Singapore Overseas Telecommunication Board Ordinance

This Ordinance may be cited as the Singapore Overseas Telecommunication Board Ordinance, 1962, and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may by notification in the Gazette appoint.

The Minister may appoint different dates for the coming into operation of the different Parts or provisions of this Ordinance.

“Auditor” means the Auditor nominated under subsection (3) of section 39 of this Ordinance;

“Board” means the Singapore Overseas Telecommunication Board established under section 3 of this Ordinance;

“Chairman” means the Chairman of the Board appointed under section 4 of this Ordinance;

“Commonwealth Telegraphs Agreement” means the Commonwealth Telegraphs Agreement entered into on the 11th day of May 1948, between His Britannic Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom and the Governments of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, and Southern Rhodesia or any other subsequent Commonwealth Telegraphs Agreement to which the Government may be or may be made a party and includes any modifications of such Agreements made from time to time;

“Company” means Cable and Wireless Limited in Singapore;

“Deputy Chairman” means the Deputy Chairman of the Board appointed under subsection (3) of section 5 of this Ordinance;

“external telecommunication service” means any telecommunication service between a point in Singapore and any point outside Singapore excluding the Federation of Malaya;

“external telecommunication undertaking” means the telecommunication installations and plant and the undertaking in connection therewith which was, immediately before the coming into operation of this Ordinance, as the case may be, either —

“internal telecommunication service” means any telecommunication service operated within Singapore and includes any such service to any vehicle, vessel or aircraft within or without Singapore and any such service between Singapore and Federation of Malaya;

“International Telecommunication Convention” means the International Telecommunication Convention signed at Geneva on the 21st day of December 1959, or any other subsequent International Telecommunication Convention to which the Government may be or may be made a party and includes any modifications of or any regulations made under such Conventions from time to time;

“radiocommunication” means telecommunication by means of radio waves;

“statutory authority” means any authority or body corporate established, incorporated or constituted under the provisions of any written law;

“telecommunication” means any transmission, emission or reception of signs, signals, writing, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, optical or other electromagnetic systems;

“telecommunication installations and plant” includes all buildings, land, interests in land, exchanges, machinery, apparatus, equipment, plant, cables, poles, lines, vehicles and all other appliances or accessories whatsoever used for and in connection with a telecommunication service;

“telecommunication service” means any service operated by the Board connected with the transmission, emission or reception of signs, signals, writing, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, optical or other electromagnetic systems and includes the provision by the Board of the necessary arrangements and the means to enable the Government, public bodies and the public to use, on payment of the prescribed tariff, such service for the purpose of temporary or permanent communication within or without Singapore;

“telegraph line” means the wire or wires used for the purpose of telecommunication and includes any casing, coating, tube or pipe enclosing the same and any appliance or apparatus connected therewith for the purpose of fixing or insulating the same;

“undertaking of the Board” means the external telecommunication undertaking of the Board.

Where any matter arising from the provisions of this Ordinance is required to be determined by arbitration, the same shall be determined by an arbitrator or arbitrators not exceeding three chosen by the parties, or, if they are unable to agree, by the Chief Justice.

Each party shall have the power to appoint an assessor to sit with the arbitrator, but the arbitrator alone shall have the power to decide and the award shall be his alone. Where more than one arbitrator is appointed, a majority of them may decide and make an award.

The arbitration shall, subject to the provisions of this section be governed by the Arbitration Ordinance (Cap. 10).

The remuneration of an arbitrator appointed by the Chief Justice in accordance with this section shall be fixed by the Chief Justice and the remuneration of an arbitrator chosen by the parties shall be fixed by them. The cost of the reference and the award, including the remuneration of the arbitrator, shall be paid by the parties in such proportions as the arbitrator may decide:Provided that the remuneration and the allowances of an assessor shall be paid by the party appointing him.

There shall be established in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance a body to be called the “Singapore Overseas Telecommunication Board” which shall operate the external telecommunication services of Singapore.

The Board shall be the “National Body” for the purpose of and as defined in the Commonwealth Telegraphs Agreement.

The undertaking of the Board shall for the purposes of this Ordinance be owned as to fifty-one per cent by the Government and as to forty-nine per cent by the Company.

The Board when established shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal with power, subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, to acquire and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, and may sue and be sued in its corporate name and perform such other acts as bodies corporate may by law perform.

The Board shall consist of —

The members of the Board appointed by the Minister or the Company, under the provisions of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section shall, unless their appointment is revoked by the Minister or the Company under the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, or unless they resign during their term of office, hold office for a period of three years or such shorter period as the Minister may in any case determine and shall be eligible for re-appointment on completion of that period.

The Minister may appoint any member of the Board to be Deputy Chairman who may preside at meetings of the Board in the absence of the Chairman.

The Minister or the Company, in respect of those members of the Board which they may each appoint under the provisions of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 5 of this Ordinance, may —

The members of the Board shall be paid out of the funds of the Board such salaries, fees or allowances as the Yang di-Pertuan Negara may determine.

The quorum of the Board at all meetings shall be three.

A decision of the majority of the members of the Board present and voting at a meeting of the Board shall be deemed to be a decision of the Board.

The Board may, subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership.

The Board shall meet at least once in every three months.

Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, the Board may make rules to regulate its own procedure and, in particular, the holding of meetings, the notice to be given of such meetings, the proceedings thereat, the keeping of minutes and the custody, production and inspection of such minutes.

The external telecommunication undertakings of the Government and of the Company shall be transferred to and vest in the Board without further assurance.

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section such transfer shall include —

Any proceeding or course of action pending or existing immediately prior to the coming into operation of this Ordinance by or against the Government or the Company in respect of their external telecommunication undertakings or service may be continued and enforced by or against the Board, as it might have been by or against the Government or the Company, if this Ordinance had not been passed.

As soon as may be and subject to the approval of the Minister, the Board shall establish a pension scheme or schemes, or a provident fund or funds to be approved by the Central Provident Fund Board for the payment of pensions, provident funds or gratuities to officers and servants of the Board who retire from the service of the Board, or otherwise cease to hold office, by reason of age, or of infirmity of body or mind, or of abolition of office.

The following provisions shall apply to any pension scheme or provident fund established under this section: —

The Board shall —

For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section the Board may —

The Board may with the approval of the Minister, purchase or lease any lands required for any of the purposes of this Ordinance.

The Board may, with the approval of the Minister (except in the case of leases from month to month), sell, surrender, lease or exchange any land or building belonging to the Board, either in block or in parcels as may be found most convenient or advantageous.

The Board may lease from month to month any land or building or part thereof belonging to the Board, at such rent and upon such terms and conditions as the Board may think fit.

The Board may place and maintain a telegraph line under, in, upon, over, along or across and posts in or upon any —

The Board shall not acquire any right other than that of user only in the property under, over, along, across, in or upon which the Board places any telegraph line or post.

Except as hereinafter provided, the Board shall not exercise those powers in respect of any property vested in or under the control or management of any statutory authority without the permission of that authority.

In the exercise of the powers conferred by this section the Board shall do as little damage as possible, and when it has exercised those powers in respect of any property other than that referred to in subsection (3) of this section shall pay full compensation to all persons interested for any damage sustained by them by reason of the exercise of those powers.

The Board may, for the purpose of exercising the powers conferred upon it by this Ordinance in respect of any property vested in or under the control or management of a statutory authority, alter the position thereunder of any pipe, not being a main, for the supply of gas or water, or of any drain, not being a main drain.

When the Board desires to alter the position of any such pipe or drain, it shall give reasonable notice of its intention to do so, specifying the time at which it will begin to do so to the statutory authority, and when the pipe or drain is not under the control of the statutory authority to the person who has control of such pipe or drain.

A statutory authority or person receiving notice under subsection (2) of this section may send a person to superintend the work, and the Board shall execute the work to the reasonable satisfaction of the person so sent.

If any dispute arises between the Board and a statutory authority in consequence of the statutory authority refusing the permission referred to in subsection (3) of section 17 of this Ordinance or prescribing any condition under section 19 of this Ordinance or in consequence of the Board omitting to comply with a requisition made under section 20 of this Ordinance or otherwise in respect of the exercise of the powers conferred by this Ordinance, it shall be determined by such person as the Minister may for that purpose appoint.

An appeal from the decision of the person so appointed shall lie to the Minister, whose decision shall be final.

If the exercise of the powers mentioned in section 17 of this Ordinance (Cap. 119), in respect of property referred to in subsection (4) thereof, is resisted or obstructed, a Magistrate’s Court may, in its discretion order that the Board shall be permitted to exercise them.

If after an order has been made under subsection (1) of this section any person resists the exercise of such powers, or having control over such property does not give all facilities for their being exercised, he shall be deemed to have committed an offence under section 188 of the Penal Code.

If any dispute arises concerning the sufficiency of the compensation to be paid under subsection (4) of section 17 of this Ordinance, such compensation shall, on application being made for that purpose by either of the disputing parties, be determined by a judge of the High Court.

If any dispute arises as to the persons entitled to receive compensation or as to the proportions in which the persons interested are entitled to share in it, the Board may pay into court such amount as it deems sufficient, or where all the disputing parties have in writing admitted the amount tendered to be sufficient or the amount has been determined under subsection (3) of this section, that amount.

A judge of the High Court, after giving notice to the parties and hearing such of them as desire to be heard, shall determine the persons entitled to receive the compensation or, as the case may be, the proportions in which the persons interested are entitled to share in it.

Every determination of a dispute by a judge of the High Court under subsection (3), (4) or (5) of this section, shall be final.

Nothing in subsection (6) of this section shall affect the right of any person to sue for and recover the whole or any part of any compensation paid by the Board from the person who has received the same.

When under the foregoing provisions of this Ordinance a telegraph line or post has been placed by the Board under, over, along, across, in or upon any property not being property vested in or under the control or management of a statutory authority, and any person entitled to do so desires to deal with that property in such a manner as to render it necessary or convenient that the telegraph line or post should be removed to another part thereof or to a higher or lower level or altered in form, he may require the Board to remove or alter such line or post accordingly.

If compensation has been paid under subsection (4) of section 17 of this Ordinance he shall, when making the requisition, tender to the Board the amount requisite to defray the expense of the removal or alteration of such line or post or half the amount paid as compensation, whichever is the smaller sum.

If the Board omits to comply with the requisition, the person making it may apply to a Magistrate’s Court to order the removal or alteration of such line or post.

Any such Court may, in its discretion, reject the application or make an order, absolute or subject to conditions, for the removal of such line or post to any other part of the property or to a higher or lower level or for the alteration of its form, and the order so made shall be final.

If any tree standing or lying near a telegraph line interrupts or is likely to interrupt a telecommunication service, a Magistrate’s Court may, on the application of the Board, cause the tree to be removed or dealt with in such other way as it deems fit.

When disposing of an application under subsection (1) of this section, such Court shall, in the case of any tree in existence before the telegraph line was placed, award to the persons interested in the tree such compensation as it thinks reasonable, and the award shall be final.

Subject to the provisions of subsection (4) of section 28 of this Ordinance, the Board may from time to time with the approval of the Minister borrow money by the issue of debentures or debenture stock or raise capital by the issue of shares or stock of such class and value and upon such terms as it may deem expedient, for all or any of the following purposes: —

The Board may with the approval of the Minister make rules not inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance to provide for such matters in connection with shares, stock, debentures or debenture stock issued under this Ordinance as may appear necessary or expedient to the Board, and in particular, for regulating the method of issue, transfer, redemption, or other dealing with such shares, stock, debentures or debenture stock.

The Board may, from time to time, borrow, by way of overdraft or otherwise, such sums as it may require for meeting its obligations and discharging its functions under this Ordinance.

Where the Board borrows money it may, subject to the approval of the Minister, raise the money either by —

The Board may at any time cause to be prepared a supplemental budget to provide for unforeseen or urgently required expenditure containing —

A supplemental budget shall be dealt with in the manner prescribed in section 36 of this Ordinance for the annual budget.

The accounts of the Board shall be kept by a Financial Officer appointed by and responsible to the Board.

The financial year shall be the calendar year or such other period as the Board may determine.

The Minister shall nominate for every year an Auditor of the Board’s accounts who shall maintain and keep a continuous audit of the accounts during such year.

The Auditor shall be paid by the Board.

For the purpose of any audit of accounts under this Ordinance, the Auditor may by notice in writing require the production before him of any book, deed, contract, account, voucher or other document which he may deem necessary, and may require any person holding or accountable for any such document to appear before him and make and sign a declaration with respect thereto and may require from any person such information or explanation as he deems necessary.

Any person who, being required by the Auditor under subsection (1) of this section to produce any document or to appear before him and make and sign a declaration or to furnish information or explanation fails without reasonable excuse to comply with such requisition shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars, and in the case of continuing failure to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for each day after the first day during which such failure continues.

The Board shall, not later than seven months following the end of each financial year, forward to the Minister a statement of accounts showing the income and expenditure of the Board in the previous year and a balance-sheet, signed by the Chairman and the Financial Officer and certified by the Auditor.

The annual statement and the balance-sheet referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall be presented to the Legislative Assembly.

The Board shall not later than seven months after the end of each financial year, cause to be made and forwarded to the Minister a report dealing generally with the activities of the Board during the preceding financial year and containing such information relating to the proceedings and policy of the Board as the Minister may from time to time direct.

The report referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall be presented to the Legislative Assembly.

The Board shall, on behalf of the Government, operate, maintain, plan for and develop an internal telecommunication service.

For the purpose of providing such internal telecommunication service —

The provisions of this section shall be without prejudice to the Government and the Company agreeing at any subsequent date to the Board acquiring the assets of and assuming complete responsibility for such internal telecommunication service in the the same manner and on the same terms as its external telecommunication service is being operated in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance.

No person shall lay or carry any mains, pipes, conduits or wires in, along, across, through, over or under any street or place in a manner which is likely to interfere with or cause damage to any of the Board’s telecommunication installations and plant without first obtaining permission from the Board. Such permission may be granted or withheld at the discretion of the Board, or may be granted upon such terms and conditions as the Board thinks fit to impose.

Any person who contravenes any provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this Ordinance and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars and in the case of a continuing offence, to a fine not exceeding fifty dollars for every day or part of a day during which the offence is continued after the first day on which a conviction is had.

Any person who removes, destroys or damages whether wilfully or otherwise, any of the Board’s telecommunication installations and plant shall be liable to pay full compensation for the damage he has done and such compensation shall be recoverable by civil action or suit before any court of competent jurisdiction.

Without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section any court before which a person is charged with an offence under this Ordinance may assess the compensation payable under this section and may make an order for the payment of the same. Any such order may be enforced as if it were a judgement in a civil action or suit.

The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations generally for carrying out its functions and duties in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance.

The Board may resolve not to publish any regulation so made provided that in the event of any such regulation being inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, the provisions of this Ordinance shall prevail and such regulation shall to the extent of the inconsistency be void.

Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, all such regulations shall be published in the Gazette and shall be presented to the Legislative Assembly as soon as may be after publication and if a resolution is passed pursuant to a motion notice whereof has been given for a sitting day not later than the first available sitting day of the Assembly next after the expiry of one month from the date when such regulations are so presented annulling the regulations or any part thereof as from a specified date, such regulations or such part thereof as the case may be shall thereupon become void as from such date but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder or to the making of new regulations.