SINGAPORE LEGISLATION

• Author: CHARLES LIM AENG CHENG
• Date: 01 December 1992
• Citation: (1992) 4 SAcLJ 366
• Published date: 01 December 1992

Digest of Legislation Between June 1992 and September 1992

Acts Passed Between June 1992 and September 1992 in Alphabetical Order

Central Provident Fund (Amendment No. 2) Act 1992

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Act No. 27 of 1992

Long Title: An Act to amend the Central Provident Fund Act (Chapter 36 of the 1991 Revised Edition).

Passed by Parliament on: 31st July 1992

Assented to by President on: 13th August 1992

Publication date: 28th August 1992

Commencement date: 28th August 1992

Summary: This Act amends the Central Provident Fund Act for the following purposes:

1. (a) to provide for the office of the Deputy Chairman of the Board;

2. (b) to provide for matters relating to contributions by self-employed persons including extending the powers of investigation by the Board’s inspectors to self-employed persons and providing for interest on late payment of such contributions;

3. (c) to deal with the accounts and financial statements of the Board;

4. (d) to provide that contributions made by self-employed persons as required by regulations made under section 77(1) (e) of the Act shall be credited to a medisave, ordinary or special account in accordance with the Minister’s directions;

5. (e) to include in any power to grant or renew any licence, certificate or permit under any of the Acts specified in the Third Schedule or any rules or regulations made thereunder a power to impose conditions relating to the payment of contributions by a self-employed person who is the applicant or licensee to be credited to his medisave, ordinary or special account;

6. (f) to empower the Minister to make regulations to provide for the appointment of an agent for the assessment, collection or recovery of any contributions payable under the Act and any interest thereon; and

7. (g) to empower the Minister to make regulations to provide for the withdrawal of contributions in a member’s account for the payment of improvement contributions to the Housing and Development Board in respect of upgrading works and incidental costs and expenses arising from such works.

Comment: This Act will give effect to the Medisave for Self-Employed Persons Scheme announced by the Minister for Health. LG (Ret’d)

Winston Choo, the former Chief of Defence Forces was appointed the first Deputy Chairman of the Board.

Drug Trafficking (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992

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Act No. 29 of 1992

Long Title: An Act to provide for the confiscation of benefits derived from drug trafficking and for purposes connected therewith.

Passed by Parliament on: 14th September 1992

Assented to by President on: 17th October 1992

Publication date: Not published as at 17th October 1992

Commencement date: Not in force as at 17th October 1992

Summary: This Act introduces new powers for tracing and freezing the benefits of drug trafficking and for confiscating those benefits. The following are some of the principal provisions of the Act.

Section 4 provides that the court shall before sentencing, on the application of the Public Prosecutor, and if satisfied that the accused has derived benefits from drug trafficking, impose a confiscation order in respect of the benefits derived from drug trafficking. A person is deemed to have derived benefits from drug trafficking if he holds or has held any property disproportionate to his known sources of income, the holding of which he cannot explain to the satisfaction of the court. Section 5 provides for the assessment of the value of the benefits derived by the defendant from drug trafficking.

Section 7 provides that the amount of a confiscation order shall be the amount the court assesses to be the value of the benefits derived by the defendant from drug trafficking, or the amount which might be realised from property of the defendant, if that is less.

Section 9 makes provision for any third party who has an interest in any property which is the subject matter of a confiscation order to apply to the court to protect his interest.

Section 12 empowers the High Court to make a restraint order prohibiting the transfer or disposal of realisable property of the defendant or proposed defendant. Section 13 empowers the High Court to impose a charging order on realisable property of the defendant or proposed defendant. Section 11 defines the circumstances in which orders may be made under section 12 or 13, that is, where proceedings have been or are about to be instituted and the High Court is satisfied that there is reasonable cause to believe that the defendant or proposed defendant has benefited from drug trafficking.

Sections 16 and 17 provide for the proceeds of the property realised to be applied for the purpose of satisfying the confiscation order. The High Court may exercise its powers under sections 11 to 17 with a view to

realising the value of property available for satisfying the confiscation order but allowing third parties to retain or recover any consideration given in respect of their interest.

Section 18 empowers the High Court on the defendant’s application to issue a certificate stating that the property is inadequate to pay the amount of the confiscation order and, if such a certificate is issued, for the court which made the confiscation order to reduce the confiscation order to such amount as it thinks just.

Section 22 extends the meaning of conviction for the purposes of the Act to include persons who abscond in connection with a drug trafficking offence. A person is to be treated as having absconded in relation to an offence where investigations have been commenced but the person dies before he is charged or convicted or at the end of 6 months after the commencement of investigations, the person cannot be found or is not amenable to extradition proceedings. Before making a confiscation order, the court is required by section 23 to be satisfied that the person has absconded and that there is sufficient evidence to convict him of the offence under investigation.

Section 24 provides that...