Singapore Law Blog

The Professional Engineers (Amendment) Bill 2005 and Architects (Amendment) Bill 2005 were read a second time and passed by Parliament today. The Bills aim to enable the Professional Engineers Board (PEB) and Board of Architects (BOA) to more effectively regulate and uphold professionalism and safety standards in the construction industry.

With effect from 15 August 2005, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will be setting up a Workmen's Compensation Medical Board to provide impartial assessments on the degree of disablement in work-related injuries for workmen's compensation claims. The Medical Board will only be called upon to provide assessments when an objection is raised by any party against the initial treating doctor's medical assessment.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea (ROK), Ban Ki-Moon and Minister for Trade and Industry of Singapore, Lim Hng Kiang today signed the Korea-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (KSFTA). The KSFTA is Korea?s first FTA with an Asian country.

Early this morning, Police arrested 4 men and a woman, aged between 23 to 41 years old for peddling pirated materials on the Internet. The subjects were arrested in their respective residences. About 1600 infringing optical discs along with an assortment of computers, storage mediums, electronic gadgets and paper entries were also seized for purpose of investigations.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) will be extending the smoking ban to hawker centers, coffeeshops and entertainment outlets. The ban at hawker centers and coffeeshops will take effect from 1 July 2006, while the ban at entertainment outlets will start on 1 July 2007.

In a speech by Mr Lim Hng Kiang, Minister For Trade And Industry, at the official launch of the Competition Commission Of Singapore (?CCS?) and Competition Law Conference 2005 on Tuesday, 2 August 2005, at Suntec Convention Centre, the Minister highlighted that initially the CCS will pay greater attention to hard core offences that are blatantly anti-competitive. This includes cartels that engage in price-fixing, market-sharing, and bid-rigging.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Oakwell Engineering Ltd. v. Enernorth Industries Inc., 2005 CanLII 27149 (ON S.C.) allowed a Singapore judgment to be enforced. The defendant, opposed recognition and enforcement of the judgment on the basis that that the Singapore legal system does not conform to the Canadian concept of justice.

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) seeks views from the public on Singapore's Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs) in a month-long consultation exercise from 1 August to 29 August 2005.

To give greater clarity to businesses, the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) has today published the finalised Competition Act guidelines pertaining to the section 34 prohibition, the section 47 prohibition and market definition.

Reuters reports that The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) undercover investigation of 100 Singapore pet shops had revealed the presence of endangered species such as the Chinese stripe-necked turtle, the Chinese softshell turtle, the Australian snake-necked turtle and the pig-nosed turtle.

The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) has completed its investigations into the affairs of Indigoz Exchange Pte Ltd ("Indigoz").

Bank Negara Malaysia announces today that the exchange rate of the ringgit with immediate effect will be allowed to operate in a managed float, with its value being determined by economic fundamentals. Bank Negara Malaysia will monitor the exchange rate against a currency basket to ensure that the exchange rate remains close to its fair value. Promoting stability of the exchange rate continues to be a primary objective of policy.

To further boost business conduciveness in Singapore's infocomm market, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) has today introduced a package of enhancements to its licensing and equipment registration frameworks. The move will significantly simplify licensing and equipment registration requirements and processes which will offer infocomm licensees more convenience and cost and time savings.

Since 1 July, the Media Development Authority (MDA) has given more flexibility to publicity materials for films and videos rated NC16 and M18; and TV programmes rated 'PG' (Parental Guidance), in a move to provide more avenues for promotion of these materials. Trailers of upcoming movies rated M18 can be shown on television after 10pm. In addition, trailers of NC16 films and PG-rated TV programmes can also be shown any time of the day, as long as the content is suitable for a general audience.

As announced by the Minister (ND) in Parliament on 19 July 2005, HDB will revise upwards the housing loan limit for HDB concessionary loans with immediate effect, in tandem with the upward adjustment of mortgage financing limit by banks and financial institutions.

As earlier announced in Parliament, Government has decided to fine-tune the RPA in three aspects:-
(a) easing of restrictions on foreign ownership of restricted residential properties;
(b) revocation of exemption for foreign companies; and
(c) revision to requirements attached to grant of Qualifying Certificates (QCs).

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced that banks may grant housing loans of up to 90% of the property value.

Second Reading Speech by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Law, Prof S Jayakumar.

The Minister for Education and Deputy Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today moved the Money-Changing and Remittance Businesses (Amendment) Bill 2005 [MCRB(A)] for first reading in Parliament.

The Minister for National Development introduced the Housing and Development (Amendment) Bill [hereafter referred to as the Bill] in Parliament today. The main objective of the Bill is to put in place the legislative framework for the new Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) and enable private developers to build and sell public housing.

This is a website which has a list of legal documents for free download at the moment. The website is based in South Africa. The link is http://www.freelegaldocs.co.za.

The Community Mediation Centre (CMC) at the Subordinate Courts was officially launched by Senior Minister of State (SMS) for Law and Home Affairs Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee and witnessed by Senior District Judge Mr Richard Magnus on Fri, 15 July 2005. The opening address of the SMS is reproduced.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced today that the Securities and Futures (Amendment) Act 2005 (SF(A)A) and the Financial Advisers (Amendment) Act 2005 (FA(A)A) will take effect on 1 July 2005.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) plans to revise its current policy on acupuncture and would like to invite the views and feedback of the public, the medical community and the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) community on this proposal.

The Ministry of Finance invites members of the public to give their comments on proposed amendments to the Goods and Services Tax Act (GSTA) and the Stamp Duties Act (SDA).