PART II
ACQUISITION
Preliminary investigation
Power to enter and survey.
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.
Payment for damage.
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
Notification that land is required
for specific purposes.
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).
Collector to proceed to acquire after
notification.
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.
Plan of land to be
acquired
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.
Notice to persons interested.
8.
—(1)
The
Collector shall then cause notices to be posted at convenient places
on or near the land to be taken 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.
(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 such notice under subsections
(1) and (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.
(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.
Power to require statements as to names
and interests.
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
Inquiry 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 given
under section 8, 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.
(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.
Award of Collector when to be final.
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 posted or served under
section 8 is in any way defective by reason of any failure by the
Collector to comply with section 7; or
(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).
Adjournment of inquiry.
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.
Power to summon and enforce attendance
of witnesses and production of documents.
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.
Matters to be considered and matters
to be disregarded.
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
Power to take 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.
Power to take possession in cases of
urgency.
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 date of the notice under section 8, take possession
of any land needed for any of the purposes specified in section
5 (1).
(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.
Notice to Registrar of Deeds and the
lodging of an instrument with Registrar of Titles.
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, 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
Cap. 269.
(b)
in
the case of land registered under the provisions of the Land Titles
Act, 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.
Cap. 157.