THE STATUTES OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE
SEDITION ACT
(CHAPTER 290)
(Original Enactment: M Ordinance 14 of 1948)
REVISED EDITION 2013
(31st August 2013)
Prepared and Published by
THE LAW REVISION COMMISSION
UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF
THE REVISED EDITION OF THE LAWS ACT (CHAPTER 275)
PRINTED BY THE GOVERNMENT PRINTER, SINGAPORE
2013
2013 Ed.
CHAPTER 290
Sedition Act
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section
1. Short title
2. Interpretation
3. Seditious tendency
4. Offences
5. Legal proceedings
6. Evidence
7. Innocent receiver of seditious publication
8. Issue of search warrant
9. Suspension of newspaper containing seditious matter
10. Power of Court to prohibit circulation of seditious publications
11. Arrest without warrant
An Act for the punishment of sedition.
[28th May 1964]
Short title
1. This Act may be cited as the Sedition Act.
Interpretation
2. In this Act —
“publication” includes all written or printed matter and
everything whether of a nature similar to written or printed
matter or not containing any visible representation or by its
form, shape or in any other manner capable of suggesting
words or ideas, and every copy and reproduction or
substantial reproduction of any publication;
“seditious” when applied to or used in respect of any act, speech,
words, publication or other thing qualifies such act, speech,
words, publication or other thing as one having a seditious
tendency;
1
31.8.2013
2 CAP. 290 Sedition 2013 Ed.
“words” includes any phrase, sentence or other consecutive
number or combination of words, oral or written.
Seditious tendency
3.—(1) A seditious tendency is a tendency —
(a) to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection
against the Government;
(b) to excite the citizens of Singapore or the residents in
Singapore to attempt to procure in Singapore, the
alteration, otherwise than by lawful means, of any matter
as by law established;
(c) to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection
against the administration of justice in Singapore;
(d) to raise discontent or disaffection amongst the citizens of
Singapore or the residents in Singapore;
(e) to promote feelings of ill-will and hostility between different
races or classes of the population of Singapore.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), any act, speech, words,
publication or other thing shall not be deemed to be seditious by
reason only that it has a tendency —
(a) to show that the Government has been misled or mistaken in
any of its measures;
(b) to point out errors or defects in the Government or the
Constitution as by law established or in legislation or in the
administration of justice with a view to the remedying of
such errors or defects;
(c) to persuade the citizens of Singapore or the residents in
Singapore to attempt to procure by lawful means the
alteration of any matter in Singapore; or
(d) to point out, with a view to their removal, any matters
producing or having a tendency to produce feelings of ill-will
and enmity between different races or classes of the
population of Singapore,
2013 Ed. Sedition CAP. 290 3
if such act, speech, words, publication or other thing has not otherwise
in fact a seditious tendency.
(3) For the purpose of proving the commission of any offence under
this Act, the intention of the person charged at the time he did or
attempted to do or made any preparation to do or conspired with any
person to do any act or uttered any seditious words or printed,
published, sold, offered for sale, distributed, reproduced or imported
any publication or did any other thing shall be deemed to be irrelevant
if in fact such act had, or would, if done, have had, or such words,
publication or thing had a seditious tendency.
Offences
4.—(1) Any person who —
(a) does or attempts to do, or makes any preparation to do, or
conspires with any person to do, any act which has or which
would, if done, have a seditious tendency;
(b) utters any seditious words;
(c) prints, publishes, sells, offers for sale, distributes or
reproduces any seditious publication; or
(d) imports any seditious publication,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction for a first
offence to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding 3 years or to both, and, for a subsequent offence, to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years; and any seditious
publication found in the possession of that person or used in evidence
at his trial shall be forfeited and may be destroyed or otherwise
disposed of as the court directs.
(2) Any person who without lawful excuse has in his possession any
seditious publication shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable
on conviction for a first offence to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 18 months or to both, and, for a
subsequent offence, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years,
and such publication shall be forfeited and may be destroyed or
otherwise disposed of as the court directs.
31.8.2013
4 CAP. 290 Sedition 2013 Ed.
Legal proceedings
5.—(1) No prosecution for an offence under section 4 shall be
begun except within 6 months after the offence is committed:
Provided that for the purposes of this subsection a prosecution shall
be deemed to be begun against any person when a warrant or
summons has been issued in respect of any charge made against that
person and based on the facts or incident in respect of which the
prosecution afterwards proceeds.
(2) No person shall be prosecuted for an offence under section 4
without the written consent of the Public Prosecutor. In such written
consent the Public Prosecutor may designate any court to be the court
of trial.
Evidence
6.—(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Evidence
Act (Cap. 97), no person shall be convicted of an offence under
section 4 on the uncorroborated testimony of one witness.
(2) No person shall be convicted of any offence referred to in
section 4(1)(c) or (d) if such person proves that the publication in
respect of which he is charged was printed, published, sold, offered for
sale, distributed, reproduced or imported (as the case may be) without
his authority, consent and knowledge and without any want of due
care or caution on his part or that he did not know and had no reason to
believe that the publication had a seditious tendency.
Innocent receiver of seditious publication
7. Any person to whom any seditious publication is sent without his
knowledge or privity shall forthwith as soon as the nature of its
contents has become known to him deliver the publication to the
officer in charge of a police division and any person who complies
with this section shall not be liable to be convicted for having in his
possession that publication:
Provided that in any proceedings against such person the court shall
presume until the contrary is shown that that person knew the contents
of the publication at the time it first came into his possession.
2013 Ed. Sedition CAP. 290 5
Issue of search warrant
8.—(1) A Magistrate may issue a warrant empowering any police
officer, not below the rank of sergeant, to enter upon any premises
where any seditious publication is known or is reasonably suspected
to be and to search therein for any seditious publication.
[21/73]
(2) Whenever it appears to any police officer, not below the rank of
sergeant, that there is reasonable cause to believe that in any premises
there is concealed or deposited any seditious publication, and he has
reasonable grounds for believing that, by reason of the delay which
would be entailed by obtaining a search warrant, the object of the
search is likely to be frustrated, he may enter and search the premises
as if he were empowered to do so by a warrant issued under
subsection (1).
[21/73]
Suspension of newspaper containing seditious matter
9.—(1) Whenever any person is convicted of publishing in any
newspaper matter having a seditious tendency, the court may, if it
thinks fit, either in lieu of or in addition to any other punishment, make
orders as to all or any of the following matters:
(a) prohibiting, either absolutely or except on conditions to be
specified in the order, for any period not exceeding one year
from the date of the order, the future publication of that
newspaper;
(b) prohibiting, either absolutely or except on conditions to be
specified in the order, for the period aforesaid, the publisher,
proprietor or editor of that newspaper from publishing,
editing or writing for any newspaper or from assisting,
whether with money or money’s worth, material, personal
service or otherwise in the publication, editing or production
of any newspaper;
(c) that for the period aforesaid any printing press used in the
production of the newspaper be used only on conditions to be
specified in the order or that it be seized by the police and
detained by them for the period aforesaid.
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6 CAP. 290 Sedition 2013 Ed.
(2) Any person who contravenes an order made under this section
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
3 years or to both.
(3) Nothing in this Act shall affect the power of the court to punish
any person contravening an order made under this section for
contempt of court:
Provided that no person shall be punished twice for the same offence.
Power of Court to prohibit circulation of seditious publications
10.—(1) Whenever on the application of the Public Prosecutor it is
shown to the satisfaction of the Court that the issue or circulation of a
seditious publication is or if commenced or continued would be likely
to lead to unlawful violence or appears to have the object of promoting
feelings of hostility between different classes or races of the
community, the Court shall make an order (referred to in this
section as a prohibition order) prohibiting the issuing and circulation
of that publication (referred to in this section as a prohibited
publication) and requiring every person having any copy of the
prohibited publication in his possession, power or control forthwith to
deliver every such copy into the custody of the police.
(2) An order under this section may be made ex parte on the
application of the Public Prosecutor in chambers.
(3) It shall be sufficient if the order so describes the prohibited
publication that it can be identified by a reasonable person who
compares the prohibited publication with the description in the
prohibition order.
(4) Every person on whom a copy of a prohibition order is served by
any police officer shall forthwith deliver to that police officer every
prohibited publication in his possession, power or control, and, if he
fails to do so, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on
conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding one year or to both.
(5) Every person to whose knowledge it comes that a prohibited
publication is in his possession, power or control shall forthwith
2013 Ed. Sedition CAP. 290 7
deliver every such publication into the custody of the police, and, if he
fails to do so, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on
conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding one year or to both.
(6) The Court may, if it thinks fit, either before or after or without
service of the prohibition order on any person, issue a warrant
authorising any police officer not below the rank of sergeant to enter
and search any premises specified in the order, and to seize and carry
away every prohibited publication there found, and to use such force
as may be necessary for the purpose. A copy of the prohibition order
and of the search warrant shall be left in a conspicuous position at
every building or place so entered.
[21/73]
(7) The owner of any prohibited publication delivered or seized
under this section may, at any time within 14 days after the delivery or
seizure, apply to the Court by originating summons for the discharge
of the prohibition order, and if the Court, on the hearing of the
application, decides that the prohibition order ought not to have been
made, it shall discharge the order and shall order the prohibited
publication delivered by or seized from the applicant to be returned to
him.
[42/2005]
(8) Every prohibited publication delivered or seized under this
section with respect to which an application under subsection (7) is
not filed within the time aforesaid or which is not ordered to be
returned to the owner shall be deemed to be forfeited to the
Government.
[42/2005]
(9) For the purposes of this section, “Court” means the High Court.
Arrest without warrant
11. Any police officer may arrest without warrant any person found
committing or reasonably suspected of committing or of having
committed or of attempting to commit or of procuring or abetting any
person to commit any offence under this Act or reasonably suspected
of the unlawful possession of any thing liable to forfeiture thereunder.
[21/73]
31.8.2013
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
SEDITION ACT
(CHAPTER 290)
This Legislative History is provided for the convenience of users of the Sedition
Act. It is not part of the Act.
1. M Ordinance 14 of 1948 — Sedition Ordinance 1948
Dates of First, Second and Third : Dates unavailable
Readings
Date of commencement : 28 May 1964
2. L.N. 332/58 — Federal Constitution (Modification of Laws) (Ordinances
and Proclamations) Ordinance 1958
Date of commencement : 13 November 1958
3. L.N. 149/64 — Malaysia Act, Modification of Laws (Sedition) (Extension
and Modification) Order 1964
Date of commencement : 28 May 1964
4. G.N. No. S 15/66 — The Modification of Laws (Sedition) Order 1966
Date of commencement : 6 January 1966
5. 1966 Reprint — Sedition Ordinance 1948
Date of operation : 14 January 1966
6. 1970 Revised Edition — Sedition Act (Chapter 106)
Date of operation : 15 April 1971
7. Act 21 of 1973 — Statutes of the Republic of Singapore (Miscellaneous
Amendments) Act 1973
Date of First Reading : 7 March 1973
(Bill No. 16/73 published on
9 March 1973)
Date of Second and Third Readings : 20 March 1973
Date of commencement : 6 April 1973
8. 1985 Revised Edition — Sedition Act (Chapter 290)
Date of operation : 30 March 1987
31.8.2013
ii
9. Act 42 of 2005 — Statutes (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Act 2005
Date of First Reading : 17 October 2005
(Bill No. 30/2005 published on
16 December 2005)
Date of Second and Third Readings : 21 November 2005
Date of commencement : 1 January 2006 (item (32) of the
First Schedule — amendment of
Sedition Act)
10. 2013 Revised Edition — Sedition Act (Chapter 290)
Date of operation : 31 August 2013
