Registration of Births and Deaths Bill

1.      The Registration of Births and Deaths (“RBD”) Bill was introduced for First Reading in Parliament today. The current RBD Act, which was enacted in 1937, will be repealed and a new RBD Act will be enacted.

2.      The changes to the RBD Act will streamline the birth and death reporting and registration processes, and enable digitalisation, to make the processes more convenient for Singaporeans.

Reporting and registration of births

Reporting

3.      The Bill will make it mandatory for every birth in Singapore to be reported to the Registrar-General of Births and Deaths (RG) as soon as practicable.[1] Under the current RBD Act, it is not mandatory to report local births. Births in hospitals are currently reported to the RG under an administrative arrangement. The mandatory reporting requirement will allow the Government to have a comprehensive record of all births (and deaths – see paragraph 9) that have occurred in Singapore.

4.      The Bill will also make it mandatory for every birth on an inbound conveyance to be reported to the RG. This is not covered under the current RBD Act. The table below sets out the persons responsible for reporting a birth to the RG, under the RBD Bill.

5.      All births must be reported to the RG as soon as practicable.

6.      For births in a hospital, the existing administrative arrangement for the hospital to report such births to the RG will continue. For births that occur outside of a hospital and the child is not brought to a hospital within 24 hours after birth, the parents of the child will need to go to ICA in person to report the birth, and may choose to provide birth particulars for the purpose of birth registration at the same time (see paragraph 7); for other responsible persons, they should report the birth to ICA via email. Failure to report a birth will constitute an offence, and the penalties are a fine of up to $1,500, or imprisonment of up to one month, or both.

Registration

7.      Under the current RBD Act, almost anyone can provide birth particulars for the purpose of birth registration in Singapore. The Bill will make it mandatory for the parents or any legally-appointed persons to provide the birth particulars (including a name) for the child to the RG within 42 days of the child’s birth for the purpose of birth registration.[4] Failure to do so will constitute an offence, and the penalties are a fine not exceeding $1,500 or imprisonment not exceeding one month or both, and in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding $50 for every day or part thereof.

8.      The Bill will also provide the RG with the powers to register a birth on his own volition in the absence of an application from the parents or legally-appointed persons, or in the case of an incomplete application. This is important for the welfare of a child, as it ensures that the child is given a legal identity and his/her presence is made known to other Government agencies to allow for Government intervention or support if necessary. In registering such births, the RG will give the child an appropriate name.[5]

Reporting and registration of deaths

Reporting

9.      At present, only reportable deaths, as specified under the Coroners Act, are required by law to be reported to the Police.[6] The RBD Bill will make it mandatory for all other deaths (i.e. natural deaths) in Singapore to be reported to a medical practitioner as soon as practicable. (In practice, natural deaths are already being reported to medical practitioners for medical certification. This is because the family of the deceased requires the certificate of the cause of death to register the death, which is a mandatory requirement under the current RBD Act.)

10.      It will also be mandatory for every death on an inbound conveyance to be reported to the Police as soon as practicable. This is not covered under the current RBD Act. The table below sets out the persons responsible for reporting a death, under the RBD Bill.

11.      A responsible person must report a death by calling a medical practitioner or the Police as soon as practicable. Failure to report a death will constitute an offence, and the penalties are a fine of up to $1,500, or imprisonment of up to one month, or both.

No more need for relatives of the deceased to register the death

12.      Currently, there is a two-step process for death registration. First, a medical practitioner certifies the death online and issues an electronic Certificate of the Cause of Death (eCCOD). A print-out of the eCCOD is then given to the deceased’s relative. Second, the relative provides the death particulars of the deceased at a registration centre (a public hospital, a Neighbourhood Police Centre/Post, or ICA) using the eCCOD print-out to facilitate death registration.

13.      With the Bill, the second step will be removed, i.e. the relative will no longer need to provide the death particulars at a designated registration centre. Once a medical practitioner certifies the death online, the death will be automatically registered by the RG and a digital notification will be sent to the relative to download the digital death certificate.

14.      The relative can then download and access the digital death certificate from My Legacy, a one-stop website that also provides relevant information and services pertaining to post-death matters. This is part of our Smart Nation efforts to redesign services for citizens, centred around their life events.

15.      The relative will also no longer need to surrender the deceased’s NRIC for invalidation at the registration centre. The deceased’s NRIC will be deemed invalid once the death is registered. The relative should destroy the NRIC and ensure that it is not misused. The use of another person’s NRIC is an offence under the National Registration Act and the penalty is a fine of up to $10,000, or imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both.

16.      Under the Bill, the RG may register a local death, where the body of the deceased person is destroyed, irrecoverable or cannot be located, before a Coroner's Certificate is issued for the death. This is provided that the RG is satisfied that there is sufficient evidence that establishes the occurrence of the death in Singapore and the identity of the deceased person. This will allow the family of the deceased person to proceed with post-death matters. Under the current Act, the RG can only register the death after the Coroner’s Certificate is issued.

Empower ICA officers to investigate and enforce against offences

17.      Offences under the current RBD Act are currently investigated by the Police. The Bill will transfer this enforcement function to ICA, by empowering ICA officers to (i) take possession of suspected false or invalid documents produced in connection with the reporting or registration of a birth or death, (ii) conduct searches to obtain evidence of the commission of an offence, and (iii) investigate an offence under the Act.

[1] The Commissioner of the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) is the appointed Registrar-General of Births and Deaths.

[2] This refers to a person in occupation of the premises, or having the charge, management or control of the premises (either on the person’s own account or as an agent of another person).

[3] This includes the captain of an aircraft; the driver, or any person having for the time being control or charge, of a train; and a person (except a pilot or a harbour master) having for the time being control or charge of a vessel.

[4] A legally appointed person refers to the legal guardian of a child (if the child has a legal guardian); or the Director-General of Social Welfare or the protector for a child who has been appointed under the Children and Young Persons Act.

[5] The parents or legally-appointed persons can subsequently apply for a name change, if they want to.

[6] Under the Coroners Act, reportable deaths must be reported to the Police. These include any death in Singapore of a person whose identity is not known, and any death in Singapore that was unnatural or violent.