PART II
CONTROL OF IMPORT, EXPORT AND TRANSHIPMENT OF MEAT PRODUCTS AND FISH PRODUCTS
5.
—(1) No person shall import, export or tranship any meat product or fish product except under and in accordance with the conditions of a licence granted by the Director-General under this Part.
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(2) Any person who —
(a)
imports, exports or tranships any meat product or fish product without a licence; or
(b)
fails to comply with any of the conditions of his licence,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.
6.
—(1) No licensee shall import any meat product or fish product for sale, supply or distribution in Singapore unless —
(a)
the licensee has obtained a permit from the Director-General in respect of each consignment of meat products or fish products to be imported by him and the import of each such consignment is carried out in accordance with the conditions of the permit;
(b)
the whole consignment conforms to the description as contained in the permit;
(c)
the whole consignment meets with the prescribed standards; and
(d)
the meat products or fish products constituting the consignment are packaged and labelled in the prescribed manner.
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(2) No licensee shall export any meat product or fish product from Singapore to any country, territory or place unless —
(a)
the licensee has obtained a permit from the Director-General in respect of each consignment of meat products or fish products to be exported by him and the export of each such consignment is carried out in accordance with the conditions of the permit;
(b)
the whole consignment to be exported conforms to the description as contained in the permit;
(c)
in the case of a consignment of meat products, the whole consignment has been derived from animals which have been slaughtered in slaughter-houses licensed under this Act or from meat products which have been imported in accordance with this Act;
(d)
the whole consignment has been processed in a processing establishment licensed under this Act;
(e)
in the case of a consignment which requires to be stored in a cold store, the cold store in which the consignment has been or is being stored is licensed under this Act;
(f)
the licensee provides the Director-General with satisfactory evidence that the whole consignment meets with the requirements of the country to which it is being exported; and
(g)
the meat products or fish products constituting the consignment are packaged and labelled in the prescribed manner.
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(3) No licensee shall tranship any meat product or fish product in Singapore unless the licensee has obtained a permit from the Director-General in respect of each consignment of meat products or fish products to be transhipped by him and the transhipment is carried out in accordance with the conditions of the permit.
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(4) Any licensee who contravenes or fails to comply with subsection (1), (2) or (3) 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 12 months or to both and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
(5) Subject to subsection (6), in any proceedings for an offence under subsection (4), it shall be a defence for the person charged to prove —
(a)
that the commission of the offence was due to the act or default of another person or to some other cause beyond his control; and
(b)
that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of such an offence by himself or by any person under his control.
(6) If in any case the defence provided by subsection (5) involves the allegation that the commission of the offence was due to the act or default of another person, the person charged shall not, without leave of the court, be entitled to rely on that defence unless, within a period ending 7 clear days before the hearing, he has served on the prosecutor a notice in writing giving such information as was then in his possession identifying or assisting in the identification of that other person.
(7) In this section, “licensee” means any person who has obtained a licence as required under section 5 for the import, export or transhipment of any meat product or fish product.
7.
—(1) An application for a licence required under section 5 or a permit required under section 6 shall be made to the Director-General in such form or manner as the Director-General may require and shall be accompanied by —
(a)
the prescribed fee;
(b)
such particulars, information and documents as may be specified by the Director-General; and
(c)
if required by the Director-General, a statutory declaration by the applicant verifying any information contained in or relating to the application.
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(2) On receipt of an application under subsection (1), the Director-General may —
(a)
grant the licence or permit applied for, with or without conditions; or
(b)
refuse to grant the licence or permit applied for.
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(3) Where the Director-General has refused to grant a licence or permit under subsection (2)(b), the Director-General shall, if requested to do so by the applicant, state in writing the reasons for his refusal.
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(4) The conditions which the Director-General may impose under subsection (2)(a) include any condition which —
(a)
restricts or prohibits the import of any meat product or fish product from any country, territory or place or any farm, slaughter-house or processing establishment therein; or
(b)
restricts or prohibits the export of any meat product or fish product from Singapore to any country, territory or place.
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(5) The Director-General may at any time vary or revoke any of the existing conditions imposed under subsection (2)(a) or impose new conditions.
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(6) Every licence or permit granted under this section —
(a)
shall be in such form as the Director-General may determine;
(b)
shall be valid for the period stated therein unless it is sooner revoked under section 8; and
(c)
in the case of a licence, may be renewed upon its expiry.
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(7) Subsections (1) to (6) shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to an application for the renewal of a licence.
8.
—(1) The Director-General may suspend or revoke a licence or permit granted under section 7 if he is satisfied that —
(a)
the grant of the licence or permit has been obtained by fraud or misrepresentation;
(b)
the holder of the licence or permit is contravening or has contravened or has failed to comply with —
(i)
any of the provisions of this Act or the rules;
(ii)
any condition of his licence or permit; or
(iii)
any direction given to him by the Director-General or an authorised officer under this Act or the rules; or
(c)
it is in the public interest to suspend or revoke the licence or permit.
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(2) The Director-General shall, before suspending or revoking the licence or permit under subsection (1), give to the holder of the licence or permit notice in writing of his intention to do so and shall in such notice call upon the holder of the licence or permit to show cause within such time as may be specified in the notice as to why his licence or permit should not be suspended or revoked.
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(3) If the holder of the licence or permit —
(a)
fails to show cause within the period of time given to him to do so or such extended period of time as the Director-General may allow; or
(b)
fails to show sufficient cause,
the Director-General shall give notice in writing to the holder of the licence or permit of the date from which the suspension or revocation of his licence or permit is to take effect.
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9.
—(1) Any person who is aggrieved by —
(a)
the imposition of any condition by the Director-General upon granting or renewing a licence or upon granting a permit under section 7;
(b)
the refusal of the Director-General to grant or renew a licence or to grant a permit under section 7; or
(c)
the decision of the Director-General to suspend or revoke a licence or permit under section 8,
may, within 7 days of the date of receipt of the notice informing him of the imposition of conditions, refusal, suspension or revocation, as the case may be, appeal in writing to the Minister whose decision shall be final.
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(2) Notwithstanding that any appeal under subsection (1) is pending —
(a)
any condition imposed by the Director-General upon granting or renewing a licence or upon granting a permit under section 7; or
(b)
the suspension or revocation of a licence or permit under section 8,
shall take effect from the date specified in the notice by the Director-General therefor, unless the Minister otherwise orders.
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(3) Upon the suspension or revocation of a licence or permit, the holder of the licence or permit shall surrender the licence or permit to the Director-General within the time specified in the notice referred to in subsection (1), failing which the holder of the licence or permit 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 12 months or to both.
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10.
—(1) Any person who has imported any meat product or fish product into Singapore or who intends to export any meat product or fish product from Singapore shall forthwith arrange, at his own expense, for the meat product or fish product to be inspected, examined and certified by an authorised examiner before it is sold or distributed or exported, as the case may be.
(2) Where any meat product or fish product which has been inspected and examined by an authorised examiner under subsection (1) is found by the authorised examiner to be diseased, adulterated or otherwise unfit for human consumption —
(a)
the authorised examiner shall issue to the person who imported or who intends to export the meat product or fish product a certificate stating his finding; and
(b)
the person who imported, or who intends to export, the meat product or fish product shall, at his own expense and within the prescribed time —
(i)
in the case of an imported meat product or fish product, remove the meat product or fish product from Singapore or destroy or otherwise dispose of the meat product or fish product in the prescribed manner; or
(ii)
in the case of any meat product or fish product which is intended for export, destroy or otherwise dispose of the meat product or fish product in the prescribed manner.
(3) Where a person who has imported, or who intends to export, any meat product or fish product fails to comply with subsection (1) or (2)(b), he 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 12 months or to both.
(4) Where a person to whom paragraph (b) of subsection (2) applies fails to comply with that paragraph, any authorised officer may take such steps as he thinks fit to secure the removal, destruction or disposal of the meat product or fish product and recover any costs and expenses reasonably incurred by him from that person.
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