excerpts of the Act. based on ur title, it determines the nature
of ur first post.
Interpretation.
2. In this Act
"publication" includes all written or printed matter and everything
whether of a nature similar to written or printed matter or not
containing any visible representation or by its form, shape or in
any other manner capable of suggesting words or ideas, and every
copy and reproduction or substantial reproduction of any
publication;
"seditious" when applied to or used in respect of any act, speech,
words, publication or other thing qualifies such act, speech,
words, publication or other thing as one having a seditious
tendency;
"words" includes any phrase, sentence or other consecutive number
or combination of words, oral or written.
Seditious tendency.
3. (1) A seditious tendency is a tendency
(d) to raise discontent or disaffection amongst the citizens of
Singapore or the residents in Singapore;
(e) to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different
races or classes of the population of Singapore.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), any act, speech, words,
publication or other thing shall not be deemed to be seditious by
reason only that it has a tendency
(d) to point out, with a view to their removal, any matters
producing or having a tendency to produce feelings of ill-will and
enmity between different races or classes of the population of
Singapore,
if such act, speech, words, publication or other thing has not
otherwise in fact a seditious tendency.
(3) For the purpose of proving the commission of any offence under
this Act, the intention of the person charged at the time he did or
attempted to do or made any preparation to do or conspired with any
person to do any act or uttered any seditious words or printed,
published, sold, offered for sale, distributed, reproduced or
imported any publication or did any other thing shall be deemed to
be irrelevant if in fact such act had, or would, if done, have had,
or such words, publication or thing had a seditious tendency.
Offences.
4. (1) Any person who
(a) does or attempts to do, or makes any preparation to do, or
conspires with any person to do, any act which has or which would,
if done, have a seditious tendency;
(b) utters any seditious words;
(c) prints, publishes, sells, offers for sale, distributes or
reproduces any seditious publication; or
(d) imports any seditious publication,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction for
a first offence to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both, and, for a subsequent
offence, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years; and any
seditious publication found in the possession of that person or
used in evidence at his trial shall be forfeited and may be
destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the court directs.
(2) Any person who without lawful excuse has in his possession any
seditious publication shall be guilty of an offence and shall be
liable on conviction for a first offence to a fine not exceeding
$2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 18 months or to
both, and, for a subsequent offence, to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 3 years, and such publication shall be forfeited and may
be destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the court directs.
Legal proceedings.
5. (1) No prosecution for an offence under section 4 shall be
begun except within 6 months after the offence is committed:
Provided that for the purposes of this subsection a prosecution
shall be deemed to be begun against any person when a warrant or
summons has been issued in respect of any charge made against that
person and based on the facts or incident in respect of which the
prosecution afterwards proceeds.
(2) No person shall be prosecuted for an offence under section 4
without the written consent of the Public Prosecutor. In such
written consent the Public Prosecutor may designate any court to be
the court of trial.
Evidence.
6. (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Evidence
Act, no person shall be convicted of an offence under section 4 on
the uncorroborated testimony of one witness.
(2) No person shall be convicted of any offence referred to in
section 4 (1) (c) or (d) if such person proves that the publication
in respect of which he is charged was printed, published, sold,
offered for sale, distributed, reproduced or imported (as the case
may be) without his authority, consent and knowledge and without
any want of due care or caution on his part or that he did not know
and had no reason to believe that the publication had a seditious
tendency.
Innocent receiver of seditious publication.
7. Any person to whom any seditious publication is sent without his
knowledge or privity shall forthwith as soon as the nature of its
contents has become known to him deliver the publication to the
officer in charge of a police division and any person who complies
with this section shall not be liable to be convicted for having in
his possession that publication:
Provided that in any proceedings against such person the court
shall presume until the contrary is shown that that person knew the
contents of the publication at the time it first came into his
possession.
Issue of search warrant.
8. (1) A Magistrate may issue a warrant empowering any police
officer, not below the rank of sergeant, to enter upon any premises
where any seditious publication is known or is reasonably suspected
to be and to search therein for any seditious publication.
21/73.
(2) Whenever it appears to any police officer, not below the rank
of sergeant, that there is reasonable cause to believe that in any
premises there is concealed or deposited any seditious publication,
and he has reasonable grounds for believing that, by reason of the
delay which would be entailed by obtaining a search warrant, the
object of the search is likely to be frustrated, he may enter and
search the premises as if he were empowered to do so by a warrant
issued under subsection (1).
21/73.
Suspension of newspaper containing seditious
matter.
9. (1) Whenever any person is convicted of publishing in any
newspaper matter having a seditious tendency, the court may, if it
thinks fit, either in lieu of or in addition to any other
punishment, make orders as to all or any of the following
matters:
(a) prohibiting, either absolutely or except on conditions to be
specified in the order, for any period not exceeding one year from
the date of the order, the future publication of that
newspaper;
(b) prohibiting, either absolutely or except on conditions to be
specified in the order, for the period aforesaid, the publisher,
proprietor or editor of that newspaper from publishing, editing or
writing for any newspaper or from assisting, whether with money or
moneys worth, material, personal service or otherwise in the
publication, editing or production of any newspaper;
(c) that for the period aforesaid any printing press used in the
production of the newspaper be used only on conditions to be
specified in the order or that it be seized by the police and
detained by them for the period aforesaid.
(2) Any person who contravenes an order made under this section
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to
a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 3 years or to both.
(3) Nothing in this Act shall affect the power of the court to
punish any person contravening an order made under this section for
contempt of court:
Provided that no person shall be punished twice for the same
offence.
Power of Court to prohibit circulation of seditious
publications.
10. (9) For the purposes of this section, Court means the High
Court.
Arrest without warrant.
11. Any police officer may arrest without warrant any person found
committing or reasonably suspected of committing or of having
committed or of attempting to commit or of procuring or abetting
any person to commit any offence under this Act or reasonably
suspected of the unlawful possession of any thing liable to
forfeiture thereunder.
