PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

4.47 p.m.

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin (for the Minister for Law and National Development): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The Prevention of Corruption Ordinance, 1960, certain amendments to which have become necessary, itself replaced the 1937 Ordinance with the same title and the Evidence (Special Provisions) Ordinance enacted in 1946. The Bill seeks, first, to make certain changes in terminology in keeping with Singapore's status as a sovereign Republic with her own President and Parliament. These are effected by clauses 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8 of the Bill.

Clause 4 of the Bill amends section 4 of the Ordinance in order to bring the Director and all other officers of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau within the meaning of "public servant" as defined in the Penal Code.

Clause 5 offers a more succinct phrasing of the present section 5 of the Ordinance, while clause 9 seeks to do the same for section 12 (b) of the Ordinance.

Clause 10 extends to the Director and any Assistant Director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau the powers of arrest and investigation, conferred by the existing section 15 only upon the Bureau's senior special investigators and special investigators.

Clause 11 of the Bill will enable officers of the Bureau to exercise all or any of the special powers in relation to police investigations into seizable offences, if any seizable offence under any written law should be disclosed in the course of an investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Ordinance. By such amendment of section 16 of the Ordinance, sections 16A and 16B will become redundant and it is proposed in clause 12 to repeal them. The purpose of clauses 13 and 14 of the Bill is to define more specifically in section 17 of the Ordinance the extent of the special powers of investigation which the Public Prosecutor may confer on the Director, or an Assistant Director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, or any police officer of or above the rank of Assistant Superintendent for the more effective investigation of corrupt practices.

Clauses 15 to 18 extend to the Director and any Assistant Director certain powers of investigation, search, etc., provided under sections 18, 20, 24 and 25 of the Ordinance for special investigators of the Bureau.

Clause 19 seeks to amend section 26 of the Ordinance in order to provide that the abettor of an offence of corruption shall on conviction be liable to be punished with the punishment provided for the offence.

By clause 20 will be enacted two new sections which will make attempts to commit, or conspiracy to commit, any offence under the Ordinance punishable as for the offence itself.

Clause 21 introduces a new section under which a citizen of Singapore committing an offence under the Ordinance outside Singapore will be dealt with in respect of such offence as if he had committed it in Singapore.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Yong Nyuk Lin].

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

4.51 p.m.

Clauses 1 to 3 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 4 -

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

In page 2, lines 17 and 18, to leave out "investigators and special investigators" and insert "investigator and special investigator".

Amendment agreed to.

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

In page 2, line 20, to leave out "officers" and insert "officer".

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 4, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 5 -

The Chairman: May I draw the attention of the House to clause 5? There will be a resetting*. And may I also draw the attention of the House to page 3, lines 6 to 12, in which there will be a reset in order that it may read more accurately?

• The reset, in page 2, lines 29 to 34, is as fo1lows:-

"(b) corruptly give, promise or offer to any person whether for the benefit of that person or of another person, any gratification as an inducement to or reward for, or otherwise on account of -".

Unless any Member wishes to speak on any particular clause from clauses 5 to 21, I shall take the rest of the Bill together.

Clauses 5 to 21 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported with amendments; read a Third time and passed.