LAND SURVEYORS BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

5.25 p.m.

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

Sir, as it is my intention to refer the Bill to a Select Committee. I shall now explain the reasons motivating the introduction of the Bill and deal only with the salient provisions thereof.

The law in force relating to surveyors is contained in the Surveyors Ordinance (Chapter 201). This Ordinance provides for licensed surveyors to survey land and prepare plans for provisional registration of deeds in the Registry of Deeds. Final surveys and plans, as required by the Registration of Deeds Ordinance (Chapter 255) and by the Land Titles Ordinance, 1956, have to be done by the Survey Department and the plans in respect of these surveys duly certified by the Chief Surveyor. The need for final surveys to be carried out by the Survey Department arose from the lacunae in our law which did not require surveyors to submit their survey records and computations to that Department, nor were they required to demarcate the land surveyed by them with permanent boundary marks. In the past, final surveys of land needed for development by the private sector did not pose too much of a problem. However, the intense development of land over the past few years arising from industrialisation and housing has imposed a mounting burden on the Survey Department.

The increasing volume of survey work has made it desirable for surveys of privately-owned land to be best left to licensed surveyors in the private sector, just as the designing of building for private individuals and firms is generally carried out by architects in private practice. This will thus obviate duplication in survey work and enable purchasers of land in the private sector to obtain their titles to land more expeditiously, apart from enabling the Survey Department to concentrate on survey works for Government departments and bringing up to date litho-production and survey records which are presently unavoidably neglected. Similarly, surveyors attached to Statutory Boards by carrying out final surveys of the Boards' land could thus enable industrialists to obtain their titles expeditiously and assist them to obtain loans on mortgage of properties leased to them by the Boards. The transfer of this function to the licensed surveyors in the private sector, however, necessitates introduction of necessary legislation to control their activities and conduct as in the case of other professional bodies such as the architects, accountants, and advocates and solicitors; hence the Bill now before the House which will also repeal the out-dated Surveyors Ordinance (Chapter 201).

The Bill provides, inter alia, for the constitution of a Land Surveyors Board as outlined in clause 3 thereof and with powers -

(a) to register any person who is not less than 21 years of age and who is resident in Singapore as registered surveyor if he satisfies the Board that -

(i) immediately before the coming into operation of the Act he is a licensed surveyor; or

(ii) he has obtained a certificate of competency issued by the Board after passing the prescribed examination; or

(iii) he has passed a professional examination recognised by the Board and has passed such further examination and has such practical experience in surveying in Singapore as the Board may prescribe;

(b) to refuse to register an applicant who is not, in the opinion of the Board, of good character and reputation;

(c) to order the cancellation of the registration of a registered surveyor in certain circumstances; and

(d) to make rules, with the approval of the Minister, to give effect to the provisions of the Act.

It is an offence under clause 17 of the Bill for any person to make or cause any falsification of the register or to make any false or fraudulent declaration to procure registration. Clause 18 of the Bill also forbids a person who is not a registered surveyor from engaging in practice.

A registered surveyor shall be entitled under the provisions of clause 19 to undertake title surveys. What is a "title survey" is defined in clause 2 of the Bill. Where a registered surveyor is engaged on the title survey of any land in respect of which a deposit for survey fees has been made by an applicant for subdivision of the land under the Planning Ordinance, 1959, he shall be paid the prescribed fees by the Chief Surveyor from such deposit in accordance with any rules made under the Act. This is provided for in clause 20.

A novel feature of this Bill is the requirement laid down in clause 21 that, on completion of a title survey, the registered surveyor who signs the plan thereof shall deposit such plan together with the relevant field books, calculation sheets and survey data with the Survey Department and all such documents shall, if such plan is approved by the Chief Surveyor or other officer appointed by him to approve the same on his behalf, become the property of the Government and shall be filed as permanent survey records.

Clause 23 of the Bill imposes an obligation on a registered surveyor who has prepared and signed any assurance plan to complete the title survey of the land described in such plan within a specified period. A registered surveyor who fails to complete the title survey within the specified period may be liable to disciplinary action and the Board may order another surveyor to complete the work. Any registered surveyor against whom disciplinary action has been taken by the Board, may appeal against the decision of the Board to the High Court. This is provided for in clause 14.

In order to ensure that land surveys by registered surveyors are properly carried out, provision has been made in the Bill for the Chief Surveyor to approve all survey plans or assurance plans prepared by them before such plans can be accepted for the purposes of registration under any written law. Under clause 22, the Chief Surveyor may withhold his approval where no written permission for subdivision has been obtained from the Competent Authority under the Planning Ordinance, 1959. Under clause 24, he is empowered to undertake the correction of any error arising from the work of any registered surveyor and may recover the cost of such correction in certain circumstances.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time.

Resolved,

"That the Bill be committed to a Select Committee consisting of Mr Speaker as Chairman and seven other Members to be nominated by the Committee of Selection."- [Mr Barker].