WHOLESOME MEAT AND FISH BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

The Minister for National Development (Mr Lim Hng Kiang): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Meat and fish are highly perishable products. Unsatisfactory handling or processing can cause rapid spoilage and serious food poisoning. Currently, there are two Acts which regulate the meat and fish industries to ensure that their products are safe for human consumption. These Acts, which were enacted in the 1960s, are:

(a) The Slaughter-houses and Meat Processing Factories Act; and

(b) The Fisheries Act. The provisions of these Acts are no longer adequate and need to be updated.

Rather than amend the relevant sections of the two Acts, it is now more logical to promulgate a new Act to regulate solely the processing and sales of meat and fish meant for human consumption.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, a comprehensive new Wholesome Meat and Fish Bill has therefore been drawn up. The main features of the Bill comprise four areas:

(1) Regulating the import, export and transhipment of meat and fish products;

(2) Licensing of slaughter-houses, processing establishments and cold stores;

(3) Regulating the sale of meat and fish products; and

(4) Improving PPD's operational effectiveness.

I shall now go through and explain the rationale of the main features of the Bill.

Regulating the trade in meat and fish products

Currently, the Fisheries Act adopts a two-tiered control system of licences and permits for traders wishing to import, export or tranship fish products. However, meat traders are not licensed. Provisions have therefore been included in the Bill to harmonise the requirements for the fish and meat trade.

Under clauses 5 and 6 respectively, trading licences and permits for individual consignments will now be required. All meat and fish traders will have to be licensed. The requirement for permits for individual consignments will give PPD the flexibility to impose and enforce sanitary conditions on each consignment so as to prevent the introduction of animal diseases of public health significance such as anthrax or mad-cow disease into Singapore.

Provisions have also been included to enhance the transparency of licensing procedures. This also allows Singapore to fulfil its WTO obligations. Clause 8 enables the Director of Primary Production to deny anyone an import licence, or to impose restrictions on the trade if he considers it necessary to safeguard public health. It, however, also requires the Director to provide the applicant with written reasons if he refuses to issue or renew the licence or permit applied for under the Act. Clause 9 allows any person aggrieved by the decision of the Director regarding the grant, renewal, suspension or revocation of a licence or permit, to appeal to the Minister.

Licensing of slaughter-houses, processing establishments and cold stores

Clauses 11 and 12 require the slaughter-houses, meat and fish processing establishments and cold stores to be licensed. These provisions are largely based on the Slaughter-houses and Meat Processing Factories Act and the regulations on fish processing establishments under the Fisheries Act. These establishments will be required to meet standards set by the Director to ensure that slaughter, processing and storage conditions maintain the wholesomeness of the meat or fish products. The Director may also close any of these establishments if their condition poses a danger to health.

Sale of meat and fish products

Clause 22 strengthens the regulation of the handling of meat and fish in wholesale markets. The wholesale trade of animals meant for food is also regulated to prevent the spread of diseases among the animals, and to control the handling of the animals which can have an impact on the safety and quality of the meat subsequently derived from these animals.

Improving PPD's operational effectiveness

To allow PPD to overcome resource constraints and focus its limited manpower on the critical areas, clause 3 provides PPD the flexibility to outsource less critical operations to the private sector, such as the inspection of animals before and after slaughter at licensed slaughter-houses. However, to ensure that a high standard of food safety is maintained, PPD will specify the qualifications, training and experience required for authorised examiners. Enhancement of investigation and enforcement powers

Clauses 24 to 27 strengthen the powers of investigation and enforcement. Clause 25 allows the Director to detain the confiscated items in the premises in which they were found. It also requires the owner or occupier of the premises to provide reasonable assistance to the Director or veterinary public health officer in the investigation. These powers are required as the meat or fish products under investigation may be in large quantities and due to their perishable nature, can only be practically detained in the place where they were found such as refrigerated containers or cold stores.

Under the existing legislation, only the court can order forfeiture of items seized under the Acts. As this often results in prolonged detention of the items and incurring expensive storage charges, clause 32(9) has therefore been included to allow the owner of the seized items to consent to their disposal. Such items are deemed to be forfeited and may be disposed of as the Director thinks fit. This provision, however, does not prevent legal proceedings from being instituted against the owner of the items.

Enhancement of financial and custodial penalties

Penalties of $500 to $2,000 fine and one-year imprisonment provided in the Slaughter-houses and Meat Processing Factories Act are grossly inadequate in today's context. Penalties should be commensurate with the value of the goods involved and the seriousness and impact of the offence. The penalties under this Bill therefore range from $1,000 to $100,000 for fines and 1 to 3 years for jail terms. These high penalties have been set to reflect the amount and value of the imported products, which may be in the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars. If such quantity of goods were contaminated and distributed to consumers, the impact on public health would be far-reaching. These high penalties are therefore necessary.

There is also provision for offences to be compounded. The maximum sum for the composition of offences is $1,000. This would allow relatively minor offences under the Bill to be dealt with expeditiously without the need for instituting criminal proceedings against the offender.

"Presumption" clauses

Under the existing legislation, a person found with illegally imported or processed meat or fish products can get off free from prosecution if he denies carrying out the import or processing. On average, PPD encounters about 2 to 3 such cases per year. This is not satisfactory as the consequences of distribution and consumption of large quantities of unwholesome meat or fish can be devastating to the public. To protect the consumers, clauses 6(5), 17(3), 20(3) and 23(3) have therefore been included to allow the person charged to show that he had taken reasonable precautions to prevent the commission of the offence, and that the offending act was done by someone else beyond his control.

Conclusion

With the enactment of the new Act, the Slaughter-houses and Meat Processing Factories Act and relevant parts of the Fisheries Act will concurrently be repealed.

In summary, the Wholesome Meat and Fish Bill will consolidate, update and strengthen existing regulations on the import, export and transhipment of meat and fish products; slaughter of animals; processing of meat and fish products and wholesale of fish. In addition, it will introduce regulation of wholesale of meat and animals intended for food. Powers of investigation and enforcement have also been strengthened to ensure that the provisions of the Bill are complied with, while the high penalties would act as a deterrent to anyone contemplating committing an offence under the Bill. This will ensure that meat and fish products continue to be safe for all Singaporeans to eat.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

Encik Ibrahim Bin Othman (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Sir, I wish to seek clarification from the Minister. With regard to the annual Haj festival where we sacrifice sheep and cows in the mosques, which we do it annually, and I think mosque committees get special permission from the Ministry, would this practice be continued? Can I get the assurance from the Minister that they will get special permission for that ceremony?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Sir, I want to assure the Member that the PPD will continue to allow the existing practices during the Haj period, namely, to get the supply from an approved source - that is the most important - so that the animals are not contaminated. And when they arrive in Singapore, to have the proper provisions, and allow the slaughter in the mosques under controlled conditions.

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 Lim Hng Kiang].

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair]

The Chairman: In page i to leave out "1998" where it occurs in the 2 lines above the line "Arrangement of Sections" and to insert "1999". The citation year "1998" will be changed to "1999". This will be done.

Clause 1 -

The Chairman: In page 2, line 5, the citation year "1998" will be changed to "1999". This will be done.

Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 2 to 42 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.