LEGAL UPDATES

Legislation

Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) (Amendment) Bill 2008 (B10/2008)

The Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) (Amendment) Bill 2008 (the 'Bill') was introduced in Parliament on 21 July 2008. Most notably, the Bill seeks to amend the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (the 'Act') for the following purposes:
(a) to extend the application of the Act to certain financial products and financial services which are currently excluded;

(b) to increase the prescribed limit of claims brought by consumers for unfair practice from S$20,000 to S$30,000;

(c) to extend the limitation period for actions under the Act from one year to two years;

(d) to extend the jurisdiction of the Small Claims Tribunals to hear and determine certain actions under the Act; and

(e) to place on the supplier the burden of proving that the supplier has complied with certain requirements of the Act or the regulations made thereunder.

Extending application of the Act to certain financial products and financial services
The First Schedule to the Act provides for transactions which are excluded from the scope of the Act. Currently, paragraph 2 of the First Schedule provides that transactions or activities that are regulated under the following laws are excluded:
(a) Banking Act

(b) Commodity Trading Act

(c) Finance Companies Act

(d) Financial Advisers Act

(e) Insurance Act

(f) Section 28 of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act

(g) Money-changing and Remittance Businesses Act

(h) Moneylenders Act

(i) Pawnbrokers Act

(j) Securities and Futures Act

In order to extend the application of the Act to certain financial products and financial services, paragraph 2 of the First Schedule will be deleted.

The Explanatory Statement of the Bill states that it is envisaged that the Act will be extended to include transactions and activities regulated under written law administered by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and under the Commodity Trading Act (paragraphs (a) to (g) and (j) above) with the commencement of the Bill following its passage into law, followed by the Moneylenders Act and the Pawnbrokers Act, on 1 January 2009 and 1 January 2010, respectively.

Increase in prescribed limit of claims
The prescribed limit of claims under the Act is currently set at S$20,000. The limit will be raised to S$30,000 to take into account larger consumer transactions.

Extension of limitation period
Currently, the limitation period for actions under the Act is one year.

The two main operative provisions of the Act are s 6 (consumer's right to sue for unfair practice) and s 9 (application of a specified body for declaration or injunction).

The Act will be amended to extend the limitation period for actions under ss 6 and 9 from one year to two years. Provision will also be made to allow the limitation period for actions under s 9 to commence from the earliest date when the consumer, in respect of whom the alleged unfair practice was engaged in by the supplier, had knowledge that the supplier had engaged in that unfair practice.

Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Bill 2008 (B11/2008)

The Mental Capacity Bill 2008 (the 'Bill'), which was introduced in Parliament on 21 July 2008, seeks to reform and update the law where decisions need to be made on behalf of persons lacking capacity. The Bill is introduced following a public consultation by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (the 'MCYS') in August 2007 when a draft version of the Bill was released for public comment.

The Bill will govern decision-making on behalf of persons lacking capacity in two situations: (a) where they lose mental capacity at some point in their lives (for example as a result of dementia or brain injury), and (b) where the incapacitating condition has been present since birth.

The Bill covers a wide range of issues on personal welfare and financial matters and substitute decision-making by attorneys or court-appointed deputies. The Bill provides recourse, where necessary, to the High Court which has power to deal with personal welfare and financial decisions on behalf of persons lacking capacity.

At present, the Mental Disorders and Treatment Act (the 'MDTA') provides for assistance and support to be given to persons with 'unsound mind' who are incapable of managing their own affairs. Under the MDTA, a Committee of Persons or a Committee of Estate may be appointed by the court to manage their personal welfare and property decisions. However, this can be done only after the person has lost his mental capacity. In contrast, the Bill seeks to allow persons an opportunity to plan in advance for a time in the future when they may lose such capacity.

When the Bill comes into force, following its passage into law, it will repeal Part 1 of the MDTA. The provisions of the MDTA relating to provisions for the admission and detention of persons of unsound mind in mental hospitals will be re-enacted with amendments in the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Bill 2008.

Estate Duty (Abolition) Bill 2008 (B12/2008)

The Estate Duty (Abolition) Bill 2008 (the 'Bill') was introduced in Parliament on 21 July 2008.

This Bill seeks to amend the Estate Duty Act to give effect to the proposal to abolish estate duty announced in the Government's 2008 Budget Statement. One of the objectives of the abolition of estate duty in Singapore is to encourage wealthy individuals from all over Asia to bring their assets into Singapore, thus supporting the growth of the wealth management industry in Singapore.
Estates of persons dying on or after 15 February 2008 will not be subject to estate duty.

The Act continues to apply in relation to persons who died before 15 February 2008.

Mental Capacity Bill 2008 (B13/2008)

On 21 July 2008, the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Bill 2008 (the 'Bill') was introduced in Parliament. The tabling of the Bill for first reading follows the public consultation conducted by the Ministry of Health (the 'MOH') in February/March 2008 whereby a draft version of the Bill was released for public comment. The Bill, which will be cited as the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act when passed and gazetted, seeks to enhance safeguards for the protection of the interests of patients who are compulsorily admitted into psychiatric institutions. Current provisions regulating admission and detention of persons of unsound mind in mental hospitals which are set out in the Mental Disorders and Treatment Act (the 'MDTA') will be repealed and re-enacted under the new Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act.

Essentially, the general framework and purpose of the legislation under the Bill will be the same as that under the MDTA, except for a few proposed changes which are intended to be an enhancement of the existing MDTA. Some of these proposed amendments are as follows:
(a) The Minister for Health (the 'Minister') may designate a part of a hospital instead of the whole hospital as a psychiatric institution.

(b) The term 'psychiatric institution' will replace the current term of 'mental hospital' as used in the MDTA.

(c) Two or more visitors, one of whom must be a medical practitioner, shall inspect the psychiatric institution at least once every three months. Currently, the inspection is once every month.

(d) There is a general increase in penalties for some of the offences under the Bill. For instance, if a relative refuses to produce the mentally disordered person in his/her charge to the police during an inspection, he/she shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding S$4,000. The current penalty for the same offence is a fine not exceeding S$1,000. In the case of offences relating to the improper reception or detention of mentally disordered persons in a psychiatric institution or hospital, the penalty is a fine of S$5,000 and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding four years, for the offence of ill treatment not resulting in death. If death results from the ill-treatment, the penalty is a maximum fine of S$20,000 and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years. Any person found to have sexual intercourse with a patient while in the psychiatric institution shall be guilty of an offence punishable with a maximum fine of S$20,000 and/or an imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years.

Patents (Amendment) Bill 2008 (B15/2008)

This Bill seeks to amend the Patents Act for the following main purposes:
(a) to restrict the application of Part X to certain contracts and licences relating to patented products or patented inventions;

(b) to implement certain measures under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the 'TRIPS Agreement') as amended by the Protocol thereto concluded in Geneva on 6 December 2005;

(c) to give effect to the Decision adopted by the General Council of the World Trade Organisation on 30 August 2003 on the implementation of paragraph 6 of the Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health adopted in Doha on 14 November 2001 (Doha Declaration Implementation Decision); and

(d) to expressly empower a court that has terminated a right under s 56 to make such consequential orders as the court thinks necessary.

Legal Profession (Amendment) Bill 2008 (B16/2008)

This Bill seeks to amend the Legal Profession Act:
(a) to make modifications to the disciplinary processes for solicitors and legal officers;
(b) to provide for certain measures which may be adopted where the Attorney-General or the Council of the Law Society of Singapore (the Council) is satisfied that a solicitor is incapacitated by any physical or mental condition to such extent as to be unable to attend to his practice, or that a solicitor's fitness to practise appears to have been impaired by reason of his physical or mental condition;

(c) to modify the regulatory mechanisms in the Act which are applicable to Joint Law Ventures, Formal Law Alliances, foreign law practices, representative offices of foreign law practices, foreign lawyers, and solicitors practising in Joint Law Ventures or foreign law practices, so as to facilitate the liberalisation of the practice of law in Singapore; and

(d) to make certain miscellaneous changes.

Skills Development Levy (Amendment) Bill 2008 (B17/2008)

The Skills Development Levy (Amendment) Bill 2008 (the 'Bill') was introduced in Parliament on 21 July 2008.

This Bill seeks to amend the Skills Development Levy Act to change the basis on which the skills development levy (the 'SDL') is to be computed. Currently, the skills development levy is chargeable at the rate of 1 per cent of the remuneration of any employee whose remuneration in any month is S$2,000 or less.

Following the amendments, the skills development levy will be chargeable on the remuneration of all employees, and the rate of the levy in respect of each employee will be:
(a) 0.25 per cent of the remuneration of that employee in any month (up to S$4,500 of the remuneration of that employee); or

(b) S$2, whichever is the greater.

The SDL collections are credited to the Skills Development Fund (SDF) which is administered by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency.

Elizabeth Wong
Allen & Gledhill LLP