Publishing matter prejudicial to public order
38.—(1) A person commits an offence if the person, during the period a special authorisation has effect, prints, publishes, sells, offers for sale, distributes or reproduces for distribution or imports, or have in the person’s possession, any document containing any matter which—
- (a) is likely to be prejudicial to controlling public disorder or restoring or maintaining public order in a target area of a special authorisation or in any other part of Singapore;
- (b) advocates or is likely to lead to disobedience to any written law or to any lawful order made under such written law or to the obstruction of public officers in the execution of their duty to restore or maintain public order;
- (c) incites or is likely to cause unlawful violence or to promote feelings of ill‑will or hostility between different races or classes of the population of Singapore; or
- (d) is likely to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against any public servant in the execution of the public servant’s duty or against any class of public servants, or against any armed force lawfully in Singapore or any member of such force in the execution of the member’s duty.
(2) In proceedings for an offence under subsection (1), it is not necessary for the prosecution to prove that an accused knew or had reason to believe that the document contained any matter described in subsection (1)(a), (b), (c) or (d).
(3) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years.
(4) In this section, "document" includes any thing in which information of any description is recorded, whether in electronic or other form.
