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Legal Matters
Police Notaries
Public Not
illegal for security guards to hold NRIC
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Copyright © 2002
Andrew Reeves |
Drug Abuse
Drug
abuse is viewed seriously in Singapore. The death penalty is mandatory
for those convicted of trafficking, manufacturing, importing or
exporting more than any one of the following: - 15g of
heroin
30g of cocaine - 30g of
morphine
500g of cannabis - 1.2kg of
opium
200g of cannabis resin
Possession of such quantities is deemed as prima facie evidence of
trafficking.
Those convicted of unauthorised drug consumption face maximum
imprisonment of 10 years, fine of S$20,000 or both. Littering There are laws in place to discourage
littering. A carelessly thrown tissue could result in a S$1,000 fine for
first offenders, and up to S$2,000 fine and a stint of corrective work
order cleaning a public place for repeat offenders. Smoking Smoking is banned on public buses, in
taxis, lifts, theatres, government offices, cinemas, shopping centres
and covered areas. First time offenders may be fined up to a maximum of
S$1000. Smoking is not prohibited in air-conditioned pubs, discos,
karaoke bars and nightspots.
-
Smoking ban to cover more public places from 1 Oct 2005
| Excerpt of a
letter by Billy CHEW, signing for Permanent Secretary, Ministry
of the Environment, to The Straits Times of 29 Sep 2000
"..It is an offence
under the law to take a lighted cigarette into the lift, even if
the person is not smoking it.
"To state this
clearly, the Ministry of the Environment is in the process of
standardising all smoking signs in lifts to that which shows a
lighted cigarette with a slash across.
"This year, so far,
our officers have apprehended 400 offenders who smoked in places
where smoking is prohibited. Our officers will continue to be on
the lookout for those who blatantly flout the law...." |
Common
Driving Offences & their prescribed punishment TYPE OF
OFFENCE
APPLICABLE
LAW
PUNISHMENT
| Speeding |
Section 63 of the
Road Traffic Act |
Fine up to S$1000
or jail up to 3 months; and on subsequent conviction, fine up to
S$2000 or jail up to 6 months. Disqualification from driving. |
| Reckless/dangerous
driving |
Section 64 of the
Road Traffic Act |
Fine up to S$3000
or jail up to 12 months, or both. Subsequently, fine up to
S$5000 or jail up to 2 years, or both. Disqualification from
driving. |
| Driving without due
care and attention, or without reasonable consideration |
Section 65 of the
Road Traffic Act |
Fine up to S$1000
or jail up to 6 months, or both. Subsequently, fine up to S$2000
or jail up to 12 months, or both. Disqualification from driving. |
| Use of mobile phone
while driving |
Section 65B of the
Road Traffic Act |
Fine up to S$1000
or jail up to 6 months, or both. Subsequently, fine up to S$2000
or jail up to 12 months, or both. Disqualification from driving. |
| Causing death by
reckless or dangerous driving |
Section 66 of the
Road Traffic Act |
Jail up to 5 years.
Disqualification from driving. |
| Drink driving |
Section 67 of the
Road Traffic Act |
Fine between S$1000
and S$5000, or jail up to 6 months. Subsequently, fine between
S$3000 and S$10000, and jail up to 12 months. Disqualification
from driving. |
| Causing the death
of any person by a rash or negligent act |
Section 304A of the
Penal Code |
Jail up to 2 years
or fine or both. Disqualification from driving. |
| Rash or negligent
driving |
Section 279 of the
Penal Code |
Jail up to 6 months
or fine up to S$1000, or both. Disqualification from driving. |
The Penal Code
-
The Penal Code (Amendment) Bill passed
NEWS SNIPPETS
2008
2007
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MediaCorp Radio settles fine for breaching the Radio
Programme Code |
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MediaCorp Radio has paid a $5,000 fine
imposed by the Media Development Authority (MDA) for airing a discussion
on a sex-related topic during Class 95FM's "The Morning Express"
programme in August this year. |
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The programme, aired between 7am to 8am
on 21 August 2007, contained a prolonged discussion between the DJs
on "whether men and women should make noise during sex" and "whether
noisy men turn women off"... |
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More..... |
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More reported cases of tricksters impersonating
government officers |
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Confidence tricksters continue to use the
"Kidnap Hoax Scam" with 9 cases reported between 1 and 29 November 07
and 19 cases reported between 1 and 6 Dec 07... |
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Another ruse used by the cheats is to
impersonate themselves as police officers or staff from the Supreme
Court... |
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This method of cheating surfaced in
September 07 which prompted police to alert members of public. As of 6
December 07, a total of 224 reports were received. The culprits were
unsuccessful in 195 cases, but in 29 cases the victims were cheated of
more than S$275,500 cash... |
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More..... |
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Taxi
enforcement update |
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In enforcement operations conducted over a
13 day period, 14 errant taxi drivers were nabbed at several spots such
as Boat Quay, CHIJMES, Clarke Quay, Mustafa Centre, Orchard Towers and
Shenton Way. |
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Of these, 6 taxi drivers were found
overcharging and 8 were caught for refusing to convey passengers. None
was found touting... |
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More..... |
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New foreign workforce measures to meet strong market
demand |
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With effect from 1 January 2008, the S Pass
quota for all sectors will be increased from 15% to 25%. The new S Pass
quota will come entirely from companies' Work Permit quota which will be
increased for all sectors. Companies can therefore employ more S Pass
holders, in lieu of Work Permit holders, hence improving the quality of
their foreign workforce... |
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To strengthen our
global talent attraction and retention efforts, refinements will be made
to the PEP scheme. Foreign professionals whose last drawn fixed monthly
salary overseas was at least S$7,000 will be eligible for a PEP. The PEP
will also be granted to former P1 Employment Pass holders upon
application. |
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These changes
will take effect from 1 March 2008. Existing and new P1 pass holders
working in Singapore that apply for the PEP ahead of the 2-year
requirement will be accorded in-principle approval. They can apply to
take up the PEP at the end of 2 years on their current P1 pass... |
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More..... |
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Use of outdoor display areas (ODA) by HDB shop
retailers |
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Since 17 Oct 07, HDB, SCDF and NEA have been
mounting joint inspections with the Town Councils to enforce the ODA
guidelines. Sixteen joint inspections, one in each of the 16 Town
Councils, involving a total of 1,180 commercial units, have been carried
out to-date. |
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Upon the first joint inspection, an average
of 41% of the shops at each site were found to have infringed the ODA
guidelines. Some of the common infringements include installation of
drop-down screens and lack of 1-metre distance between rows of goods... |
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More..... |
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Cosmetic products to be regulated from 1 Jan 2008 |
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Effective from 1 January 2008, all new
products must comply with the ACD requirements and notify HSA prior to
sale. |
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All existing products that are currently
sold in the local market will be given 12 months to notify HSA and to
fully comply with the requirements by 1 Jan 2011... |
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More..... |
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Guidance Programme has helped 6,000 young offenders
since 1997 |
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In his Opening Address, Dr Vivian
Balakrishnan announced the increase of up to 25 per cent in funding for
the 17 social service agencies that are running the Guidance Programme
(GP) - a six-month programme for first-time young offenders to divert
them away from being charged in Court... |
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Towards the end of the 6-month
programme, the social worker will assess the youth’s overall
progress and make an appropriate recommendation to the Police
Investigation Officer. |
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Depending on the risks and needs of the
youth, the programme may be extended for up to
six months. The youth, if he completes the programme successfully,
may be let off with a stern Police warning in lieu of prosecution... |
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More..... |
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Singapore to start video games classification system
in 2008 |
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The Board of Film Censors (BFC) will be
launching a video games classification system next year to provide more
choice for adults while protecting the young. |
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In the interim period, the BFC has decided
to selectively use games rating to enable highly anticipated games to be
launched in Singapore... |
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More..... |
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Chee Siok Chin and John Tan removed from ASEAN Summit
Protected Area |
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At about 6.00 pm today, Chee Siok Chin and
John Tan had walked into Orange Grove Road, which is an area gazetted as
a Protected Area. |
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Police officers deployed along the
stretch of road first engaged the pair at the junction of Orange
Grove Road and Orchard Rd and advised them that they were about to
enter the protected area and that they should not do so... |
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They were warned repeatedly that they had
entered the protected area, and should they refuse to leave, they would
be removed. When they ignored the repeated warnings, and still refused
to leave and continued to move forward, police officers led them into a
police vehicle to bring them out of the protected area... |
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More..... |
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National Registry Of Diseases Bill passed |
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Part II of the Bill establishes the
National Registry of Diseases and sets out its functions. These
include the collection of information on reportable diseases,
establishment of registers, compilation and publication of
statistics, and the provision of information for supporting health
services and national public health policies... |
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Clause 6, in Part III of the Bill,
makes the notification of reportable diseases mandatory for
managers of all healthcare institutions. The burden is placed on
the manager as he has the management and control of the
institution. Very limited data will be required to make a
notification... |
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More..... |
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Stiffer measures to deter errant taxi drivers |
- Stiffer penalties for errant
taxi drivers
- Taxi advisories for the public
- More taxi stands within the
Central Business District (CBD) / Street hail of taxis on CBD
roads disallowed from 1 March 2008
- Enhanced taxi QoS requirements
fully phased in from 1 January 2008
- Taxi Mystery Customer Audit
kicked off
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More..... |
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Regulation of cyber gaming cafes in HDB estates |
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Computer gaming establishments are only
allowed to be set up at shopping, recreational or commercial centres.
This includes HDB Town Centres, which are part commercial and part
residential. |
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In addition, licensees of computer gaming
centres are required not to admit persons below 16 years of age before
6.30 pm on a school day. |
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Further, the licensee has to ensure that
students wearing school uniforms are not admitted into the establishment
at any time, and is not allowed to provide a change of clothes to
students... |
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More..... |
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Police bust illegal Internet cafes in Geylang |
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Police raided 3 internet cafes at in Geylang
on 9 November 07, which resulted in the arrest of 15 men and 3 women
aged between 18 and 47 years old. |
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Acting on information received, Police
quickly established that three Internet cafes along Geylang Lorong 17
and 18 were involved in the provision of illegal online gambling
games... |
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More..... |
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Crackdown on errant taxi drivers |
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Over a five day period from 30 October - 3
November 2007, 26 taxi drivers were found overcharging, seven were found
touting while the rest were caught for refusing to convey passengers, in
enforcement operations conducted at several spots such as Sentosa,
Clarke Quay, Orchard Towers and Boat Quay... |
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More..... |
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MOH starts inquiry into Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare
Centre |
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As the general review into Ren Ci’s past
transactions also disclosed other gaps in corporate governance and
internal controls, MOH commissioned EYA to carry out a more in-depth
evaluation. |
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The follow-up reviews have since identified
some possible irregularities in certain financial transactions involving
Ren Ci and certain external organisations. Hence, MOH is commencing an
Inquiry into Ren Ci to establish a fuller and better understanding of
these irregularities... |
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More..... |
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Lottery scam targets Singaporeans |
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The number of people falling prey to lottery
scam fraudsters remains a concern to Police. In the past month, on
average, 1 Singaporean falls victim to it daily. So far this year, more
than 210 victims have been cheated of over S$2 million... |
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More..... |
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3378 drivers caught speeding on new KPE |
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Since the opening of Phase 1 of the
Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) on 26 October 2007, the speed
cameras installed in the KPE tunnel have captured a total of 3,378
vehicles speeding above the prescribed road speed limit of 70km/h in the
first six days. |
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More..... |
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Travellers to declare currency or bearer negotiable
instruments over S$30,000 |
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From 1 November 2007 onwards, persons who
move into or out of Singapore physical currency1 or bearer
negotiable instruments2 (CBNI) the total value of which
exceeds SGD 30,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) will be
required to give a report by filling up a form and submitting it to the
authorities. |
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The form is available at all checkpoints,
police establishments, Singapore Visitors Centres and branches of
Singapore Post... |
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More..... |
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The Penal Code (Amendment) Bill passed |
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The new section 376C (Commercial sex
with minor under 18 outside Singapore) will have extra-territorial
effect so that it would be an offence for Singapore citizens and
Permanent Residents to solicit or engage in commercial sex with
minors under 18 in other countries...
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Feedback received highlighted concerns over
female sexual abuse of male minors. On further consideration, we accept
that these younger male children could be exploited by older women.
Consequently, we have decided to make it an offence for a woman to
engage in penile penetrative sexual acts with a male minor under 16 and
to have commercial sex with a male minor under 18... |
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Whilst prostitution per se is not an
offence, new section 376B (Commercial sex with minor under 18)
will make it an offence for a person to solicit, communicate or
obtain sexual services from a minor under 18 years of age... |
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More..... |
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6406 cases of voluntarily causing hurt reported in
2006 |
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In 2006, out of the 6,406 VCH cases, Police
initiated action on behalf of the victims in 468 cases, which accounted
for 7.3 % of the VCH cases reported... |
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Police will initiate prosecution into VCH
cases where there is harm to the public interest and safety, and when it
is assessed that the assailant is a bully who is taking advantage of the
weak and vulnerable - especially young children, senior citizens and
physically or mentally-disabled persons... |
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More..... |
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Tricksters impersonating Supreme Court staff and
police officers |
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Police would like to alert the public of a
phone scam where callers impersonate themselves as police officers or
staff from the Supreme Court... |
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Over the past 3 weeks, Police have received
35 reports by victims who have received such calls, of which a victim
have parted with about S$10,000... |
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More..... |
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Secondhand Goods Dealers Act effective from 1 Dec 2007 |
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Under the new Act, only dealers who deal in
secondhand goods that are listed in the Schedule will be regulated. This
will be regardless of whether such dealings take place at a shopfront,
via a makeshift stall or over the Internet. |
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The list of items was drawn up based on
crime data of commonly stolen items. While the existing Act has a wider
list of items, the new regulatory regime has a reduced list which
comprises commonly stolen items. This allows a sharper regulatory focus
in preventing fencing1. |
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Dealers who deal in items which are not in
the new list will not be regulated. The list of items may also be
revised according to crime trends... |
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More..... |
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Medical devices in Singapore to be regulated |
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HSA is adopting a phased approach in
implementing the new regulations to minimise the impact to the
supply of medical devices and to provide sufficient time for the
industry to meet the new standards and requirements. The control
measures will be implemented in three phases, starting from 1
November 2007:.. |
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More..... |
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Chee Soon Juan's demonstration outside Istana |
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Upon arrival at the Istana, Police officers
observed that Chee Soon Juan and some of his SDP supporters were staging
a demonstration with various placards at the Istana Park. |
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Police issued repeated warnings against Chee
Soon Juan and four persons who were part of his demonstration group, as
they have contravened the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and
Nuisance) (Prohibition of Assemblies and Processions - Istana) Order... |
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Despite repeated warnings to disperse, Chee
Soon Juan and the others refused to comply and persisted with his
unlawful demonstration. The Police seized the placards and arrested Chee
Soon Juan and others... |
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More..... |
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Proposed exemption from maximum credit card limit |
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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
has issued a consultation paper proposing to exempt card issuers from
complying with the maximum credit limit when issuing credit or charge
cards to individuals with an annual income of at least $120,000 or net
personal assets exceeding $2 million[1]. |
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With the proposed exemption, card issuers
may determine the appropriate credit limits for this higher income group
in line with their assessment of the credit worthiness of these
individuals... |
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More..... |
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Proposed amendments to the Infectious Diseases Act |
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Therefore, we propose to amend the IDA to
empower the Director of Medical Services (DMS) to obtain left-over
samples, and send them for the tests and examinations for the purpose of
monitoring the infectious disease situation in Singapore... |
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The Ministry proposes to expand the IDA to
empower DMS to close any premises as non-food establishments may also be
the source of an outbreak... |
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We propose to amend the IDA so that when
required, the DMS may require medical practitioners as well as other
categories of health care workers (e.g. TCM practitioners, dentists,
pharmacists, etc.) to obtain disease related information from their
patients... |
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MOH proposes to expand the IDA to
address the situation where an individual who, although unaware
that he is HIV-positive, has reason to believe that he has been
exposed to the risk of contracting HIV or AIDS (e.g. by having
unprotected casual sex with multiple partners)... |
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More..... |
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Singapore and UK conclude landmark Open Skies
Agreement |
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Singapore and the United Kingdom (UK) have
concluded a landmark Open Skies Agreement (OSA) on 2 October 2007,
removing all restrictions on air services operated by carriers of both
countries. |
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With this agreement, Singapore Airlines (SIA)
will now be able to operate as many services as the Singapore-UK market
could support... |
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Similarly, UK carriers will be able to
operate any number of services beyond Singapore to any other city
in the world. These rights, which will be effective from end-March
2008, come nearly two decades after Singapore first made its
request to the UK... |
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More..... |
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MAS issues revised property fund guidelines |
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The revised Guidelines are intended to
improve safeguards for investors and to provide greater clarity and
flexibility for commercial transactions... |
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MAS will amend the Securities and Futures
Act (SFA) to include REIT management as a regulated activity... |
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More..... |
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Summary of key amendments to the Penal Code |
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It will be made an offence to engage
in penetrative acts such as oral and anal sex with a minor under
the age of 16, with or without the consent of the minor;
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It will be made an offence to obtain
commercial sex from a minor under the age of 18, or communicate
with any person for such a purpose; and
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A new offence of sexual grooming of
minors under the age of 16 will be introduced... |
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More..... |
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MOM revokes licences of three employment agencies |
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The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has revoked
the licences and forfeited the security deposits of three employment
agencies (EA) - Ms Bushra Employment Agency, CM Manpower Centre Pte Ltd
and Angel Maids Agency. |
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These EAs have breached the Employment
Agencies Act by illegally deploying foreign domestic workers (FDWs)
to perform work at households when they have not obtained valid
work passes1... |
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More..... |
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Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes
(Confiscation of Benefits) Act passed |
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Clause 11
of the Bill makes it mandatory for anyone physically
carrying currency and bearer negotiable instruments or
CBNI, above S$30,000, into or out of Singapore, to
declare this to the authorities at the checkpoints... |
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The threshold amount of
S$30,000 is based on the recommendation by the FATF,
and includes not only currency in circulation, but
also bearer negotiable instruments such as travellers
cheques, money orders, cheques, bonds and promissory
notes... |
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Hence, for clarity, a crossed cheque
made payable to a specific person with the word “bearer” deleted
is not considered a bearer negotiable instrument because only the
person named on the cheque can receive the amount stated on it. |
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The new measure would be
non-discriminatory and will be imposed on all travellers,
including citizens, residents and foreigners, entering and exiting
the country. |
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The penalties for non-declaration and false
declaration are a maximum fine of S$50,000 or a term of imprisonment of
up to 3 years or both... |
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More..... |
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Registration of optometrists and opticians starts in
Sep 2007 |
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In July this year, Parliament passed the
Optometrists & Opticians Act. The Act which aims to raise the standard
of eye care in Singapore will come into effect on 1 January 2008... |
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Applications for registration by the
Optometrists and Opticians Board have just started. Optometrists
and opticians are advised to apply for registration before 15
December 2007, in order to continue practising as optometrists or
opticians from January 2008... |
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More..... |
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Employer-financed insurance for medical expenses of
foreign workers |
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The Ministry of Manpower will require
employers to purchase and maintain insurance for the medical expenses of
foreign workers from 1 January 2008. |
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This requirement is being implemented in
tandem with the withdrawal of healthcare subsidies for foreigners1,
which was previously announced by the Ministry of Health. The
requirement will apply to: |
- All new and existing foreign workers
on Work Permit or S Pass from 1 January 2008.
- All new foreign domestic workers, and
existing foreign domestic workers when employers renew their Work
Permits, from 1 January 2008.
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More..... |
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The Private Security Industry Bill 2007 passed |
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"Should a private investigator or security
officer be charged with or convicted of a prescribed offence which makes
his continued employment as a private investigator or security officer
undesirable, his licence can be suspended with immediate effect. This
power is provided in Clause 24(5) of the Bill. |
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"With the introduction of the licensing
schemes for security officers and private investigators, more than 500
private investigators and 30,000 security officers will need to apply
for a licence..." |
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More..... |
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Drug addiction situation in Singapore |
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"The drug addiction situation in Singapore
is under control, even though 999 drug abusers were arrested in the
first half of this year, compared to 446 over the same period last year. |
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"Of the total number of abusers arrested,
Buprenorphine abusers formed the majority, at 41%, with heroin abusers
at 30% and synthetic drug abusers at 25%. |
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"One reason for the increase of 553 abusers
is that the Central Narcotics Bureau gazetted Buprenorphine as a
controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act in August last year..." |
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More..... |
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Proposed amendments to the Human Organ Transplant Act |
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"Following the recent ruling by the Fatwa
Committee of MUIS that Muslims can be included under the Human Organ
Transplant Act (HOTA), the Ministry of Health intends to amend HOTA to
improve the access of Muslim patients to donated organs... |
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"MOH proposes to amend the HOTA to include,
upon death, Muslims who are Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents
(PR) between the ages of 21 and 60 years, who are of sound mind, and who
have not opted out... |
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"The inclusion of Muslims under HOTA is
expected to provide up to five additional organ donors per year
(yielding up to 10 kidneys, 10 corneas, 5 livers and 5 hearts)..." |
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More..... |
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Significant changes to the CPF system |
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"By 2012, we will require employers to offer re-employment to workers
reaching 62, up to age 65, and eventually to 67. This change will
precede the raising of the Draw Down Age (DDA). By 2012, employers
will be required to offer re-employment up to age 65 but the DDA to
65 will only be effected in 2018 – a significant time lag to help
workers and employers adjust... |
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"1% additional bonus interest will be
paid on the first $60,000 in a CPF member's combined accounts, with not more than
$20,000 from the OA accounts. This will enhance CPF's existing
risk-free framework... |
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"While our employment rates are among the highest in the world, our
residents are also among the longest living. The present DDA of 62
years is hence too early and results in the majority of members
prematurely depleting their savings. Thus, we will do the following: a.
progressively raise draw down age.. |
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"Even after changes to DDA, there will be those who live longer than
85. We want to ensure that they have a stream of income for life. The Government will therefore be looking at making annuities
compulsory for members to protect them against outliving their
retirement savings... |
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More..... |
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Sleight Of hand culprit nabbed |
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On 19 August 2007 at about 3.15pm, an
Iranian man was arrested for an offence of theft by sleight of hand. The
man had earlier managed to steal money from foreigners by asking to see
their foreign currency. |
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More..... |
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Singapore Law