/akn/sg/act/bill/2022/15
The full official text, structured for quick navigation. Copy any provision or jump straight to a section.
Quick answer
Singapore Armed Forces and Other Matters Bill is Singapore Bill, cited as Bill 15 2022, currently marked in force and first recorded in 2022.
Part 1
Amendment of section 2
Section 2 of the Singapore Armed Forces Act 1972 (called in this Part the SAF Act) is amended —
by deleting the words “or the Chief of Navy” in the definition of “Service Chief” in subsection (1) and substituting the words “, the Chief of Navy or the Chief of Digital and Intelligence Service”; and
by deleting the words “or air force” in subsection (2)(c) and substituting the words “, air force, or digital and intelligence service”.
Amendment of section 7
Section 7(1) of the SAF Act is amended by deleting the words “and navy” and substituting the words “, navy, and digital and intelligence service”.
Amendment of section 8
Section 8(1) of the SAF Act is amended by deleting the word “and” at the end of paragraph (f), and by inserting immediately thereafter the following paragraph:“(fa)the Chief of Digital and Intelligence Service; and”.
Amendment of section 8B
Section 8B(2) of the SAF Act is amended by deleting the words “or Navy” in paragraph (c) and substituting the words “, Navy, or Digital and Intelligence Service”.
Amendment of section 10A
Section 10A of the SAF Act is amended —
by deleting the words “and a Chief of Navy” in subsection (1) and substituting the words “, a Chief of Navy and a Chief of Digital and Intelligence Service”;
by deleting the words “or the Chief of Navy” in subsections (3) and (4) and substituting in each case the words “, the Chief of Navy or the Chief of Digital and Intelligence Service”; and
by deleting the section heading and substituting the following section heading:“Appointment of Chief of Defence Force and Service Chiefs”.
Amendment of section 19
Section 19 of the SAF Act is amended by deleting subsection (1) and substituting the following subsections:“(1) Every person subject to military law shall be guilty of an offence if the person —
strikes or otherwise uses violence to, or offers violence to, a person superior in rank or appointment; or
uses threatening or insubordinate language or gestures to, or behaves with contempt to, a person superior in rank or appointment.(1A) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1)(a) shall be liable on conviction by a subordinate military court to —
if the offence is committed during active service — imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or any less punishment authorised by this Act; and
in any other case — imprisonment for a term not exceeding 4 years or any less punishment authorised by this Act.(1B) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1)(b) shall be liable on conviction by a subordinate military court to —
if the offence is committed during active service — imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or any less punishment authorised by this Act; and
in any other case — imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or any less punishment authorised by this Act.”.
Amendment of heading to Part 4
Part 4 of the SAF Act is amended by inserting, immediately after the words “DISCIPLINARY OFFICERS” in the Part heading, the words “AND COMPOSITION OF MILITARY OFFENCES”.
Amendment of section 60
Section 60 of the SAF Act is amended —
by inserting, immediately before the definition of “detachment”, the following definition:“ “authorised composition officer” means a serviceman authorised to compound offences under section 79A(1);”; and
by deleting the words “and air force” in the definitions of “formation” and “unit” and substituting in each case the words “, air force or digital and intelligence service,”.
Amendment of section 62
Section 62 of the SAF Act is amended by deleting subsection (1) and substituting the following subsection:“(1) Before an allegation against any person subject to military law (called in this Act the accused) that the person has committed an offence under this Act is further proceeded with, the allegation must —
be reported in the form of a charge to a disciplinary officer and dealt with in accordance with the provisions of this Part; or
be referred to an authorised composition officer for composition of the offence under section 79A.”.
Amendment of section 66
Section 66 of the SAF Act is amended —
by inserting, immediately after subsection (1), the following subsection:“(1A) A disciplinary officer must dismiss a charge if the charge relates to an offence that has been compounded under section 79A.”; and
by deleting the section heading and substituting the following section heading:“Dismissal of charges”.
Amendment of section 68
Section 68 of the SAF Act is amended —
by deleting “$1,000” in paragraph (b)(i) and substituting “$2,000”; and
by deleting “$300” in paragraph (b)(ii) and substituting “$600”.
Amendment of section 69
Section 69(1) of the SAF Act is amended —
by deleting “$1,500” in paragraph (d)(i) and substituting “$3,000”; and
by deleting “$500” in paragraph (d)(ii) and substituting “$1,000”.
Amendment of section 70
Section 70(1) of the SAF Act is amended —
by deleting “$3,000” in paragraph (b)(i) and substituting “$6,000”; and
by deleting “$2,000” in paragraph (b)(ii) and substituting “$4,000”.
Amendment of section 70A
Section 70A(1) of the SAF Act is amended by deleting “$6,000” in paragraph (b) and substituting “$10,000”.
Amendment of section 70B
Section 70B(1) of the SAF Act is amended by deleting “$6,000” in paragraph (b) and substituting “$10,000”.
Amendment of section 72
Section 72 of the SAF Act is amended —
by inserting, immediately after the words “senior military expert of” in subsection (1), the words “or above”; and
by deleting “$10,000” in subsection (6)(b)(ii) and substituting “$30,000”.
New section 79A
The SAF Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 79 in Part 4, the following section:“Composition of offences under this Part79A.—
Subject to subsection (2), any serviceman authorised by the Armed Forces Council to compound offences may compound any offence specified in the Schedule that is prescribed as a compoundable offence (called in this section a prescribed offence) by collecting from an accused reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding the lower of the following:
either —
one half of the amount of the maximum fine that is prescribed for the offence; or
one half of the amount of the maximum fine that is authorised to be imposed by a disciplinary officer on the accused for the offence at a summary trial, if lower than the amount in sub‑paragraph (i) or if no maximum fine is prescribed;
$5,000.(2) An authorised composition officer must not compound a prescribed offence reasonably suspected to have been committed by an accused who is in the same chain of command as the authorised composition officer.(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), an authorised composition officer is not in the same chain of command as an accused by reason only of being in the same formation as the accused.(4) On payment of the sum of money under subsection (1), no further proceedings are to be taken against the accused in respect of the prescribed offence.(5) All sums collected for the composition of an offence under subsection (1) must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.”.
Amendment of section 111
Section 111 of the SAF Act is amended —
by deleting the word “later” in subsection (1) and substituting the word “latest”;
by deleting the full‑stop at the end of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and substituting a semi‑colon, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following paragraphs:“(c)where any police investigation relating to a related civil offence has commenced before the expiry of the default limitation period —
the date on which the investigation ends; or
if proceedings are instituted in a civil court as a result of that investigation — the applicable date under paragraph (d);
where proceedings are instituted in a civil court in respect of a related civil offence before the expiry of the default limitation period —
if the related civil offence was not alleged to have been committed by the person or the person is not sentenced to imprisonment, detention or reformative training — the date on which those proceedings end; or
if the person is sentenced to imprisonment, detention or reformative training — the date on which the person completes the sentence of imprisonment, detention or reformative training;
where the person is sentenced to imprisonment, detention or reformative training for any civil offence before the expiry of the default limitation period — the date on which the person completes the sentence of imprisonment, detention or reformative training;
where a warrant for the arrest of the person is issued under section 169 before the expiry of the default limitation period but could not be executed within the default limitation period despite all reasonable efforts to do so due to the whereabouts of the accused being unknown — the date the person is arrested.”; and
by inserting, immediately after subsection (5), the following subsection:“(6) In this section —“default limitation period” means the period of 3 years after the later of the dates mentioned in subsection (1)(a) and (b);“related civil offence”, in relation to a person alleged to have committed an offence triable under this Act, means an alleged civil offence, whether alleged to have been committed by that person or another person, arising from the same factual matrix as the alleged offence triable under this Act, which, if tried in a civil court, may result in a finding by the civil court that has a material relevance to a finding at a trial by a subordinate military court of that person for the alleged offence triable under this Act.”.
Amendment of section 112
Section 112 of the SAF Act is amended by deleting subsection (1) and substituting the following subsection:“(1) Subject to subsection (2), every person subject to military law who commits any offence which when committed in Singapore or elsewhere is punishable by any written law of Singapore shall, if charged under this section with any such offence, be liable to be tried by a subordinate military court and on conviction to be punished with either —
any punishment that may be awarded to the person under this Act in respect of an act, conduct or neglect to the prejudice of good order or discipline; or
any punishment that may be awarded for the offence under that written law, had the person been convicted by a civil court for the offence and, in addition to or in lieu of such punishment, one or more of the punishments specified in section 118(1)(c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (j), (k) and (l), and any punishment which may be imposed under section 118(10), (11), (13) and (14), which is or are not prescribed by the written law for the offence.”.
Amendment of section 118
Section 118 of the SAF Act is amended —
by deleting “$10,000” in subsection (7)(a) and substituting “$30,000”;
by deleting “$5,000” in subsection (7)(b) and substituting “$15,000”; and
by inserting, immediately after subsection (16), the following subsection:“(16A) Where a subordinate military court sentences a person to caning under section 112(1), that sentence must not be carried into effect unless confirmed by the Armed Forces Council.”.
Amendment of section 125
Section 125(1) of the SAF Act is amended by inserting, immediately after the word “awarded”, the words “under section 112(1) or”.
Amendment of section 129
Section 129 of the SAF Act is amended —
by inserting, immediately after the words “an address” in subsection (4), the words “, a fax number or an electronic mail address”; and
by deleting subsection (5) and substituting the following subsection:“(5) When a notice of appeal has been lodged, the registrar of the Military Court of Appeal must cause a copy of the grounds of decision in the case signed by the president of the subordinate military court and a copy of the record of proceedings (called in this subsection the appeal documents) to be served on the appellant or the appellant’s counsel —
by delivering the appeal documents at the address mentioned in the notice of appeal to —
the appellant;
where the appellant is not present at the address and the address is a business address — the appellant’s counsel or any other adult person present at the address; or
where the appellant is not present at the address and the address is a residential address — an adult person who is a member of the appellant’s family;
by posting the appeal documents by registered post addressed to the appellant or the appellant’s counsel (as the case may be) at the address mentioned in the notice of appeal;
by addressing the appeal documents to the appellant or the appellant’s counsel (as the case may be), and transmitting the documents by fax to the fax number mentioned in the notice of appeal;
by addressing the appeal documents to the appellant or the appellant’s counsel (as the case may be), and transmitting the documents to the electronic mail address mentioned in the notice of appeal; or
by any other prescribed method.”.
Amendment of section 167
Section 167(3) of the SAF Act is amended by inserting, immediately after the words “must be”, the words “released or”.
Amendment of section 205A
Section 205A of the SAF Act is amended by inserting, immediately after subsection (1), the following subsection:“(1A) The regulations made under subsection (1) may provide that any of the following may be determined by the Armed Forces Council in a General Order made under section 208(1):
the rate of contribution by the Government under the SAVER Plan or the Premium Plan;
the conditions under which a contribution by the Government is payable under the SAVER Plan or the Premium Plan to the SAVER‑Premium Fund;
the conditions under which a superannuation benefit is payable to a serviceman (including to his or her legal personal representatives or dependants if the serviceman is deceased).”.
Amendment of section 205C
Section 205C of the SAF Act is amended —
by deleting subsection (12); and
by deleting the words “, auditing and periodic examination” in subsection (13)(c) and substituting the words “and auditing”.
Part 2
Amendment of section 7
Section 7 of the Military Manoeuvres Act 1905 is amended by deleting the words “No military manoeuvres” and substituting the words “Except with the Public Utilities Board’s approval, no military manoeuvres”.
Part 3
Amendment of Interpretation Act 1965
Section 2(1) of the Interpretation Act 1965 is amended by inserting, immediately after the definition of “master”, the following definition:“ “military”, in relation to Singapore’s military, includes the digital and intelligence service of the Singapore Armed Forces;”.
Amendment of Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act 1906
Section 21(2) of the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act 1906 is amended by deleting the words “army, navy or air force of Singapore” and substituting the words “Singapore Armed Forces”.
Amendment of Wills Act 1838
Section 27(5) of the Wills Act 1838 is amended by inserting, immediately after the words “air force”, the words “and a serviceman serving in the digital and intelligence service of the Singapore Armed Forces”.
Part 4
Amendment of section 70
Section 70 of the Civil Defence Act 1986 is amended by deleting subsection (1) and substituting the following subsection:“(1) Before an allegation against a person subject to this Act (called in this Act the accused) that he or she has committed a service offence is further proceeded with, the allegation must —
if the accused is a public officer — be reported in the form of a charge to a disciplinary officer and dealt with in accordance with the provisions of this Part; or
if the accused is not a public officer —
be reported in the form of a charge to a disciplinary officer and dealt with in accordance with the provisions of this Part; or
be referred to a member or public officer authorised by the Commissioner to compound service offences for composition of the offence under section 85A.”.
New section 85A
The Civil Defence Act 1986 is amended by inserting, immediately after section 85 in Part 7, the following section:“Composition of service offences85A.—
Subject to subsection (2), any member or public officer authorised by the Commissioner to compound service offences (called in this section an authorised composition officer), may compound any service offence that is prescribed as a compoundable offence (called in this section a prescribed offence) by collecting from an accused (not being a public officer) reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding the lower of the following:
one half of the amount of the maximum fine that is authorised to be imposed by a disciplinary officer on the accused for the offence under this Part;
$5,000.(2) An authorised composition officer must not compound a prescribed offence reasonably suspected to have been committed by an accused who is in the same chain of command as the authorised composition officer.(3) On payment of the sum of money under subsection (1), no further proceedings are to be taken against the accused in respect of the prescribed offence.(4) All sums collected for the composition of a service offence under this Act must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.”.
Part 5
New Division 5 of Part 8
The Police Force Act 2004 is amended by inserting, immediately after section 84, the following Division heading and section:“Division 5 — MiscellaneousComposition of disciplinary offences84A.—
Where a special police officer is alleged to have committed a disciplinary offence that is prescribed as a compoundable offence (called in this section a prescribed offence), the disciplinary officer may, instead of dealing with the special police officer under section 81 or 82 (as the case may be), refer the alleged offence to any police officer or public officer authorised by the Commissioner to compound offences (called in this section an authorised composition officer) for the composition of the offence under this section.(2) Subject to subsection (3), any authorised composition officer may compound a prescribed offence by collecting from a special police officer reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding the lower of the following:
one half of the amount of the maximum fine that is authorised to be imposed by a disciplinary officer on the special police officer for the offence under this Part;
$5,000.(3) An authorised composition officer must not compound a prescribed offence reasonably suspected to have been committed by a special police officer who is in the same chain of command as the authorised composition officer.(4) On payment of the sum of money under subsection (2), no further proceedings are to be taken against that special police officer in respect of the prescribed offence.(5) All sums collected for the composition of a disciplinary offence under this Act must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.”.
Part 6
Saving and transitional provisions
Section 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17(b), 19, 20 or 21 (as the case may be) does not apply in relation to any offence or military offence committed before the date of commencement of that section, and section 19, 68, 69, 70, 70A, 70B, 72(6), 111, 112 or 118 of the Singapore Armed Forces Act 1972 (as the case may be) as in force immediately before that date applies in relation to that offence or military offence.
For a period of 2 years after the date of commencement of any provision of this Act, the Minister may, by regulations, prescribe such additional provisions of a saving or transitional nature consequent on the enactment of that provision as the Minister may consider necessary or expedient.
Short title and commencement
This Act is the Singapore Armed Forces and Other Matters Act 2022 and comes into operation on a date that the Minister appoints by notification in the Gazette.