Citation and commencement
1.   These Rules may be cited as the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) (Election Meetings) Rules 2006 and shall come into operation on 21st April 2006.

Application
2.   These Rules shall apply to any assembly of 5 or more persons which is —

(a) organised by or on behalf of a candidate nominated in accordance with the provisions of the Presidential Elections Act (Cap. 240A) for election as President, and held between nomination day and the day before polling day (both days inclusive) of an election under that Act (referred to in these Rules as a presidential election);

(b) organised by or on behalf of a candidate nominated in accordance with the provisions of the Parliamentary Elections Act (Cap. 218) for election as a Member of Parliament for an electoral division, and held between the day of nomination and the day before polling day (both days inclusive) of an election under that Act (referred to in these Rules as a parliamentary election); or

(c) organised by or on behalf of a candidate in any presidential election or parliamentary election and held to show support for the candidate at or about the time the results of any presidential election or parliamentary election, as the case may be, are declared under section 32 (8) or (8D) of the Presidential Elections Act or section 49 (7) or (7E) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, as the case may be,

and any reference in these Rules to an election meeting shall be a reference to any such assembly of persons.

Prohibition of election meeting without permit
3. —(1)   No person shall hold or assist in holding any election meeting in any public road, public place or place of public resort —

(a) without a permit; or

(b) in contravention of any condition of a permit specified in rule 5 (1) or imposed under rule 5 (2).

(2)   Any person who contravenes paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —

(a) in the case of an offence of contravening paragraph (1) (a) — to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both; and

(b) in the case of an offence of contravening paragraph (1) (b) — to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to both.

Grant of permit
4. —(1)   A permit to hold an election meeting may be granted by any one of the following licensing officers:

(a) a Deputy Commissioner of Police;

(b) the officer-in-charge of the Police Division in which the election meeting is intended to be held;

(c) the Police Liaison Officer (Elections).

(2)   An application for a permit to hold an election meeting shall —

(a) be made in writing by the candidate concerned or by his election agent;

(b) be supported by particulars of the date, time and place and such other information of the election meeting as a licensing officer referred to in paragraph (1) may require; and

(c) be delivered to a licensing officer referred to in paragraph (1) not later than the following times:

(i) unless otherwise provided in sub-paragraph (ii), 2.30 p.m. on the eve of the day fixed for the election meeting, even if the eve is a Sunday or public holiday; or

(ii) where the eve of the day fixed for the election meeting is the day of nomination in a presidential election or parliamentary election, 4 p.m. on the day of nomination.

Conditions of permit
5. —(1)   A permit granted under these Rules shall be subject to the following conditions:

(a) the election meeting shall not cause any obstruction to the free passage of persons or vehicular traffic on any road or street;

(b) subject to sub-paragraph (c), the election meeting shall be held only between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.;

(c) any election meeting referred to in rule 2 (c) shall only be held at such place and between such times as may be specified in the permit;

(d) where it is intended to hold an election meeting in any national park or public park, open space which is State land or a public car park, on any road, or on any land vested in or under the control of a Town Council or other statutory board or body, the previous consent in writing of the following shall be obtained:

(i) the National Parks Board if the election meeting is to be held in a national park or public park;

(ii) the Commissioner of Lands if the election meeting is to be held on State land;

(iii) the Superintendent of Car Parks appointed under the Parking Places Act (Cap. 214) if the election meeting is to be held in a public car park;

(iv) the Chief Executive of the Land Transport Authority of Singapore if the election meeting is to be held on or along a road; or

(v) the Town Council or statutory board or body, as the case may be, if the election is to be held on any land vested in or under the control of that Town Council or statutory board or body;

(e) the person to whom the permit is granted shall be present throughout the election meeting;

(f) there shall be no procession to or from the place of the election meeting;

(g) no form of public entertainment within the meaning of the Public Entertainments and Meetings Act (Cap. 257) (other than a lecture, a talk, an address or a debate) shall be provided before, during and after the election meeting; and

(h) the organisers of and the speakers at the election meeting shall not display anything, use indecent, threatening or abusive words or otherwise behave, with intent to provoke a breach of the peace or whereby a breach of the peace is likely to be occasioned whether immediately or at any time after the election meeting.

(2)   Without prejudice to paragraph (1), the licensing officer referred to in rule 4(1) granting the permit may impose such additional conditions as he thinks fit, and the person to whom the permit is granted shall comply with these additional conditions.

(3)   A permit to hold an election meeting is not renewable or transferable, and if any attempt is made to transfer the benefit of the permit, it shall be taken to have been cancelled on the date of the attempted transfer.

Crowd control and security measures
6. —(1)   Police officers may be present at any election meeting to maintain order and may record the proceedings of an election meeting by means of tape recorders or video recorders or both.

(2)   Police officers may also take —

(a) such crowd control measures as are necessary for the safety and well-being of persons attending an election meeting; and

(b) such security measures as are necessary for the protection of any person or persons attending an election meeting from any imminent threat to his or their safety,

which may include cordoning off an area that is or is around the site at which an election meeting is to be held.

(3)   If any police officer present at an election meeting believes on reasonable grounds that it is necessary in the interest of security to do so, the police officer may require a person who is present at or about to attend the election meeting, or is about to enter any area cordoned off under paragraph (2), to be subject to either or all of the following for the purposes of finding out whether any offensive weapon is hidden in the person’s clothing or personal effects:

(a) a screening search or a frisk search of the person or both;

(b) a search of the person’s personal effects that are reasonably capable of concealing an offensive weapon;

(c) to deposit with a police officer any personal effects that are reasonably capable of concealing an offensive weapon or being used to cause injury to, or incapacitate, a person.

(4)   Where any person of whom a requirement is made under paragraph (3), without reasonable excuse, refuses or fails to comply with the requirement, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to both.

(5)   If the most senior police officer present at an election meeting considers that a breach of the peace is likely to occur at the election meeting, the police officer may order the election meeting to immediately stop and the person to whom the permit is granted shall thereupon immediately declare the election meeting closed and ensure that those attending the election meeting leave quietly and peacefully.

(6)   If the person to whom the permit is granted fails to comply with any order given under paragraph (5), he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to both.

(7)   Any person to whom a permit is granted under these Rules for an election meeting, or any organiser of an election meeting, who, without reasonable excuse, tampers with or removes a tape or other barrier used to cordon off under paragraph (2) an area that is or is around the site of that election meeting, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to both.

(8)   Nothing in paragraph (3) shall authorise any police officer conducting a screening search or frisk search of a person to remove, or require a person to remove, any of the person’s clothing, and a frisk search of a person shall be conducted by a police officer of the same sex as the person.

(9)   In this rule —

(a) a cordon around the site at which an election meeting is to be held may include a roadblock and any appropriate form of physical barrier or obstruction preventing or limiting the passage of persons or vehicles to and from that site;

(b) “offensive weapon” means any article made or adapted to cause damage to property or to cause injury or fear of injury to a person, or by which the person having it intends to cause damage to property or to cause injury or fear of injury to a person; and

(c) a screening search of a person means a search by equipment that is designed to carry out the search without touching the person.

Evacuation in emergency situations
7. —(1)   If the most senior police officer present at an election meeting considers that an emergency situation is, or is likely to pose, a threat to the safety or health of persons present at that election meeting or that there are reasonable grounds for doing so for the purpose of protecting those persons from injury or death threatened by an emergency situation, the police officer may order the election meeting to immediately stop and direct the evacuation and exclusion of all persons from the premises at which the election meeting is held.

(2)   For the purposes of paragraph (1), any police officer may remove or cause to be removed (using such force as is necessary for that purpose) any person who does not comply with a direction to evacuate made under that paragraph or any person who enters, attempts to enter or is found in or on any premises in respect of which a direction has been given under that paragraph for the exclusion of persons.

(3)   Any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with any order or direction under paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to both.

(4)   In this rule, “emergency situation” includes an emergency due to an actual or imminent occurrence (such as fire, flood, storm, earthquake, explosion, terrorist act, accident or epidemic) which endangers, or threatens to endanger, the safety or health of persons, or destroys or damages or threatens to destroy or damage property.

Revocation
8.   The Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) (Election Meetings) Rules (R 2) are revoked.

Made this 20th day of April 2006.

BENNY LIM
Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Home Affairs,
Singapore.

[CP/S/162/2/9; MHA 112/2/069; AG/LEG/SL/184/2005/1 Vol. 1]