55A. Powers of investigation

Amended

Last amended by an amending law of 2024. 4 amendments in all.

(1)

For the purposes of an investigation into an offence punishable under this Act, any police officer, or any Health Officer who is authorised in writing in that behalf by the Director‑General of Public Health, the Director‑General, Food Administration or the Director-General of Health, may —

(a)

require any person or class of persons, within such time and in such manner as the Director-General of Public Health, the Director-General, Food Administration or the Director-General of Health may specify —

(i)

to furnish any information within the knowledge of the person or any person in that class of persons; or

(ii)

to produce any book, document or other record which may be in the custody or possession of the person or any person in that class of persons for inspection by the police officer or Health Officer and the making of copies thereof, or to provide the police officer or Health Officer with copies of such book, document or other record,and may, if necessary, further require the person to attend at a specified time and place for the purposes of complying with sub‑paragraph (i) or (ii); (b)at any time without warrant and with such force as may be necessary, stop, board, enter, inspect and search any premises or conveyance;

(c)

take samples of or seize any substance or matter found in any premises or conveyance mentioned in paragraph (b); and

(d)

seize any book, document or record produced under paragraph (a) or found in any premises or conveyance mentioned in paragraph (b).

(2)

A statement made by any person giving evidence under subsection (1)(a) —

(a)

must be reduced to writing and read over to the person; and

(b)

must, after correction (if any), be signed by the person.

(3)

Any person (including any person in a class of persons) who, without reasonable excuse —

(a)

refuses or fails to comply with any requirement of a police officer or Health Officer under subsection (1); or

(b)

refuses to answer or gives a false answer to any question put to him or her by a police officer or Health Officer,shall be guilty of an offence.

(4)

For the purposes of subsection (3), it is a reasonable excuse for a person to refuse or fail to furnish any information, produce any book, document or other record or answer any question if doing so might tend to incriminate him or her.

(5)

For the purposes of subsection (1)(a)(i), where any document or record required by a police officer or Health Officer is kept in electronic form, then —

(a)

the power of the police officer or Health Officer to require the document or record to be produced for inspection includes the power to require a copy of the document or record to be made available for inspection in legible form; and

(b)

the power of the police officer or Health Officer to inspect the document or record includes the power to require any person on the premises in question to give the police officer or Health Officer such assistance as the police officer or Health Officer may reasonably require to enable him or her to inspect and make copies of the document or record in legible form or to make records of the information contained in the document or record.