Seizure of films of law enforcement activities
38. (1) Any police officer of or above the rank of sergeant, or any CPIB officer, narcotics officer, intelligence officer or immigration officer, if satisfied upon information and after such further inquiry as he thinks necessary, that any person
(a) is making, has made or is about to make;
(b) is exhibiting or communicating or is about to exhibit or communicate; or
(c) has in his possession,
any film or picture containing a record of any law enforcement activities, and he reasonably believes that the film or picture, if exhibited or communicated (whether to the public or any section thereof or otherwise)
(i) prejudices the effective conduct of an ongoing law enforcement operation or investigation, or any intelligence operation; or
(ii) endangers or will endanger the safety of any law enforcement officer in an ongoing law enforcement operation or investigation, or any intelligence operation,
he may exercise any of the powers specified in subsection (2).
(2) A police officer of or above the rank of sergeant, a CPIB officer, a narcotics officer, an intelligence officer or an immigration officer may
(a) direct the person reasonably believed to be making, exhibiting or communicating a film or picture or about to do so to immediately cease making, exhibiting or communicating the film, and either to immediately delete, erase or otherwise destroy the film or picture or to surrender the film or picture to the police officer, CPIB officer, narcotics officer, intelligence officer or immigration officer, as the case may be;
(b) without warrant, search any person whom he has reason to believe is in possession of a film or picture referred to in subsection (1);
(c) without warrant, and with such assistance and by such force as is necessary, by night or by day, enter and search any place where he has reason to believe any film or picture referred to in subsection (1) is kept; or
(d) without warrant, and with such assistance and by such force as is necessary, seize any film or picture referred to in subsection (1) and any copy thereof, and any equipment (including a handphone) used or about to be used in the making, exhibition or communication of the film or picture,
and take into custody any person reasonably believed to be in possession thereof.
(3) Any film, picture and any equipment (including a handphone) used in the making, exhibition or communication of the film or picture may be forfeited and shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of in such manner as the Commissioner may direct.
(4) Where a person to whom a direction under subsection (2)(a) is given fails to comply with the direction, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(5) In this section
"cinematograph film" means the aggregate of visual images embodied in an article or a thing so as to be capable by the use of that article or thing
(a) of being shown as a moving picture; or
(b) of being embodied in another article or thing by the use of which it can be so shown,
and includes the aggregate of the sounds embodied in a sound-track associated with such visual images;
"communicate" means to transmit by electronic means (whether over a path, or a combination of paths, provided by a material substance or by wireless means or otherwise) a film or picture, whether or not it is sent in response to a request, and includes
(a) the broadcasting of the film or picture;
(b) the inclusion of the film or picture in a cable programme; and
(c) the making available of a film or picture on a network or otherwise in such a way that the film or picture may be accessed by any person from a place and at a time chosen by him,
and communicating and communication shall be construed accordingly;
"CPIB officer" has the same meaning as in the Prevention of Corruption Act (Cap. 241);
"film" means
(a) any cinematograph film;
(b) any video recording, or any disc or solid state recording device containing information by the use of which one or more series of visual images may be produced electronically and shown as a moving picture; or
(c) any other material, record or thing on which is recorded or stored for immediate or future retrieval any information that, by the use of any computer or electronic device, is capable of being reproduced or displayed as wholly or partly visual moving pictures,
and includes any part of a film, and any copy or part of a copy of the whole or any part of a film;
"immigration officer" means an immigration officer appointed under section 3 of the Immigration Act (Cap. 133);
"intelligence officer" means a public officer appointed to such Scheme of Service as the Minister designates;
"law enforcement" means
(a) activities carried on by any police officer, CPIB officer, narcotics officer, intelligence officer or immigration officer in the exercise of any function, power or duty of such an officer in accordance with law;
(b) activities carried on by any police officer, CPIB officer, narcotics officer, intelligence officer or immigration officer for the purpose of dealing with terrorism, civil unrest or public disorder; or
(c) activities carried on by any police officer, CPIB officer, narcotics officer, intelligence officer or immigration officer, as the case may be, in preparation for or directly in support of any activity referred to in paragraph (a) or (b);
"narcotics officer" means a public officer appointed to the Narcotics Service;
"picture" includes
(a) any drawing, whether made by computer-graphics or otherwise; and
(b) any photograph, photographic negative, photographic plate or photographic slide,
and includes any part of a picture;
"photograph" means a product of photography or of a process similar to photography, other than an article or thing in which visual images forming part of a cinematograph film have been embodied, and includes a product of xerography, photocopy, and record an image, whether digitally or in another way.
