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Explanation |
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Speaker |
Tan Puay Boon is currently a district judge of the Singapore Subordinate Courts dealing with criminal cases. He has previously been a civil engineer in the Sewerage Department of the Ministry of the Environment, a state counsel in the Attorney-General's Chambers and a senior assistant registrar in the Registry of the Supreme Court. While in the Subordinate Courts, he has also dealt with civil cases and matrimonial cases.
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Abstract |
By the nature of his training, a civil engineer can hold different positions in the civil engineering field, become involved in various activities and encounter a multitude of situations throughout his career. Although he would principally be dealing with the laws of nature, at all times he also deals with the laws of man. This talk is not intended to be an exhaustive inventory, nor is it intended to give an in-depth analysis of these laws of man. Instead, it seeks to give a quick overview of some of the laws of man which can feature in a civil engineer's life, and points to how he may be affected by them.
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Advices |
- Prevention better than cure: never be @ the side of the law
- A reasonable Singapore engineer
- Never initiate nor approach corruptive favours
- Cut all foods, supplies, lodgings & jobs to illegal immigrants
- Always use standards (BS, SS, codes of practices, SOPs) whenever is stated formally
- Never convey or disclose confidential information in any way
- Always focus on the objectives & scope only & that only, never more, never less
- Engineering projects are for life (of engineer) & lives
- Never sign when uncertain of the details (never non est factum)
- Never allow or breed negligence
- Every project is a new project
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Contents |
- Signing your life away
- Negligence
- Statutes
- Corruption
- Doing damages
- Foreign workers dealings
- Performance bonds
- Going to courts
- Arbitration
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Signing |
- Non est factum
- Always check before signing
- Criminal liability: crime syndicate use for chalking up phone bills
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Negligence |
- Duty of care
- Breach of duty
- Damage as a result of breach
- Vicarious liability: employer liable for negligence of employees
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Statutes |
- Building Control Act (BCA)
- Building Control Regulations (BCRs)
- Scheme of the act: (example: school construction collapse à assign fixed roof-column joint when planned to be sliding joint & column not designed for lateral resistance)
- Qualified Person: any certified professional/designer/consultant/engineer directly involved (the mistake can still be made by its subordinates, & yet be liable for the full penalties) à comply regulations, keep proper records, supervision failure
- Accredited Checker: carefully check plans & design calculations
- Builders: actual developers & contractors to implement construction à failure to ensure welds comply with plans
- BCA: liable & responsible for life
- Factories Act:
- BOWEC: building operations and works of Engineering contracts
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Doing damages |
- Focus on the part to be responsible for only, nothing more nothing less
- District Cooling Act: provides for different coolers performing for different places
- Gas Act: piped gas à PUB & natural gas à pipeline might be straight
- Parks & Trees Act: cut trees; Public Utilities Act; Rapid Transit System Act; Telecommunications Act
- Getting zapped:
- Workers inexperienced never engage
- Singapore Telecoms: don’t take telecom lines as straight
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Corruption |
- Section 5-6: Prevention of Corruption Act
- Penalties: $100K & jail (5-7 yr govt. jobs)
- Default sentence: no term reduction (normally 1/3: if good behaviour)
- Punishment for receivers & givers:
- Never initiate or accept favours
- Gratification: to give favours (cash, hostesses, drinks, holidays, concessions)
- Link between favours & gratification: to be in servitude
- Where no favour is shown: if people bribe wrong person, that person if he accepts bribe, is also charged
- Government department: section 8 à although all presumed to be initially innocent à falls on those to explain reasonable doubt on the balance of probability
- Extra-territorial jurisdiction:
- Any Singapore citizen can still be liable for corruption charges if committed outside of Singapore
- Foreign courts can charge across nations for corruption (only): section 37(1), PCA
- Other statutes:
- Chemical weapons prohibition Act
- UN Act
- Misuse of Drugs Act: section 8A à charged for drugs related outside of Singapore
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Foreign workers dealings |
- Employment:
- Immigration Act: (Cap. 113)
- Employment of Foreign Workers Act (Cap 9(A))
- Employment passes: >$2K: liability for work permit
- Offences relating to immigrant offenders:
- Occupier
- Presumption: if found illegal immigrants anywhere, the owner is liable unless otherwise proven
- Work permit:
- Never deviate from condition of work permit: any others would be liable
- Definition of "employ": give someone money to do just anything à work permit
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Performance bonds |
- ~10% of project values to be paid or held as a form of security & insurance for doing the job (construction contracts)
- Never pay if:
- Fraud
- Unconscionability
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Going to courts |
- Witness of fact:
- Factual truth
- Lying à liable for penalty
- Witness of expert:
- Expertise independent of litigation
- Clarify if it falls outside expertise scope
- Document & photograph clearly
- Tune to professionalism
- Question should be clearly stated
- Help by assistance of objective, unbiased options
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Arbitration |
- Chartered Institute of Arbitration
- Singapore Institute of Arbitration
- Code of conduct:
- Professional Engineers (Code of professional conduct & ethics) Rules
- Non-disclosure of confidential information
- Sanctions (PE Act Section 27):
- Cancellation of PE
- De-licensing
- Censure by writing
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Q&A |
- Never sign blindly
- A little knowledge is a dangerous thing
- If involved in legality: read up & consult legalist
- Standards: if stated to comply clearly, must use, else depends situational
- Use higher codes, maybe lower codes
- I’m not familiar, if too wooly, not able to help
- Qualified Person: stand in (vicarious liability)
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