SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Lim Chong Kin and Corinne Chew, Drew & Napier LLC
related to any matter relevant to the investiga - tion, to be produced in a form in which it can be taken away and read; and • remove from the premises any equipment or article related to any matter relevant to the investigation (eg, computers). While the Commission’s powers under the war - rant appear to be broad, a significant caveat is that the Commission’s power to require the dis - closure of information or documents under the Competition Act does not extend to any commu - nication that would be protected in disclosure in court proceedings on the grounds of legal advice privilege or litigation privilege (see 2.6 Attorney- Client and Other Privileges ). It should also be noted that where the Commis - sion’s officers intend to enter premises without a warrant, the Commission’s officers may none - theless require: • any person on the premises to produce any document that the Commission’s officers consider related to any matter relevant to the investigation – eg, minutes of any meet - ings with competitors, the diaries of specified directors, sales data or invoices; • any person on the premises to provide an explanation of any document produced; • any person to state, to the best of that per - son’s knowledge and belief, the location of any document that the Commission’s officers consider to be related to any matter relevant to the investigation; • any information stored in any electronic form and accessible from the premises that the Commission’s officers consider to be related to any matter relevant to the investigation, to be produced in a form in which it can be read and taken away; and
• the taking of any other steps that appear nec - essary to preserve the documents or prevent interference with them – eg, sealing such rooms or cabinets for such time as is reason - ably necessary to enable the inspection to be completed (this period will not be longer than 72 hours, except where an undertaking consents to a longer time or where access to documents is unduly delayed, such as by the unavailability of a person who can provide access). Furthermore, the Commission is empowered to interview occupants on the premises being inspected without having to serve a written notice, under Section 63 of the Competition Act. The Commission’s officers may require individu - als to answer any question relating to the inves - tigation, and any information provided verbally must be put in writing, read to the individual, and after correction (if any), signed by the individual. If the individual does not understand English, the information recorded will be interpreted in a lan - guage that the individual understands. 2.3 Spoliation of Evidence The Competition Act specifies certain offences relating to non-compliance or non-cooperation with the Commission’s investigations; in particu - lar, where a person: • refuses to provide information pursuant to a requirement on them to do so; • destroys, falsifies or conceals documents; • provides false or misleading information; or • obstructs an officer of the Commission in the discharge of their duties. A person who is convicted of an offence con - cerning the above may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months, a fine not exceeding SGD10,000, or both. To
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