Police entry to inspect premises where vehicles are kept
Road Traffic Act section 92 sets out when police may enter a place to examine or search for a vehicle during specified investigations, and makes obstruction an offence.
Primary source: https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/RTA1961?ProvIds=pr92-
Police entry to inspect premises where vehicles are kept
Section 92(1) allows a police officer to enter, at any time, a place where the officer suspects a vehicle is kept, for the purpose of examining that vehicle, if the officer has reason to believe an offence under the Road Traffic Act has been committed in respect of it. This subsection states both the required belief about an offence and the suspected location of the vehicle (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 92).
Section 92(2) separately allows a police officer conducting an investigation into a seizable offence to enter any place to search for and examine a vehicle suspected to be connected with that offence. The text does not state the suspected-vehicle-location condition found in subsection (1) for this second power (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 92).
Under section 92(3), a person who obstructs a police officer exercising the officer’s powers and duties under this section commits an offence. Where no special penalty is provided, section 131(2) sets the maximum court penalty: for a first offence, a fine of $1,000, imprisonment for up to 3 months, or both; for a second or subsequent offence, a fine of $2,000, imprisonment for up to 6 months, or both (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 92; Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 131(2)).
Coverage debt
- Section 92 does not itself explain how “seizable offence” is defined or set out a procedure for entering a place. This summary does not infer additional entry conditions or safeguards beyond the subsection wording (Singapore Statutes Online, Road Traffic Act 1961, s. 92).