Singapore legislation
Section 32
Section 32
Powers of investigation by Public Guardian
(1)
The Public Guardian may, for the purpose of discharging his or her functions under this Act —
require any person who has any information which relates or is reasonably believed to relate to a person who lacks capacity to provide the Public Guardian with the information;
require any person who has in the person’s custody or under the person’s control any document which relates or is reasonably believed to relate to a person who lacks capacity —
to provide the Public Guardian with a copy of or an extract from the document; or
unless the document forms part of the records or other documents of a public authority or any court of competent jurisdiction, to provide the Public Guardian with the document itself for his or her inspection; or
require any person mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) to attend at a specified time and place to provide such information orally or in writing, or such documents or copies or extracts thereof, as the case may be.
(2)
The Public Guardian is entitled without payment to keep any copy or extract provided under subsection (1).
(3)
Where a document provided for inspection under subsection (1)(b)(ii) is not held by any person entitled to the custody of the document, the Public Guardian may keep it or deliver it to any other person who may be entitled to the custody of the document.
(4)
The Public Guardian has at all times full and free access to all buildings, places, books, papers and electronic computing or storage devices for the purpose of discharging his or her functions under this Act, and may, without payment, inspect, copy or make extracts from any such books, papers or electronic computing or storage devices.
(5)
The Public Guardian may take possession of any book, paper or electronic computing or storage device mentioned in subsection (4), and remove it from any building or place, where in his or her opinion —
the inspection, copying thereof or extraction therefrom cannot reasonably be performed without taking possession;
the book, paper or electronic computing or storage device may be interfered with or destroyed unless possession thereof is taken; or
the book, paper or electronic computing or storage device may be required as evidence in proceedings for an offence under this Act.
(6)
Any person who fails to comply with any requirement specified under subsection (1) 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 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $50 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after conviction.
(7)
If a person is charged with an offence for failing to comply with any requirement specified under subsection (1), it is a defence for the person to prove that the person had a reasonable excuse for failing to comply with the requirement.
(8)
Any person who —
knowingly or recklessly provides to the Public Guardian or an authorised officer any information or document which is false or misleading in a material particular; or
wilfully alters, suppresses, conceals or destroys any document or any part of such document which the person is or may be required to provide under this Act,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 2 years or to both.
(9)
Nothing in this section —
compels a professional legal adviser to disclose or produce a privileged communication, or a document or other material containing a privileged communication, made by or to him or her in that capacity; or
authorises the taking of any such document or other material which is in his or her possession.
(10)
Subject to subsection (11), the Public Guardian may disclose to another public officer any information received by him or her under or for the purposes of this Act, where the disclosure is made for any purpose —
connected with the discharge of the functions of the Public Guardian; and
of enabling or assisting that other public officer to discharge any of his or her functions.
(11)
Where any information disclosed to the Public Guardian under this Act is so disclosed subject to any express restriction on the disclosure of the information by the Public Guardian, the Public Guardian’s power of disclosure under subsection (10) is, in relation to the information, exercisable by the Public Guardian subject to any such restriction.