Whoever, being legally bound to furnish information on any subject to any public servant, as such, furnishes, as true, information on the subject which he knows or has reason to believe to be false, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 6 months, or with fine which may extend to $1,0002008$5,0002008, or with both; or, if the information which he is legally bound to furnish respects the commission of an offence, or is required for the purpose of preventing the commission of an offence, or in order to the apprehension of an offender, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2200832008 years, or with fine, or with both.
Section history
Section 177 — Furnishing false information
Consolidated view is experimental and may be broken for certain provisions.
Amendments
Section 177 — Original text to 1 January 2020superseded
Illustrations
(a) A, a landholder, knowing of the commission of a murder, within the limits of his estate, wilfully misinforms the police of the district that the death has occurred by accident in consequence of the bite of a snake. A is guilty of the offence defined in this section.
Illustration (b) — Original text to 1 February 2008superseded
(b) A, a police officer, or penghulu, knowing that a considerable body of strangers has passed through his village in order to commit a gang-robbery in the house of Z, a wealthy merchant residing in a neighbouring place, and being bound to give information of the above fact to his superior officer, wilfully misinforms the officer that a body of suspicious characters passed through the village with a view to commit gang-robbery in a certain distant place in a different direction. Here A is guilty of the offence defined in this section.
Illustration (b) — From 1 February 2008 (current)repealed by Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2007
(b) [Deleted by Act 51/2007 wef 01/02/2008]200851 of 2007]2008
Explanation.—2008Explanation 1.—2008In section 176 and 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 “offender” includes any person who is alleged to have been guilty of any such act.
[Indian PC 1860, s. 177]
Section 177 — From 1 January 2020 (current)restructured by Criminal Law Reform Act 2019
(1)A person who, being legally bound to furnish information on any subject to any public servant, as such, furnishes, as true, information on the subject which the person knows or has reason to believe to be false, shall —
(a)in the case of an individual, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 6 months, or with fine which may extend to $5,000, or with both; or
(b)in any other case, be punished with fine which may extend to $10,000.
(2)If the information which the person mentioned in subsection (1) is legally bound to furnish respects the commission of an offence, or is required for the purpose of preventing the commission of an offence, or in order to the apprehension of an offender, the person who is guilty of an offence under that subsection shall —
(a)in the case of an individual, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years, or with fine, or with both; or
(b)in any other case, be punished with fine.
Illustration
A, a landholder, knowing of the commission of a murder, within the limits of his commercial property, intentionally misinforms the police that the death has occurred by accident in consequence of the bite of a snake. A is guilty of the offence defined in this section.
Explanation.—In this section and section 176, “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, 459 and 460, and “offender” includes any person who is alleged to have been guilty of any such act.