SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Jason Lim, Sreenivasan Narayanan SC and Palaniappan Sundararaj, Sreenivasan Chambers LLC
False Accounting and Inaccurate Financial Records Section 477A of the Penal Code criminalises the fal - sification of accounts. It is an offence for a clerk, officer or servant, acting with intent to defraud, to: • falsify, conceal or destroy any book or account; • make or abet the making of false entries; or • omit or alter material particulars in any such records. This offence is punishable by a fine and/or imprison - ment for up to ten years. 3.6 Cartels and Anti-Competitive Offences Cartel and Competition Law Offences In Singapore, cartel and anti-competitive conduct are primarily addressed through administrative enforce - ment rather than criminal sanctions. Enforcement is carried out by the Competition and Consumer Com - mission of Singapore, a public body constituted under the Competition Act 2004 (the “Competition Act”). The key prohibitions under the Competition Act are as follows. • Section 34 prohibits agreements between under - takings, decisions by associations of undertakings, or concerted practices that have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition within Singapore. This includes cartel conduct such as price-fixing, market sharing and bid-rigging. • Section 47 of the Competition Act prohibits con - duct by one or more undertakings that amounts to an abuse of a dominant position in any market in Singapore. • Section 54 of the Competition Act prohibits merg - ers that result in a substantial lessening of com - petition in any market in Singapore for goods or services. Enforcement and Penalties The CCCS has broad powers to investigate and enforce infringements. It may:
• issue directions requiring undertakings to cease anti-competitive conduct; and • require steps to remedy, mitigate or eliminate the adverse effects of the infringement. In addition, the CCCS may impose financial penalties of up to 10% of the undertaking’s turnover in Singa - pore for each year of infringement, subject to a maxi - mum of three years, pursuant to Section 69 (4) of the Competition Act read with the Competition (Financial In Singapore, counterfeiting and dealing in counterfeit goods are primarily governed by the Trade Marks Act 1998 (TMA). Under Section 46, it is an offence to counterfeit a reg - istered trade mark. This offence carries a fine of up to SGD100,000 and/or imprisonment for up to five years. The burden of proving the proprietor’s consent lies on the accused. Penalties) Order 2007. 3.7 Counterfeiting Counterfeiting and Trade Mark Offences Under Section 47, applying a registered trade mark to goods or services without authorisation is an offence. This offence carries a fine of up to SGD100,000 and/ or imprisonment for up to five years. Under Section 49, it is an offence to import or sell goods with a falsely applied trade mark. This offence carries a fine of up to SGD10,000 per infringing item (capped at SGD100,000) and/or imprisonment for up to five years. Copyright Offences Criminal offences relating to copyright infringement are set out in the Copyright Act 2021 (the “Copyright Act”). Under Section 136 (2) of the Copyright Act, it is an offence to possess infringing copies of copyrighted material for the purpose of distribution or trade. The offence carries a fine and/or imprisonment for up to five years.
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