remuneration exceeds his service remuneration as a result of his being required to perform such service.

Any employer who has paid any sum pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall, subject to any regulations which may be made by the Minister, be entitled, upon the production of such evidence as the designated authority may require, to claim reimbursement of such sum from the designated authority from monies to be provided by Parliament.

Subject to such conditions, restrictions or limitations as the Minister may by regulations provide, persons who —

In this section —

If any dispute arises between the designated authority and any employer under subsection (2) of this section or any person under subsection (3) of this section as to the amount that such employer or such person may claim by way of reimbursement, then, in every such case, the matter shall be referred to the Minister whose decision thereon shall be final.

Where under the Central Provident Fund Ordinance (Cap. 150) an employer pays contributions in respect of his employee the employer shall continue to pay such contributions notwithstanding the fact that his employee is performing service pursuant to sections 14 and 18 of this Act.

The proper authority may from time to time by notice require a person subject to this Act to report for registration and for fitness examination for the purposes of service under this Act.

A person required to report for registration and fitness examination under the provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall report to the proper authority at such date, time and place as may be specified in the notice and attend from day to day until duly registered and examined.

A person required to report for registration shall —

Any person affected by a notice given under subsection (1) of section 3 of this Act who, without lawful excuse, fails to present himself for registration in accordance with such notice shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or to both such imprisonment and fine.

The Court before which a person is convicted for an offence under subsection (2) of this section may also order such person to present himself for registration for national service on or before a specified date and any person who, on without lawful excuse, fails to present himself for registration in accordance with such order shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty dollars for every day during which such person has failed to register himself after such specified date.

The fitness for service of a person subject to this Act shall be determined, from time to time, by the proper authority in accordance with the fitness examination and the needs of the armed forces.

No person who is not medically fit shall be found fit for service.

The proper authority shall appoint medical boards for the purpose of determining the medical fitness of persons required to report for a fitness examination.

Every medical board shall consist of one or more members who shall be registered medical practitioners. In the case of a medical board consisting of more than one member the proper authority shall nominate one of the members to be chairman.

Where a medical board consists of more than one member it shall determine whether a person is medically fit or not by a majority vote. In the case of an equality of votes, the chairman of the medical board shall have a second or casting vote.

Every medical board shall act for and on behalf of the proper authority and may subject a person required to report for a fitness examination to a medical examination.

A medical board may, for the purpose of conducting a medical examination, require that a person who is liable to report for a fitness examination shall be examined by a person who is not a member of the medical board.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the proper authority may by notice require a person subject to this Act not below the age of eighteen years to report for enlistment for national service.

A person required to report for enlistment for national service shall report to the proper authority on such date, and at such time and place as may be specified in the notice and shall attend from day to day until duly enlisted.

Enlistment for national service shall be in the manner approved by the proper authority.

No duty of any kind shall be imposed on a person required to report for enlistment or service unless he is found fit for service.

Any person may apply to the proper authority to be enlisted for regular service in the Singapore Army established under the Singapore Army Act, 1965 (Act 13 of 1965).

Where a person applies to be enlisted for such regular service, the proper authority may require him to report for registration and fitness examination.

Where the proper authority approves and accepts the application of any person for regular service the proper authority shall notify such person of such acceptance and may require him to report for enlistment and service.

A person required to report under the provisions of section 19 of this Act shall be liable to render regular service for the period approved by the proper authority and under such terms and conditions as may be provided for from time to time in regulations made under any written law relating to the armed forces.

No person shall be liable to render regular service in excess of the period for which he has applied to serve.

The proper authority may at any time order the discharge of a person from regular service before the expiry of his period of service for any reason provided for in regulations made under any written law relating to the armed forces.

Subsection (1) of section 23 of the Interpretation Act, 1965 (Act 10 of 1965), shall not apply to orders, notices and permits issued under this Act.

Orders, notices, permits and appointments issued or made under this Act may be of a general nature or may refer to a class of persons or to one person or to any number of persons.

An order or notice issued under this Act shall be binding upon a person to whom it applies from the time at which it comes to his knowledge:Provided that it shall be conclusively presumed that a person to whom an order applies has notice of such order when it is —

An order or notice issued under this Act shall remain in force until it is complied with or revoked and a person not complying with such an order or notice at the specified time shall be liable to comply with it as soon as possible.

An order, notice, permit or appointment, issued or made under this Act, may be subject to conditions and may be revoked at any time.

A person subject to this Act who has been registered under section 3 of this Act or is deemed to be registered or is liable to register under this Act shall not leave Singapore or remain outside Singapore unless he is in possession of a valid certificate (in this Act referred to as “exit permit”) issued by the proper authority permitting him to do so.

A person to whom an exit permit under subsection (1) of this section is granted shall return to Singapore before the expiry of the period for which he was allowed to stay outside Singapore.

The Minister may make such regulations as may be necessary or expedient to carry out the provisions of this Act.

Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, the Minister may make regulations relating to —

Any regulations made under the provisions of this section may prescribe that any act or omission in contravention of the provisions of any regulation shall be an offence and may provide for the imposition of penalties for such offences which penalties shall not exceed a fine of two thousand dollars and imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year.

The provisions of this Act shall not derogate from the liability of any person incurred under the provisions of the National Service Ordinance, 1952 (M. Ord. 37 of 1952), and the Singapore Army Act, 1965 (Act 13 of 1965).

Without prejudice to subsection (1) of this section, every person who, before the date of the coming into operation of this Act, —

Any exemption, postponement, exit permit or certificate granted pursuant to the National Service Ordinance, 1952, shall be deemed to have been granted under this Act.

The National Service Ordinance, 1952 (M. Ord. 37 of 1952), shall cease to apply to Singapore and sections 78, 79 and 81 to 102 of the Singapore Army Act, 1965 (Act 13 of 1965), are hereby repealed.

The Police Force Ordinance, 1958 (Ord. 32 of 1958), the People’s Defence Force Act, 1965 (Act 23 of 1965), and the Vigilante Corps Act, 1967 (Act 24 of 1967) are hereby amended in the manner set out in the Schedule to this Act.