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PART 1
| Short title and commencement |
1.—(1) This Act is the Singapore Armed Forces Act 1972.
| (2) Sections 199 and 200 come into operation on a date that the Minister appoints by notification in the Gazette. |
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2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —
| “aircraft” means any machine for flying whether propelled by mechanical means or not and includes any description of balloon; |
| “Armed Forces Council” means the Armed Forces Council established under section 8; |
| “arms” includes parts and accessories of arms, ammunition, explosives whether encased or not and instruments used as aids to operation or adjustment of arms, whether the arms are serviceable or not; |
| “arrest” includes open arrest; |
| “before the enemy”, in relation to a person, means that the person is in action against the enemy or about to go into action against the enemy or is under attack or threat of imminent attack by the enemy; |
| “civil court” means a court of ordinary criminal jurisdiction constituted under any written law in force relating to courts; |
| “civil offence” means an offence punishable under any written law in force other than a military offence; |
| “civil prison” means a prison declared as a prison under section 3 of the Prisons Act 1933; |
| “commander”, in relation to any person subject to military law, means an officer of or above the rank of captain or a senior military expert for the time being commanding a unit or units or part of a unit of the Singapore Armed Forces; |
“convening authority” means —
| (a) |
in the case of a general court martial — the officer of or above the rank of major, or the senior military expert of or above the rank of ME5, appointed by the Armed Forces Council for the purpose of being the convening authority for general courts martial; or |
| (b) |
in the case of a field general court martial — a commander mentioned in section 83(1); |
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| “detention barracks” means any building or part of a building which is set apart by the Armed Forces Council for the purpose of persons serving sentences of detention; |
| “Director, Legal Services of the Singapore Armed Forces” means the person appointed by the Armed Forces Council under section 82(5)(a); |
| “disciplinary barrack” means any premises or place set apart by the Armed Forces Council for the purposes of persons serving sentences of special detention in a disciplinary barrack; |
| “disciplinary officer” means a junior disciplinary officer, a senior disciplinary officer and a superior commander each being qualified to be such or being designated as such pursuant to the provisions of Part 4 and includes a Service Chief and the Chief of Defence Force; |
| “enemy” includes persons engaged in violent operations against the Singapore Armed Forces, armed mutineers, armed rebels, armed rioters or pirates; |
| “general courts martial panel” means the panel appointed by the convening authority under section 80A; |
| “general orders” includes orders of the Armed Forces Council, General Orders of the Ministry of Defence, standing orders, routine orders and other general orders published in writing in accordance with military usage; |
| “Military Court of Appeal” means the Court established under Part 7; |
| “military custody” means any place designated by the Armed Forces Council pursuant to regulations made under this Act which according to military usage is used for keeping offenders under arrest awaiting trial or on remand; |
| “military documents” includes reports, certificates, returns, pay lists, forms and any other documents in use in the Singapore Armed Forces; |
| “military expert” means a serviceman in the military domain experts service; |
| “military offence” means an offence punishable under this Act; |
| “military policeman” means a serviceman appointed to be a military policeman; |
| “military prison” means any building or part of a building under the control of the Armed Forces Council which is set apart by the Armed Forces Council for the purpose of persons serving sentences of imprisonment; |
| “national serviceman” has the meaning given by the Enlistment Act 1970; |
| “non-uniformed serviceman” means a regular serviceman who is not required under the serviceman’s terms of service to wear military uniform; |
| “officer” means a person appointed by the President of Singapore or the proper authority to hold the rank of officer in the Singapore Armed Forces and includes any person commissioned as an officer under any written law that is repealed by this Act; |
| “operationally ready national serviceman” means a person liable to render operationally ready national service under the Enlistment Act 1970; |
| “proper authority” has the meaning given by the Enlistment Act 1970; |
| “publication” includes all written or printed matter and everything whether of a nature similar to written or printed matter or not containing any visible representation or by its form, shape or in any other manner capable of suggesting words or ideas, and every copy and reproduction or substantial reproduction of any publication;
[Act 30 of 2021 wef 02/11/2022]
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| “qualified person” has the meaning given by the Legal Profession Act 1966; |
| “registrar for subordinate military courts” means the person appointed by the Armed Forces Council as registrar for subordinate military courts under section 82(5)(c); |
| “regular serviceman” has the meaning given by the Enlistment Act 1970; |
| “senior military expert” means a military expert of or above the rank of ME4; |
| “sentence” means a punishment imposed on a convicted person; |
| “Service Chief” means the Chief of Air Force, the Chief of Army, the Chief of Navy or the Chief of Digital and Intelligence Service;
[Act 24 of 2022 wef 28/10/2022]
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| “serviceman” means an officer, a soldier, a military expert or a non‑uniformed serviceman of the Singapore Armed Forces, and includes a servicewoman; |
| “sickness” includes permanent or temporary illness, disability or injury; |
| “Singapore Armed Forces” means the Singapore Armed Forces raised and maintained under section 7; |
| “Singapore Armed Forces property” includes property in the possession, control or occupancy of the Singapore Armed Forces; |
| “soldier” means any person, other than an officer, a senior military expert or a non‑uniformed serviceman, who is a member of the Singapore Armed Forces, and includes any such person who is a servicewoman; |
| “subordinate military courts” means general courts martial and field general courts martial from the decisions of which by reason of this Act there is a right of appeal to the Military Court of Appeal; |
| “summary trial” means a trial by a disciplinary officer under Part 4; |
| “vessel” includes a hovercraft; |
| “volunteer” means a person accepted by the proper authority as a volunteer in the Singapore Armed Forces; |
| “warrant officer” means a person appointed by the Armed Forces Council or the proper authority to hold the rank of warrant officer in the Singapore Armed Forces;
[17/2004; 28/2009]
[Act 30 of 2021 wef 02/11/2022]
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| “words” includes any phrase, sentence or other consecutive number or combination of words, oral or written.
[Act 30 of 2021 wef 02/11/2022]
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(2) In any written law or any document —
| (a) |
all references to “the Army Board” are to be construed as references to the Armed Forces Council constituted under this Act; |
| (b) |
all references to “court martial” are to be construed as references to the subordinate military courts constituted under this Act; |
| (c) |
all references to “Singapore armed forces”, “Singapore Army”, “Singapore forces” and “the army, navy, air force, or digital and intelligence service of Singapore” are to be construed as references to the Singapore Armed Forces constituted under this Act;
[Act 24 of 2022 wef 28/10/2022]
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| (d) |
all references to “a person holding a commission in the armed forces” are to be construed as references to an officer under this Act; and |
| (e) |
all references to “a soldier, enlisted personnel, sailor, seaman, rating or airman” are to be construed as references to a serviceman under this Act.
[28/2009]
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| (3) For the purposes of this Act, if not inconsistent with the context, the expression “on active service” as applied to a person subject to military law means whenever the person is attached to or forms part of a force which is engaged in operations against the enemy or is engaged in military operations in a country or place wholly or partly occupied by an enemy, or is in military occupation of any foreign country. |
| (4) Despite subsection (3), where any part of the Singapore Armed Forces is serving, or due to serve, outside Singapore under conditions that do not, or will not, amount to “active service” as defined in subsection (3), the Armed Forces Council may declare that that part of the Singapore Armed Forces is temporarily subject to this Act, as if that part of the Forces was on active service. |
| (5) On the publication of any declaration under subsection (4), the forces to which the declaration applies are deemed to be on active service until the declaration is cancelled by the Armed Forces Council. |
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3. The following persons are subject to military law and this Act applies to them, subject to such exclusions or variations in relation to non‑uniformed servicemen as may be prescribed:
| (a) |
regular servicemen and full-time national servicemen in the Singapore Armed Forces from the time their liability to report for enlistment or service arises until such time as they are lawfully discharged or released; |
| (b) |
operationally ready national servicemen from the time that they are ordered to report for enlistment or service, whether they have complied with such order or not, and while in uniform or performing service in the Singapore Armed Forces or the People’s Defence Force pursuant to section 14 of the Enlistment Act 1970, and while called out for mobilised service pursuant to sections 16 and 17 of that Act or when called out to duty in aid of the civil power; |
| (c) |
all civilians who are in the service of the Singapore Armed Forces when engaged on active service; |
| (d) |
all civilians, not otherwise subject to military law, who are followers of, or accompany, the Singapore Armed Forces when engaged on active service; |
| (e) |
officers and soldiers belonging to a Commonwealth or foreign force when attached to or seconded for service with or otherwise acting as part of or with any portion of the Singapore Armed Forces; and |
| (f) |
volunteers during the period that they are ordered to report for service, whether they have complied with such order or not. |
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| Liability for military offences |
| 4. Every person subject to military law by virtue of section 3 shall be liable to be tried by subordinate military courts for any military offence and by a disciplinary officer for any offence specified in the First Schedule.
[Act 25 of 2023 wef 01/12/2023]
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| 5. [Repealed by Act 4 of 2021] |
| Jurisdiction of civil courts |
| 6. This Act does not affect the jurisdiction of civil courts to try a person subject to military law for any civil offence. |
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