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Section history

Section 212 — Harbouring an offender. If a capital offence. If punishable with imprisonment

As in force on 1 February 2008.

Timeline 6 versions
  1. 30 March 1987 Enacted
  2. 1 February 2008 Act 51 of 2007
  3. 30 November 2008 Revised edition
  4. 1 January 2020 Act 15 of 2019
  5. 31 December 2021 Revised edition
  6. 17 August 2026 Latest
Amended in force 1 February 2008 by Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2007
212.Harbouring an offender. If a capital offence. If punishable with imprisonment

Whenever an offence has been committed, whoever harbours or conceals a person whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the offender, with the intention of screening him from legal punishment, shall, if the offence is punishable with death, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 510 years, and shall also be liable to fine; and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment which may extend to 10 years ,20 years, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 37 years, and shall also be liable to fine; and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to one year and not to 1020 years, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one-fourth part of the longest term of imprisonment provided for the offence, or with fine, or with both.

In this section “offence” includes any act committed at any place out of Singapore which if committed in Singapore would be punishable under any of the following sections, namely, 302, 304, 382, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 399, 402, 435, 436, 449, 450, 457, 458, 459 and 460, and every such act shall for the purposes of this section be deemed to be punishable as if the accused person had been guilty of it in Singapore.

Exception 1.— This provision shall not extend to any case in which the harbour or concealment is by the husband or wife of the offender. IllustrationIllustrations A, knowing that B has committed gang-robbery, knowingly conceals B in order to screen him from legal punishment. Here, as B is liable to imprisonment for life,a term of not less than 5 years and not more than 20 years, A is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 37 years, and is also liable to fine.