Vulnerable Adults Act 2018 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 5 · Enforcement
28. Power to arrest without warrant
Feedback & supportLast amended by an amending law of 2023. 2 amendments in all.
The Director‑General or an authorised officer may arrest, without warrant, any individual whom the Director‑General or authorised officer reasonably suspects, is committing or has committed an offence under section 14(10) or 15(8).
Director‑General
“Director‑General” means the Director‑General of Social Welfare;
If the Director‑General or an authorised officer has reason to believe that an individual mentioned in subsection (1) is inside any place, the Director‑General or authorised officer may enter that place for the purpose of arresting that individual.
In making an arrest under this section, the Director‑General or authorised officer may use handcuffs or any other similar means of restraint on an individual to prevent the individual from —
inflicting bodily injury to himself or herself, or others;
damaging any property;
creating any disturbance; or
escaping from custody.
The Director‑General or an authorised officer making an arrest under this section must comply with sections 68, 75 and 76 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 as if he or she were a police officer.
Any individual arrested under this section must be brought to a police station as soon as reasonably practicable, and may, if required by the Director‑General, a police officer or an authorised officer, be released on bail, or on the individual’s own bond, to appear before a Magistrate.
The individual who is brought before a Magistrate’s Court under subsection (5) may —
court
“court” means the Family Court, except in sections 9(4)(a), 22(4), (5) and (7), 23(2)(a) and (3), 33 and 35(7) where “court” means a court of competent jurisdiction;
be ordered to be detained in custody until he or she can be tried; or
if so required by the Magistrate, be released on bail, or on the individual’s own bond with surety, to appear before a Magistrate’s Court.