Personal liability of corporate officers for offences
The Act imposes personal liability on company officers for offences, an unusual provision in a data protection law:
‘Where an offence under this Act committed by a body corporate is proved —
(a) to have been committed with the consent or connivance of an officer; or
(b) to be attributable to any neglect on his part, the officer as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly’ (s52(1))
Personal and vicarious liabilities
Singapore’s Act raises important issues for businesses trading in Singapore concerning who is liable for breaches and offences.
Liability of employers - Any act done or conduct engaged in by an employee in the course of his or her "employment shall be treated as done or engaged in by the employer as well, whether or not it was with the employer's" knowledge or approval
Excluded organisations - The PDPA provides that the Data Protection Provisions do not impose any obligations on the following entities. These categories of organisations are therefore excluded from the application of the Data Protection Provisions:
a) Any individual acting in a personal or domestic capacity;
b) Any employee acting in the course of his or her employment with an
organisation; and
c) Any public agency
Individuals acting as employees
The second significant exclusion for individuals in the PDPA relates to employees who
are acting in the course of their employment with an organisation. Employees are
excluded from the application of the Data Protection Provisions. The PDPA defines
an employee to include a volunteer. Hence, individuals who undertake work without
an expectation of payment would fall within the exclusion for employees.
Case - Michael Reed vs Alex Bellingham vs Attorney-General ( Judith Prakash JCA -delivering the judgment of the court)
Application of Act
4.—(1) Parts 3, 4, 5, 6, 6A and 6B do not impose any obligation
on —
(a) any individual acting in a personal or domestic capacity;
(b) any employee acting in the course of his or her
employment with an organisation;
(c) any public agency; or
(d) any other organisations or personal data, or classes of
organisations or personal data, prescribed for the purposes
of this provision.
On this point, the appellant supports the Judge’s holding. In his submissions, the appellant accepts that if s 4(1)(b) of the PDPA applies, the respondent is not liable for any breach of ss 13 and 18 committed in the course of his employment. The liability would be that of the person who employed the respondent when he committed the breaches.
Should be B. Any act done or conducted or engaged in by an employee in the course of their employment will be treated as done or engaged in by the employer. This includes volunteers, interns and trainees.
However, it is a defence for the employer to prove that it took such steps as were practicable to prevent the employee from doing the act or engaging in the misconduct.
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