On 19/06/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 19/06/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 19/06/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 30/12/2000.
40.
—(1) The President may, from time to time, appoint one or more committees comprising not less than 4 members of the Council to be known as Disciplinary Committees to inquire into —
(a)
any complaint or matter in respect of which the Minister or the Council has under section 39 ordered that an inquiry be held by a Disciplinary Committee; or
(b)
any matter referred to it under section 33(3).
(2) A Disciplinary Committee may be appointed in connection with one or more matters or for a fixed period of time, as the President may think fit.
(3) The chairman or a member of a Complaints Committee which inquired into a complaint or matter shall not be a member of a Disciplinary Committee inquiring into the same complaint or matter.
(4) The President shall appoint a member of a Disciplinary Committee to be the chairman of the Disciplinary Committee.
(5) The President may at any time revoke the appointment of any Disciplinary Committee or may remove any member of a Disciplinary Committee or fill any vacancy in a Disciplinary Committee.
(6) No act done by or under the authority of a Disciplinary Committee shall be invalid in consequence of any defect that is subsequently discovered in the appointment or qualification of the members or any of them.
(7) A member of a Disciplinary Committee shall, notwithstanding that he has ceased to be a member of the Council on the expiry of his term of office, continue to be a member of the Disciplinary Committee until such time the Disciplinary Committee has completed its work.
41.
—(1) The Council shall appoint an observer from a panel of lay persons nominated by the Minister to observe the proceedings of a Disciplinary Committee.
(2) The observer shall not vote on any question or matter to be decided by the Disciplinary Committee and need not be present at every meeting of the Disciplinary Committee.
42.
—(1) Before a Disciplinary Committee commences an inquiry into any complaint or matter referred to it, the Registrar shall serve on the registered dentist concerned a notice of inquiry in the prescribed form.
(2) An inquiry shall not be fixed on a date earlier than 28 days after the date of the notice of inquiry except with the agreement of the registered dentist.
(3) On application to the Disciplinary Committee, the registered dentist may request postponement of the inquiry, and the Disciplinary Committee may, in its discretion, grant the application and postpone the inquiry to such date as it may determine, or refuse the application.
43.
—(1) A Disciplinary Committee shall meet at such times and places as its chairman may appoint.
(2) All the members of a Disciplinary Committee shall be personally present to constitute a quorum for a meeting of the Disciplinary Committee.
(3) All members of a Disciplinary Committee present at any meeting thereof shall vote on any question arising at the meeting and such question shall be determined by a majority of votes and, in the case of an equality of votes, the chairman shall have a casting vote.
(4) A Disciplinary Committee shall not be bound to act in any formal manner and shall not be bound by the provisions of the Evidence Act (Cap. 97) or by any other written law relating to evidence, but may inform itself on any matter in such manner as it thinks fit.
(5) A Disciplinary Committee may appoint an advocate and solicitor for the purpose of an inquiry and pay to the advocate and solicitor, as part of the expenses of the Council, such remuneration as the Council may determine.
(6) The registered dentist concerned may appear in an inquiry in person or be represented by counsel.
(7) If the registered dentist does not appear, the Disciplinary Committee may proceed with the inquiry after first satisfying itself that the notice of inquiry referred to in section 42 was duly served on him.
(8) A Disciplinary Committee may, for the purposes of its inquiry, administer an oath or affirmation to any person giving evidence before it, and any party to the proceedings may sue out writs of subpoena ad testificandum and of duces tecum.
(9) The writs referred to in subsection (8) shall be served and may be enforced as if they were writs issued in connection with a civil action in the High Court.
(10) Any person giving evidence before a Disciplinary Committee shall be legally bound to tell the truth.
(11) Persons giving evidence in an inquiry shall have the same privileges and immunities in relation to an inquiry as if it was a proceeding in a court of law.
(12) The hearing of an inquiry shall be in camera.
(13) A Disciplinary Committee shall carry out its work expeditiously and may apply to the Council for an extension of time and for directions to be given to the Disciplinary Committee if the Disciplinary Committee fails to make its finding and order within 6 months from the date of its appointment.
(14) When an application for an extension of time has been made under subsection (13), the Council may grant an extension of time for such period as it thinks fit.
(15) In sections 172, 173, 174, 175, 177, 179, 182 and 228 of the Penal Code (Cap. 224), “public servant” shall be deemed to include a member of a Disciplinary Committee holding an inquiry, and in sections 193 and 228 of the Penal Code, “judicial proceeding” shall be deemed to include such an inquiry.
44.
—(1) Where, upon due inquiry into a complaint or matter, a Disciplinary Committee is satisfied that the registered dentist concerned —
(a)
has been convicted in Singapore or elsewhere of any offence involving fraud or dishonesty;
(b)
has been convicted in Singapore or elsewhere of any offence implying a defect in character which makes him unfit for his profession;
(c)
has been guilty of such improper act or conduct which, in the opinion of the Disciplinary Committee, brings disrepute to his profession; or
(d)
has been guilty of professional misconduct,
the Disciplinary Committee may —
(i)
direct the Registrar to remove the name of the registered dentist from the register;
(ii)
suspend the registration of the registered dentist for a period of not more than 3 years;
(iii)
impose on the registered dentist a penalty not exceeding $5,000;
(iv)
censure the registered dentist; or
(v)
make such other order as it thinks fit.
(2) Where the Disciplinary Committee is satisfied that the registered dentist has not been convicted or guilty of any of the matters referred to in subsection (1)(a) to (d), the Disciplinary Committee shall order that the complaint or matter be dismissed.
(3) The Registrar shall serve on the registered dentist concerned and the person who made the complaint or gave the information, if any, a notice of the order made by the Disciplinary Committee.
(4) Subject to subsection (5), an order referred to in subsection (1) shall not take effect until the expiration of 30 days after the order is made.
(5) On making an order referred to in subsection (1)(i) or (ii), the Disciplinary Committee, if satisfied that to remove the name of the registered dentist concerned from the register or to suspend his registration, as the case may be, is necessary for the protection of members of the public or would be in the best interests of the registered dentist, may order that the Registrar forthwith remove his name from the register or that his registration be suspended, as the case may be.
(6) An order under subsection (5) shall take effect from the time the order is made.
(7) While an order under subsection (1)(ii) remains in force, the person concerned shall not be regarded as being registered as a dentist for the purposes of this Act notwithstanding that his name still appears in the register.
45.
—(1) Where, upon due inquiry into the complaint or matter, a Disciplinary Committee is satisfied that the registered dentist concerned has been convicted or guilty of any of the matters set out in section 44(1)(a) to (d), the Disciplinary Committee may order the registered dentist to pay to the Council such sums as it thinks fit in respect of costs and expenses of and incidental to the inquiry, and the High Court shall have jurisdiction to tax such sums.
(2) An order referred to in subsection (1) shall be enforceable as if it were ordered in connection with a civil action in the High Court.
(3) The Disciplinary Committee in ordering that costs be paid by the registered dentist may certify that costs for more than one solicitor be paid if it is satisfied that the issues involved in the proceedings are of sufficient complexity, and the certification by the Disciplinary Committee shall have the same effect as if it were a certification by a judge in a civil action in the High Court.
(4) The costs and expenses referred to in subsection (1) shall include —
(a)
the costs and expenses of any advocate and solicitor appointed under section 43(5), and the costs and expenses of an assessor referred to in section 57, in respect of the inquiry;
(b)
such reasonable expenses as the Council may pay to witnesses; and
(c)
such reasonable expenses as are necessary for the conduct of the inquiry.
46.
—(1) Where, in the course of its inquiry, it appears to a Disciplinary Committee that the fitness of the registered dentist concerned to practise dentistry may be impaired by reason of his physical or mental condition, the Disciplinary Committee may refer that question to the Health Committee for determination.
(2) If, on a reference under this section, the Health Committee determines that the fitness of the registered dentist to practise dentistry is not impaired by reason of his condition, the Health Committee shall certify its opinion to the Disciplinary Committee.
(3) If, on a reference under this section, the Health Committee determines that the fitness of the registered dentist to practise dentistry is impaired by reason of his condition, the Health Committee shall certify its opinion to the Disciplinary Committee and shall proceed to dispose of the case in accordance with Division 3.
47.
—(1) Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Disciplinary Committee referred to in section 44(1) or (2) may, within 30 days after the service on him of the notice of the order, appeal to the High Court against the order.
(2) There shall be no appeal from the decision of the High Court.
(3) In any appeal to the High Court against a decision referred to in section 44(1) or (2), the High Court shall accept as final and conclusive any finding of the Disciplinary Committee relating to any issue of ethics or standards of professional conduct unless such finding is in the opinion of the High Court unsafe, unreasonable or contrary to the evidence.
(4) Notwithstanding anything in section 44, where a person has appealed to the High Court against an order referred to in section 44(1), the order shall not take effect unless the order is confirmed by the High Court or the appeal is for any reason dismissed by the High Court or withdrawn.