Military Manoeuvres Act 1905

2020 REVISED EDITION

This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021

An Act to facilitate military manoeuvres and firing exercises.

[16 September 1963]

Short title

1. This Act is the Military Manoeuvres Act 1905.

Notice of manoeuvres

2.—(1) Whenever the number of troops to be engaged in military manoeuvres exceeds 500, notice in writing shall be given to the secretary to the Armed Forces Council at least one month before the date on which it is proposed to execute such manoeuvres, specifying —

(a)	the date of the commencement of the manoeuvres, the period not exceeding 3 months during which and approximately the limits within which the manoeuvres are to be executed; and
(b)	a date not earlier than one month from the conclusion of the manoeuvres within which claims for compensation arising from the putting in force of the provisions of this Act shall be sent to the secretary to the Armed Forces Council.

Publication of notice

(2) The secretary to the Armed Forces Council shall cause copies of such notice to be posted in every village and at other convenient places within the limits mentioned in the notice at least 14 days before the day named for the commencement of the manoeuvres.

When no notice necessary

(3) Whenever the number of troops to be engaged in the manoeuvres does not exceed 500 no such notice as mentioned in subsection (1) shall be necessary; and if no such notice is given, the manoeuvres shall not extend beyond a period of 48 hours.

Powers of persons engaged in manoeuvres

3.—(1) When any military manoeuvres are being executed under this Act, such persons as are engaged in the manoeuvres may within the limits specified in the notice, if any, as aforesaid and during the specified period —

(a)	pass over and encamp, construct military works not of a permanent character and execute military manoeuvres on any land; and
(b)	supply themselves with water from any sources of water, public or private, and for that purpose dam up any running water,

provided that such damming under paragraph (b) does not interfere with any trade or industry and that nothing in this Act shall authorise the taking of water from any source of supply belonging to a private owner or public authority except subject to the supply shown to be required by those entitled to use the water supply.

(2) Nothing in this Act shall authorise entry on or interference with any dwelling house, place of worship, school, factory, store or premises used for the carrying on of any business or manufacture or any ground attached to any place of worship or school or any premises enclosed within the curtilage of or attached to any dwelling house.

Compensation for damage

4.—(1) Full compensation shall be paid for any injury or damage to persons or property or interference with rights or privileges arising from putting in force any of the provisions of this Act, whether or not occasioned by the acts or defaults of the forces engaged in the manoeuvres, including therein all expenses reasonably incurred in the protection of persons, property, rights and privileges, and any damage by reason of excessive weight or extraordinary traffic caused to any highway for the repair of which any public body or any individual is responsible.

(2) The compensation shall be paid to all persons who send in their claims to the secretary to the Armed Forces Council within the period named in the notice or, if there is no such notice, to the secretary within one month from the conclusion of the manoeuvres.

Assessment of compensation

5.—(1) If the amount of compensation is not settled by agreement between the Armed Forces Council and the claimant, the difference between them shall be referred to arbitration, and the sending in of a claim for compensation shall be treated as a submission to arbitration under the Arbitration Act.

(2) The reference shall be to 2 arbitrators having power to appoint an umpire under the Arbitration Act.

Offences

6.—(1) If within a manoeuvring ground and during the continuance of any military manoeuvres under this Act, any person —

(a)	wilfully and unlawfully interferes with the execution of the manoeuvres;
(b)	without due authority enters or remains in any camp;
(c)	without due authority moves any flag or other mark distinguishing for the purposes of the manoeuvres any lands; or
(d)	maliciously cuts or damages any telegraph or telephone wire laid down by or for the use of the forces engaged in the manoeuvres,

he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

(2) Such person may be arrested without a warrant and any animal or vehicle under his charge may be removed by any police officer or by order of any commissioned officer of the forces engaged in the manoeuvres.

Manoeuvres not to be held in catchment area of waterworks

7. No military manoeuvres shall be executed and no military encampment made on any land forming part of the catchment area in connection with the impounding reservoir of any public waterworks or on any land set apart for the collection of water for the supply of any public waterworks.

Manoeuvring and firing grounds

8.—(1) It shall be lawful for the Minister from time to time by proclamation to declare —

(a)	that any area specified in the proclamation shall be a manoeuvring ground; or
(b)	that any area specified in the proclamation shall be a firing ground,

and from time to time in the like manner to declare that any such area or part of that area shall cease to be a manoeuvring ground or a firing ground, as the case may be.

(2) A manoeuvring ground may include any land, sea, tidal water or shore on which or over which aircraft can manoeuvre or from which they can take off or on which they can alight.

(3) A firing ground may include any land, sea, tidal water or shore on which or over which artillery or rifle practices, air firing, bomb dropping or torpedo dropping practices can be carried out, whether from weapons on the ground or from aircraft in flight.

Powers of Armed Forces Council with respect to manoeuvring ground

9.—(1) The Armed Forces Council shall have the following powers in respect of any manoeuvring ground so declared under this Act:

(a)	it may at any time direct military or air force manoeuvres to be carried on within the manoeuvring ground without giving the notice required by section 2;
(b)	it may exercise with respect to the performance of manoeuvres within the manoeuvring ground all the powers for the purpose of military manoeuvres as set out in section 3.

(2) All the provisions in this Act with regard to —

(a)	the powers exercisable for the purpose of military manoeuvres;
(b)	compensation for damage and assessment of compensation; and
(c)	offences,

shall be applicable to all manoeuvres carried on, in and over the manoeuvring ground.

Powers of Armed Forces Council in respect of firing ground

10.—(1) The Armed Forces Council shall have the following powers in respect of any firing ground so declared under this Act:

(a)

it may at any time cause firing exercises, either on the ground or from the air, or experiments in gunnery, or any act or practice incidental to such exercises or experiments, or bombing or torpedo practices, or any other military or air force exercises to be carried out in or over the firing ground, giving not less than 24 hours’ notice thereof to the occupiers of land in or over which such exercises, experiments, acts or practices are to take place, by the hoisting of a red flag in a conspicuous position within the firing area;

(b)

it may cause to be removed all or any buildings within the firing ground or any trees or other things which may hinder or interfere with the full exercise of the rights given by this Act and may prohibit the erection of any new building within the firing ground.

(2) All the provisions in this Act with regard to —

(a)	the powers exercisable with regard to military manoeuvres;
(b)	compensation for damage and assessment of compensation; and
(c)	offences,

shall be applicable to any military or air force exercises carried on, in and over the firing ground.

Rules for firing grounds

11.—(1) The Armed Forces Council may make rules for securing the safety of the public during the use of any firing ground for the purposes of military or air force exercises, and may, by those rules, among other things —

(a)	exclude all persons not engaged in the military or air force exercises from the whole or any part of the firing ground;
(b)	regulate the conduct of any persons permitted to be within the firing ground while the exercises are being carried on; and
(c)	prescribe a penalty not exceeding $2,000 or 6 months’ imprisonment or both for any contravention of any rule.

(2) All such rules shall be published in the Gazette, and copies of the rules in Malay, Chinese, Tamil and English shall be posted in at least 3 conspicuous places within or near the firing ground.

(3) If any such rules injuriously affect or obstruct the exercise of any private right of any person in or over any sea, tidal water or shore, that person shall be entitled to compensation, and the compensation shall, in case of dispute, be ascertained in the manner provided by section 13.

(4) Any such rules which affect any public right shall be presented to Parliament and shall not come into force until approved, with or without amendment, by a resolution of Parliament. For the purposes of this subsection, “public right” means any right of navigation, anchoring or fishing.

(5) Where an area to which rules made under this section apply consists of any sea or tidal water, or the shore thereof, and the boundaries of the area cannot, in the opinion of the Armed Forces Council, be conveniently marked by permanent marks, those boundaries shall be deemed to be sufficiently marked for the purposes of this Act if sufficient means are taken to warn the public from entering the area.

(6) Any officer, warrant officer, non-commissioned officer or military policeman of the Singapore Armed Forces or any police officer may arrest without warrant any person found in any firing ground in contravention of the rules made under this section and may remove him and any animal or vehicle under his charge.

Compensation

12. Compensation shall be paid to the owners or occupiers or both of land within any firing ground for any loss or damage arising from the land owned or occupied by them being proclaimed a firing ground under this Act, such compensation to be independent of and in addition to any compensation in respect of damage for which compensation may be awarded to them under section 4.

Form and assessment of compensation

13.—(1) Such compensation, unless otherwise agreed, shall be in the form of an annual rent payable to every person entitled to the compensation so long as the land in respect of which it is paid continues to be a firing ground.

(2) The amount of such compensation shall be such as is agreed upon between the Armed Forces Council and the claimant, and if the amount of the compensation cannot be settled by agreement, the difference between the parties shall be referred to arbitration, and the sending in of a claim for compensation shall be treated as a submission to arbitration under the Arbitration Act.

(3) The reference shall be to 2 arbitrators having power to appoint an umpire under the Arbitration Act.

Time limit for claim to compensation

14.—(1) Every claim for compensation under section 11(3) or 12 shall be made in writing to the secretary to the Armed Forces Council, within 2 months after the land, sea, tidal water or shore, as the case may be, in respect of which the claim is made has been used as a firing ground for the purposes of military or air force exercises by virtue of a declaration under this Act.

(2) No compensation shall be granted for any building erected or commenced after the posting of the rules as provided in section 11(2).

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