58. What sanctions are provided for political finance infractions?

Singapore

Singapore

Answer
  • Fines
  • Prison
  • Forfeiture
  • Deregistration of party
  • Loss of nomination of candidate
  • Other
Source

45.—(1) Subject to this Article, a person shall not be qualified to be
a Member of Parliament who —
(a) is and has been found or declared to be of unsound mind;
(b) is an undischarged bankrupt;
(c) holds an office of profit;
(d) having been nominated for election to Parliament or the
office of President or having acted as election agent to a
person so nominated, has failed to lodge any return of
election expenses required by law within the time and in the
manner so required;
Section 45, Constitution, 2015

24.—(1) Whenever it appears to the Minister that —
(a) any registered society is being used for unlawful purposes or
for purposes prejudicial to public peace, welfare or good
order in Singapore;
(aa) the registration of any society has been procured by fraud or
misrepresentation;
(b) any registered society is being used for purposes
incompatible with the objects and rules of the society;
(c) the rules of any registered society are or have been
inadequate for its proper management and control and the
registered society has failed without reasonable cause to
amend its rules within 3 months of, and in accordance with, a
direction from the Registrar to amend its rules for those
purposes;
(d) the rules of any registered society which is a political
association do not provide for its membership to be confined
to Singapore citizens, and the society has failed without
reasonable cause to amend its rules within 3 months of, and
in accordance with, a direction from the Registrar to amend
its rules for those purposes;
(e) any registered society which is a political association has
such an affiliation or connection with any organisation
outside Singapore as is considered by the Registrar to be
contrary to the national interest, and has failed to satisfy the
Registrar that it has taken appropriate action to sever that
affiliation or connection within 3 months of, and in
accordance with, a direction from the Registrar to take
such action; or
(f) any registered society has wilfully contravened any
provision of this Act or of any regulations made
thereunder, or of any of the rules of the society,
the Minister may order that the society shall be dissolved.
Source: Section 24 (1), Societies Act, 2014

61.—(1) Every person who —
(a) commits the offence of personation, or aids, abets, counsels or
procures the commission of the offence of personation;
(b) commits the offence of treating, undue influence or bribery;
(c) publishes or causes to be published any election advertising
during the period beginning with the day the writ of election is
issued for an election and ending with the start of polling day
at that election which —
(i) in the case of election advertising that is, or is
contained in, a printed document, does not bear on
its face or, if there is more than one side of printed
matter, on the first or last page of the document, the
names and addresses of its printer, its publisher and the
person for whom or at whose direction the election
advertising is published; or
(ii) in the case of any other election advertising, does not
bear in the form and manner prescribed under
section 78A the names and addresses of its publisher
and the person for whom or at whose direction the
election advertising is published;
(d) makes or publishes, before or during any election, for the
purpose of affecting the return of any candidate, any false
statement of fact in relation to the personal character or
conduct of the candidate;
(e) makes or publishes, before or during any election, for the
purpose of promoting or procuring the election of any
candidate, any false statement of the withdrawal of any
other candidate at the election; or
(f) being a candidate or an election agent, knowingly makes the
declaration as to election expenses required by section 74
falsely,
shall be guilty of a corrupt practice and shall on conviction by a
District Court be liable —
(i) in the case referred to in paragraph (a), to a fine not exceeding
$5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or
to both;
(ii) in the case referred to in paragraph (b), to a fine not exceeding
$5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or
to both;
(iii) in the case referred to in paragraph (c), to a fine not exceeding
$1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12
months or to both;
(iv) in the case referred to in paragraph (d) or (e), to a fine or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both;
or
(v) in the case referred to in paragraph (f), to a fine not exceeding
$2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months
or to both.
(2) Every person who is convicted of a corrupt practice shall
become incapable for a period of 7 years from the date of his
conviction of being registered as an elector or of voting at any election
under this Act or of being elected as the President or a Member, and if
at that date he has been elected a Member, his election shall be vacated
from the date of the conviction.
Source: Section 61, Parliamentary Elections Act, 2015

(3) If the return and statements are not transmitted before the
expiration of the time limited for the purpose, the candidate shall not
after the expiration of the time sit or vote in Parliament as a Member
until either the return and statements have been transmitted or until the
date of the allowance of such authorised excuse for failure to transmit
them as in this Act mentioned. Source: Section 74 (3), Parliamentary Elections Act, 2015

22.—(1) Where any donation report or declaration which is required
under section 12(1), 13 or 19(1) to be sent to the Registrar is not so
sent within the time limited under the applicable section, then —
(a) in the case of a donation report or declaration required under
section 12(1) or 13, the responsible officers of the political
association in question shall each be guilty of an offence and
shall each be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding
$2,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further
fine not exceeding $500 for every day or part thereof during
which the offence continues after conviction; or
(b) in the case of a donation report or declaration required under
section 19(1), the candidate at an election and his election
agent in question or (as the case may be) the candidate at a
presidential election and his principal election agent in
question, shall each be guilty of an offence and shall each be
liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 and, in
the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not
exceeding $500 for every day or part thereof during which
the offence continues after conviction.
(2) If a donation report under section 12 or 19 is sent to the
Registrar, but such a report does not comply with the requirements of
section 12 or, as the case may be, section 19 as regards the recording
of donations in such report, then —
(a) in the case of a donation report under section 12, the
responsible officers of the political association in question
shall each be guilty of an offence and shall each be liable on
conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000; or
(b) in the case of a donation report under section 19, the
candidate and his election agent or agents in question shall
each be guilty of an offence and shall each be liable on
conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000.
(3) Where any person is charged with an offence under
subsection (1) or (2), it shall be a defence to prove that he took all
reasonable steps, and exercised all due diligence to ensure that any
requirements —
(a) as regards preparation or sending of a donation report; or
(b) as regards the information to be given in any donation report,
as the case may be, have been complied with in relation to the
donation report.
(4) Where the court is satisfied, on an application made by the
Public Prosecutor, that any failure to comply with any such
requirements in relation to any donation received by a political
association, candidate or election agent was attributable to an
intention on the part of any person to conceal the existence or true
amount of the donation, the court may order the forfeiture of an
amount equal to the value of the donation.
(5) Sections 11 and 17 shall apply in connection with an application
under subsection (4) with the necessary modifications.
(6) Any person who makes a false declaration under section 13,
18(1)(b) or 19(4) or (5) 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 6 months or to both and, in the case of a second or
subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.
(7) Where any responsible officer of a political association,
candidate or election agent is charged with an offence under
subsection (6), it shall be a defence to prove that he did not know
and could not reasonably have known that the declaration was false.

23.—(1) Where a person —
(a) enters into; or
(b) knowingly does any act in furtherance of,
any arrangement which facilitates or is likely to facilitate, whether by
means of any concealment or disguise or otherwise, the making of
donations to a candidate, election agent or political association by any
person or body other than a permissible donor, he shall be guilty of an
offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding
$3,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to
both.
(2) Where a person —
(a) knowingly gives an officer of a political association or a
candidate or his election agent any information relating to the
identity of the donor or the amount of any donation made to
the political association or the candidate or election agent or
to the person or body making such a donation, which is false
in a material particular; or
(b) with intent to deceive, withholds from any officer of a
political association or a candidate or his election agent any
material information relating to the identity of the donor or
the amount of any donation made to the political association
or candidate or election agent or to the person or body
making such a donation,
he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a
fine not exceeding $3,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
12 months or to both.

24. Any donor to which section 21 applies who —
(a) delivers a donation report under section 21 which does not
comply with subsection (2) of that section;
(b) fails to deliver such donation report in accordance with
section 21(3) or such a report, when delivered by him, is not
accompanied by a declaration under section 21(4); or
(c) knowingly or recklessly makes a false declaration under
section 21(4),
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine
not exceeding $2,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a
further fine not exceeding $500 for every day or part thereof during
which the offence continues after conviction.

25.—(1) Where an offence under this Act committed by a body
corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or
connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of —
(a) any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the
body; or
(b) any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity,
he, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence and
shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(2) Where the affairs of the body corporate are managed by its
members, subsection (1) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults
of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he
were a director of the body corporate.
(3) Proceedings for an offence alleged to have been committed
under this Act by an unincorporated association shall be brought
against the association in its own name (and not in that of any of its
members) and, for the purposes of any such proceedings, any rules of
court relating to service of documents shall have effect as if the
association were a corporation.
(4) A fine imposed on an unincorporated association on its
conviction for an offence under this Act shall be paid out of the
funds of the association.
(5) Where a partnership is guilty of an offence under this Act, every
partner (other than a partner who is proved to have been ignorant of, or
to have attempted to prevent the commission of, the offence) shall also
be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and
punished accordingly.
(6) Where any other unincorporated association is guilty of an
offence under this Act —
(a) every officer of the association who is bound to fulfil any
duty of which the offence is a breach; or
(b) if there is no such officer, every member of the committee or
other similar governing body (other than a member who is
proved to have been ignorant of, or to have attempted to
prevent the commission of, the offence),
shall also be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded
against and punished accordingly.

26. Every offence under this Part shall be deemed to be a seizable
offence within the meaning of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68).

Source: Sections 22-26, Political Donations Act, 2011

Comment

OTHER: Suspension of candidate

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