On 26/05/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 26/05/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 26/05/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 02/01/2011.
19.
—(1) Subject to this section, no person shall, on or after the grant or renewal of a permit under section 21, receive on behalf or for the purposes of any newspaper to which this Part applies any funds from a foreign source without the prior approval of the Minister.
(2) The Minister may grant such approval if he is satisfied, on such information as he may require to be furnished to him, that the funds from a foreign source are intended for bona fide commercial purposes.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1) where any funds from a foreign source are sent to a person without his prior knowledge, consent or solicitation and the funds are intended for or given by the donor for the purposes of the newspaper, that person shall, within 3 days of the receipt thereof, report the circumstances and particulars of the receipt of the funds and the purposes for which the funds were received to the Minister.
(4) Where funds from a foreign source have been received by a person for the purposes of the newspaper under subsection (3) and the Minister refuses his approval for the retention of those funds, the person shall, within such time as is specified by the Minister —
(a)
return them to the sender thereof; or
(b)
if the sender cannot be traced, the funds shall be donated to any charity specified by the Minister.
(5) In this section —
“foreign source” includes —
(a)
the government of a country outside Singapore or the agent of any such government, whether resident in Singapore or otherwise;
(b)
any company, association or society incorporated or constituted under any law in force outside Singapore whether or not it has a branch office or place of business in Singapore;
(c)
any person who is not a citizen of Singapore whether or not he is resident in Singapore;
(d)
any —
(i)
body corporate formed or incorporated in Singapore, one or more of whose members or directors are not citizens of Singapore, or in the case of a member being another company, where one or more of the members or directors of such company are not citizens of Singapore; or
(ii)
unincorporated association or body constituted under any law in force in Singapore, one or more of whose members or directors are not citizens of Singapore, or in the case of a member being another company, where one or more of the members or directors of such company are not citizens of Singapore,
as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare to be a foreign source for the purposes of this section; or
(e)
such other source outside Singapore as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare to be a foreign source for the purposes of this section;
“funds” means money, securities, movable or immovable property or other valuable consideration;
“funds from a foreign source”, with its grammatical variations, includes funds provided by a foreign source indirectly through any agent of the foreign source.
[20/2002]
(6) Nothing in this section shall apply to any dealing by any person in the shares of a newspaper company quoted on a stock exchange in Singapore.
(7) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with subsection (1), (3) or (4) 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 3 years or to both and the Court may, in addition to any other penalty that it may impose, order the forfeiture to the Government of any funds which are the subject of the charge.
[20/2002]
(8) Any journalist who, having received any funds from a foreign source for printing or publishing any news item or article or for adopting a particular line or bias in respect of any news item or article, fails to report in writing within 7 days to the managing director of his newspaper company the receipt of those funds shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to the penalty prescribed by section 35.
(9) Any funds received from outside Singapore by a journalist shall be presumed to be from a foreign source unless proved to the contrary.
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