On 18/06/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 18/06/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 18/06/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 01/03/2012.
PART II
ACQUISITION
Preliminary investigation
3.
—(1) Whenever it appears to the President that land in any locality is likely to be needed for any purpose specified in section 5(1), a notification to that effect shall be published in the Gazette and the Collector shall cause public notice of the substance of the notification to be given at convenient places in that locality, and thereupon any officer either generally or specially authorised by the Minister in that behalf and any person authorised in writing by that officer may —
(a)
enter upon and survey and take levels of any land in that locality;
(b)
dig or bore into the soil;
(c)
do all other acts necessary to ascertain whether the land is suitable for such purpose;
(d)
set out the boundaries of the land proposed to be taken and the intended line of the work, if any, proposed thereon;
(e)
mark those levels, boundaries and line by placing marks and cutting trenches; and
(f)
cut down and clear away any standing crop, fence or jungle, where otherwise the survey cannot be completed, the levels taken or the boundaries or line of the work marked.
(2) No person shall enter into any building or upon any enclosed court or garden attached to a dwelling-house unless with the consent of the occupier thereof, without previously giving the occupier at least 7 days’ notice in writing of his intention to do so.
(3) A notification made under this section in respect of any land in any locality shall cease to have effect on the expiration of 12 months from the date of its publication but nothing in this subsection shall be construed to preclude a further exercise of the powers conferred upon the President by this section or by section 5 in respect of such land.
[66/73]
4.
—(1) Where any damage is done in an entry made under section 3 by any act of the officer authorised under that section or person authorised in writing by that officer, compensation shall be paid as soon as conveniently may be after such entry and in case of dispute as to the amount of such compensation, the amount shall be determined by the Collector.
(2) An appeal shall lie from the determination of the Collector under this section to the Minister whose decision shall be final.
Declaration of intended acquisition
5.
—(1) Whenever any particular land is needed —
(a)
for any public purpose;
(b)
by any person, corporation or statutory board, for any work or an undertaking which, in the opinion of the Minister, is of public benefit or of public utility or in the public interest; or
(c)
for any residential, commercial or industrial purposes,
the President may, by notification published in the Gazette, declare the land to be required for the purpose specified in the notification.
(2) Such a notification shall state —
(a)
the town subdivision or mukim in which the land is situated;
(b)
the lot number of the land, its approximate area and all other particulars necessary for identifying it; and
(c)
if a plan has been made of the land, the place and time where and when the plan may be inspected.
(3) The notification shall be conclusive evidence that the land is needed for the purpose specified therein as provided in subsection (1).
6. Upon the publication of a notification under section 5(1) declaring that any land is needed for the purpose specified in the notification, the Minister or an officer authorised by the Minister in that behalf shall direct the Collector to take proceedings for the acquisition of the land.
7.
—(1) Where less than the whole of any land in which a person is interested is to be acquired, and there is no plan sufficient to identify the part of the land to be acquired from the records of the Registry of Deeds or the Land Titles Registry of the Singapore Land Authority, the Collector shall, so far as is practicable, prepare a plan that is sufficient to identify the part of the land to be acquired from the records of the Registry of Deeds or the Land Titles Registry, as the case may be.
(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply if the part of the land to be acquired has already been marked out under section 3.
8.
—(1) The Collector shall then cause a notice to be published in at least 4 daily local newspapers circulating in Singapore, one each in each of the 4 official languages, stating —
(a)
that the Government intends to acquire the land; and
(b)
that claims to compensation for all interests in the land may be made to him.
[Act 2 of 2012 wef 01/03/2012]
(2) The Collector shall also serve notice to the same effect on —
(a)
every person known or believed to be interested in the land and who —
(i)
is resident within Singapore; or
(ii)
is resident outside Singapore at an address that is ascertainable after reasonable inquiry; or
(b)
any person known or believed to be entitled to act for a person so interested and who —
(i)
resides, or is authorised to receive service on behalf of the person so interested, within Singapore; or
(ii)
resides, or is authorised to receive service on behalf of the person so interested, outside Singapore at an address that is ascertainable after reasonable inquiry.
(3) Every notice published under subsection (1) or served under subsection (2) —
(a)
shall state the particulars of the land; and
(b)
shall require all persons interested in the land —
(i)
to appear personally or by any person authorised in writing in that behalf before the Collector at the time and place mentioned in the notice, such time being not earlier than 21 days after the date of the notice; and
(ii)
to state the nature of their respective interests in the land, the amount and particulars of their claims to compensation for those interests, the basis or mode of valuation by which the amount claimed is arrived at, and their objections, if any, to the measurements in any plan prepared under section 7.
[Act 2 of 2012 wef 01/03/2012]
(4) The Collector may, in any case, require any statement under subsection (3) to be made in writing and signed by the party or his agent.
9.
—(1) The Collector may also require any such person to deliver to him within a time to be specified, being not less than 15 days, a statement in writing containing, so far as may be practicable, the name of every other person possessing any interest in the land or any part thereof as co-owner, mortgagee, lessee, sub-lessee, tenant or otherwise, and of the nature of that interest, and of the rents and profits, if any, received or receivable on account thereof for 3 years next preceding the date of the statement.
(2) Every person required to make or deliver a statement under section 8 or this section shall be deemed to be legally bound to do so within the meaning of sections 175 and 176 of the Penal Code [Cap. 224].
Inquiry into measurements, value and claims, and award by Collector
10.
—(1) On the day so fixed, or on any other day to which the inquiry has been adjourned, the Collector shall proceed to inquire into the objections, if any, which any person interested has stated, pursuant to a notice published under section 8(1) or served under section 8(2), to any plan prepared under section 7 (if any) and into the value of the land and into the respective interests of the persons claiming the compensation, and shall, as soon as possible after the conclusion of the inquiry, make an award under his hand of —
(a)
the area of the land;
(b)
the compensation which in his opinion should be allowed for the land; and
(c)
the apportionment of the compensation among all the persons known or believed to be interested in the land, of whom or of whose claims he has information, whether or not they have respectively appeared before him.
[Act 2 of 2012 wef 01/03/2012]
(2) The Collector may at any time refer to the High Court for its determination any question as to —
(a)
the true construction or validity or effect of any instrument;
(b)
the persons entitled to a right or interest in the land;
(c)
the extent or nature of such a right or interest;
(d)
the apportionment of the compensation or any part thereof for such a right or interest;
(e)
the persons to whom the compensation or any part thereof is payable;
(f)
the costs of any inquiry under this Act and the persons by whom the costs shall be borne.
(3) Without prejudice to the powers of the High Court, the costs of any reference under subsection (2) shall be borne by such persons as the High Court may direct or, in the absence of any such direction, by the Collector.
(4) Where the Collector who has proceeded under this section to inquire into the objections of any person interested ceases for any reason to hold office as Collector at any time before the making of an award under this section, any other officer who is a Collector may in his discretion continue the inquiry or hold a fresh inquiry. For the purpose of this subsection, the Collector who continues the inquiry of a Collector who has ceased to hold office may act on the evidence recorded by the latter.
[66/73]
(5) Where a Collector who has made an award under this section ceases for any reason to hold office as a Collector before lodging his grounds of award under section 23, any other officer who is a Collector may, if the notice of appeal is lodged under section 23, lodge such grounds of award on behalf of the Collector who has ceased to hold office.
[66/73]
11.
—(1) The Collector’s award shall be filed in his office and shall, except as hereinafter provided, be final and conclusive evidence as between the Collector and the persons interested, whether they have respectively appeared before the Collector or not, of the area and value of the land and the apportionment of the compensation among the persons interested.
(2) The Collector shall serve a copy of his award on all persons interested provided that their addresses can be ascertained after reasonable inquiry when the award is made.
Effect of failure to comply with section 7
12. Where at any inquiry held under section 10 no objection has been made by any person interested that section 7 has not been properly complied with, the award made in the inquiry shall not be questioned in any appeal before the Board or in any court on the ground —
(a)
that section 7 has not been properly complied with;
(b)
that any notice published under section 8(1) or served under section 8(2) is in any way defective by reason of any failure by the Collector to comply with section 7; or
[Act 2 of 2012 wef 01/03/2012]
(c)
that the award does not purport to state the area of the land to which it relates in accordance with section 10(1)(a).
13. The Collector may, for any cause he thinks fit, from time to time adjourn the inquiry to a day to be fixed by him.
14. For the purpose of inquiries under this Act, the Collector shall have power to summon and enforce the attendance of witnesses, including the parties interested or any of them, and to compel the production of documents by the same means, and, so far as may be, in the same manner, as is provided in the case of a court under the Rules of Court for the time being in force.
15. In determining the amount of compensation, the Collector shall take into consideration the matters mentioned in section 33 and shall not take into consideration any of the matters mentioned in section 34.
Taking possession
16.
—(1) When the Collector has made an award under section 10, he may take possession of the land by posting thereupon an appropriate notice.
(2) Upon taking possession of the land under subsection (1), the Collector shall also serve a copy of the notice upon the persons interested in the land.
17.
—(1) In cases of urgency, whenever the Minister directs him to do so, the Collector, though no such award had been made, may on the expiration of 7 days from the later of the date of the notice published under section 8(1) or the date of the notice served under section 8(2), take possession of any land needed for any of the purposes specified in section 5(1).
[Act 2 of 2012 wef 01/03/2012]
(2) The Minister may, in his discretion, direct the Collector to take immediate possession of any land which is intended to be acquired under the provisions of this Act without the publication of a notification under section 5(1); but such a notification shall be published not later than 7 days after the Collector has taken possession of the land.
18. Immediately on taking possession of any land under section 16 or 17, the Collector shall —
(a)
in the case of land registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act [Cap. 269], give notice to the Registrar of Deeds who shall make an entry in the books of the registry that the land has vested in the State, and upon that entry being made, the land shall vest in the State free from encumbrances; or
(b)
in the case of land registered under the provisions of the Land Titles Act [Cap. 157], lodge in accordance with section 143(2) of that Act, an instrument of acquisition with the Registrar of Titles who shall, upon a request by the Collector, endorse on the relevant folio of the land register a notification to the effect that the land has become vested in the State as State land free from encumbrances and has ceased to be subject to the provisions of the Land Titles Act, and upon that endorsement being made, the land shall vest in the State free from encumbrances.