On 20/06/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 20/06/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 20/06/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 02/01/2011.
PART VII
ENFORCEMENT POWERS AND PROCEDURES
46.
—(1) The Postal Authority or any officer of the Postal Authority authorised in that behalf may, for the purpose of discharging its functions under this Act, by order —
(a)
require any person to furnish the Postal Authority with any information in his possession which relates to any postal service or postal system; and
(b)
require any person who has in his custody or under his control any document which relates to any postal service or postal system —
(i)
to furnish the Postal Authority with a copy of or extract from the document; or
(ii)
unless the document forms part of the records or other documents of a court or public authority, to transmit the document itself to the Postal Authority for its inspection.
(2) The Postal Authority or any officer authorised by it in that behalf shall be entitled without payment to keep any copy or extract furnished to the Postal Authority under subsection (1).
(3) The Postal Authority or any officer authorised by it in that behalf shall at all reasonable times in the day have full and free access to all buildings, places, books, documents and other papers for the purpose of discharging the Postal Authority’s functions under this Act, and may, without payment, inspect, copy or make extracts from any such books, documents or papers.
(4) The Postal Authority or any officer authorised by it in that behalf may take possession of any books, documents or papers where in the opinion of the Postal Authority —
(a)
the books, documents or papers may be interfered with or destroyed unless possession is taken; or
(b)
the books, documents or papers may be required as evidence in proceedings for an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder.
(5) The rights conferred by this section shall, in relation to information recorded otherwise than in legible form, include the right to require the information to be made available in legible form for inspection or for a copy or extract to be made of or from it.
(5A) The power under this section to require a person to produce a document includes the power —
(a)
if the document is produced, to require such person, or any person who is a present or past officer of his or is or was at any time employed by him, to provide an explanation of the document; or
(b)
if the document is not produced, to require such person to state, to the best of his knowledge and belief, where it is.
(6) Any person who —
(a)
fails to comply with any requirement specified in any order under subsection (1);
(b)
intentionally alters, suppresses or destroys any document which he has been required under subsection (1) to furnish or transmit; or
(c)
in furnishing any information required of him under subsection (1), makes any statement which he knows to be false in a material particular, or recklessly makes any statement which is false in a material particular,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $50 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after conviction.
(6A) If a person is charged with an offence under subsection (6) in respect of a requirement to produce any document or information under subsection (1), it shall be a defence for him to prove that —
(a)
the document was not in his possession or under his control;
(b)
it was not reasonably practicable for him to comply with the requirement; or
(c)
he had a reasonable excuse for failing to provide the information required.
(7) No person shall by virtue of this section be obliged to disclose any particulars as to which he is under any statutory obligation to observe secrecy.
(8) In this section, “document” includes any electronic record within the meaning of the Electronic Transactions Act (Cap. 88).
47.
—(1) Any officer of the Postal Authority deputed by the Postal Authority to act under this section or any police officer may arrest without warrant —
(a)
any person found committing or attempting to commit or employing or aiding any person to commit a seizable offence under this Act; or
(b)
any person against whom a reasonable suspicion exists that he has been guilty of a seizable offence under this Act,
and may search any person so arrested, except that no female shall be searched except by a female.
(2) Every person so arrested shall, together with any article as to which an offence may have been committed or attempted to be committed, be taken to a police station.
(3) For the purposes of this section, offences punishable under sections 28, 31, 34(1) and 35 to 39 shall be deemed to be seizable offences within the meaning of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68).
[34/2007 wef 24/08/2007]
48.
—(1) Whenever it appears to any police officer or any officer of the Postal Authority authorised to act for it under this section that an offence under section 33 is being committed or is about to be committed or attempted or whenever it appears that any article is concealed or deposited or contained in or on any vessel, aircraft or vehicle or premises in contravention of those sections, the police officer or the officer of the Postal Authority may, if he has reasonable grounds for believing that by reason of the delay in obtaining a search warrant the article is likely to be removed —
(a)
stop and examine the vessel, aircraft or vehicle or enter the premises and there search for and take possession of any article and of any book or document which is reasonably believed to have a bearing on the case; and
(b)
arrest any person being in the vessel, aircraft or vehicle or premises in whose possession the article may be found or whom the police officer or the officer of the Postal Authority may reasonably suspect to have concealed or deposited the article and may search any person so arrested, except that no female shall be searched except by a female.
(2) Every person so arrested shall, together with any such article, be taken to a police station.
(3) In this section, “document” has the same meaning as in section 46(8).
48A. Where any letters connected with an offence under section 33 are seized under section 48 or any other written law, the Postal Authority may at any time, whether upon the conclusion of its investigation or otherwise, take such action as it deems appropriate to deliver any such letter to its intended addressee or return it to its sender.
49. Any person who intentionally obstructs a police officer or any officer of the Postal Authority authorised to act for the Postal Authority in the execution of his duty under section 48 shall be guilty of an offence.
No costs or damages or other relief arising from seizure to be recoverable unless seizure without reasonable or probable cause
50.
—(1) No person shall, in any proceedings before any court in respect of any equipment, article, book or document seized in the exercise or the purported exercise of any power conferred under this Act, be entitled to the costs of the proceedings or to any damages or other relief other than an order for the return of the equipment, article, book or document or the payment of their value unless the seizure was made without reasonable or probable cause.
(2) In this section, “document” has the same meaning as in section 46(8).
51.
—(1) An officer or employee of the Postal Authority specially authorised by name in that behalf by the Postal Authority may, in his discretion, compound any offence under this Act which is prescribed as a compoundable offence by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding —
(a)
$5,000; or
(b)
half the maximum fine prescribed for that offence,
whichever is the lower.
(1A) On payment of such sum of money, no further proceedings shall be taken against that person in respect of the offence.
(2) The Postal Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations prescribing the offences which may be compounded.
(3) All sums collected under this section shall be paid to the Postal Authority.
52. Any person guilty of an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder for which no penalty is expressly provided shall, in addition to the forfeiture of any article seized, be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after conviction.
[34/2007 wef 24/08/2007]
53.
—(1) Nothing in this Act shall prevent any person from being prosecuted under any other written law for any act or omission which constitutes an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder, or from being liable under that other written law to any punishment or penalty higher or other than that provided by this Act or the regulations.
(2) No person shall be punished twice for the same offence.
54. A Magistrate’s Court or a District Court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine all offences under this Act and, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68), shall have power to impose the full penalty or punishment in respect of any offence under this Act.
55. Where an offence under this Act or any regulations made thereunder has been committed by a company, firm, society or other body of persons, any person who at the time of the commission of the offence was a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer or a partner of the company, firm, society or other body of persons or was purporting to act in such capacity shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly unless he proves that —
(a)
the offence was committed without his consent or connivance; and
(b)
he exercised all such diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as he ought to have exercised, having regard to the nature of his functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances.