Singapore Law Blog

A new law to regulate secondhand goods dealers, which is known as the Secondhand Goods Dealers Act (SHGDA) will come into effect on 1 Dec 2007 . With the introduction of this new law, the existing Secondhand Dealers Act, Cap 288, will be repealed on the same date.

Key Features of the New Act

Sharper Regulatory Focus

Under the new Act, only dealers who deal in secondhand goods that are listed in the Schedule will be regulated. This will be regardless of whether such dealings take place at a shopfront, via a makeshift stall or over the Internet. The list of items was drawn up based on crime data of commonly stolen items. While the existing Act has a wider list of items, the new regulatory regime has a reduced list which comprises commonly stolen items. This allows a sharper regulatory focus in preventing fencing1. Dealers who deal in items which are not in the new list will not be regulated. The list of items may also be revised according to crime trends.

Pro-Enterprise Regulations

For dealers who deal in goods listed in the Schedule, they will be exempted from licensing if they have not been convicted of or are not a subject of police investigations for the commission of any offence under the Act or one that involves fraud or dishonesty. These exempted dealers do not have to apply and renew their licence annually. However, they still have to abide by the requirements of the SHGDA, for instance, keeping records of transactions including particulars of persons who buy/ sell the secondhand goods.

Crossed Cheque Payment Requirement

Under the new Act, dealers will be required to make payment to sellers of scrapmetal via crossed cheque for all transactions involving metals listed in the Schedule. This is to deter thieves from disposing off stolen metal items with scrapmetal dealers as they may be more easily traced via their bank accounts. While Police recognise that this requirement may pose some inconvenience to scrapmetal dealers, the requirement is an important tool in Police’s efforts to tackle the problem of metal theft, especially those involving items such as lightning conductors, drain covers and dry-riser lugs, which pose danger to public safety.

Enhanced Penalties

The penalties in the new Act have been enhanced to reflect the severity of theft offences in today’s context. The penalties in the old Act consist of fines of up to $1,000, or imprisonment up to 6 months, or both. In comparison, the penalties in the new Act include fines of up to $20,000 or imprisonment of up to 12 months, or both. For minor breaches to the provisions under the new Act, the Licensing Officer has the discretion to compound the offence (up to $2,000).

Notification of Dealers

Information on the new law and its regulations has been disseminated to existing dealers on Police’s record via post. The same information is also available on the Police Licensing website http://www.spf.gov.sg/licence. Existing licences issued to secondhand goods dealers under the former Act will remain valid until expiry. However, these existing dealers would have to register with Police before 31 Dec 07 when their existing licence expires, if they intend to deal in the goods as listed in the Schedule of the Act beyond 31 Dec 07. They will be informed subsequently by Police whether they need to apply for a licence or if they may operate under exemption.

New dealers can download the registration form via the Police Licensing website ( http://www.spf.gov.sg/licence/ ) and mail it to Licensing Division or come in person to submit the form2 (Address: Police Licensing Division, Police Cantonment Complex, Block D, 391 New Bridge Road, #02-701, Singapore 088762). Registration will begin from 19 Nov 07 and they may also contact the Police Licensing Division at Tel No. 68350000 during office hours.

To reach out to those who are not licensed under the current Act but who will be affected by the new legislation, such as makeshift stall owners at the Sungei Road market who do not have a shopfront, officers have conducted visits, provided advisories and explained the changes to them directly.

Affected dealers are advised to make the necessary adjustments to their business processes to meet the regulations in the new regime before 1 Dec 2007.

LIST OF SECONDHAND GOODS THAT FALL UNDER THE SCHEDULE OF THE SECONDHAND GOODS DEALERS ACT

a. Cameras, video-graphic and photographic equipment including lenses.

b. Computers including Tablet Personal Computers, Laptops, Palmtops, Personal Digital Assistants and computer accessories.

c. Handphones, Personal Digital Assistant handphones and Smartphones.

d. Compact Disc players and Moving Picture Experts Group-1 Audio Layer 3 players and Moving Picture Experts Group-1 Audio Layer 4 players.

e. Jewellery set with precious stones including but not limited to diamonds, jade, rubies, sapphires and emeralds.

f. Jewellery made from platinum, gold and white gold without precious stones.

g. Pawn tickets.

h. Watches.

i. Cables and wires made of copper.

j. Items (in whole or parts) that are made of copper, stainless steel, aluminium, steel or brass or a composite of such metals, and that are used or intended to be used as fittings or installations that form part of, or are attached to, any building, road, sidewalk, amenity or other place (whether public or private), including but not limited to the following:

(a) bicycle racks;
(b) drain covers;
(c) dry risers;
(d) earth bars;
(e) fencings;
(f) frames or other parts of a door or window;
(g) grills;
(h) hydrants;
(i) lightning conductors;
(j) manhole covers;
(k) meters;
(l) over-ground boxes;
(m) park benches;
(n) pipes;
(o) railings;
(p) rubbish bins or parts thereof;
(q) signs or signposts;
(r) sinks;
(s) television aerials;
(t) water taps.

k. Scraps of copper, stainless steel, aluminium, steel or brass or any composite of such metals, whether in the form of bars, rods, sheets, turnings or parts of disassembled items or articles, or otherwise, but excluding scraps derived from drink cans or household utensils or articles.


PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
18 October 2007 at 10.30am