Constitution

1] The objectives of the Society are to assist in the rehabilitation of prisoners and ex-prisoners and their reintegration into the society, based on Christian principles.
2] In furtherance of the above-mentioned objects, the Society may do all such things which are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the objects, and particularly as follows:

• a) To train Christian Volunteer Counsellors so as to attain a holistic approach towards the rehabilitation process.
  b) To help ex-prisoners and drug abusers with job placement and skills development in order to help them to become contributing citizens of Singapore.
  c) To provide preventive education and/or Biblical counselling in governmental or non-governmental institutions and to the public in general.
  d) To work closely (and in tandem) with any related bodies to combat chronic social problems, e.g. the drug abuse problem of the nation and in the region.
  e) The Society shall not engage in any activities that may undermine the racial, political or religious harmony in Singapore.

1] We believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, One God in Three Persons, to be the only true God.
2] We believe in Jesus Christ as the Head of the Society, the Saviour and Redeemer of the World and the only Mediator between God and man.
3] We accept the Scripture of the Old and New Testaments as the true Word of God, inspired and holy, and as the supreme standard of faith and duty.
4] We acknowledge the Apostles’ Creed as worthily expressing the fundamental and traditional faith commonly held by the Church.a) APOSTLES’ CREEDI believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth.And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead, He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy catholic Church; The communion of Saints; The forgiveness of sins; The resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting. Amen.

Membership of the Society shall consist of four categories:

1] Ordinary Members :-

• a) Junior Members :
  This Membership is open to all persons between twelve to twenty-one years of age with written consent from parent/ guardian. Junior Members shall not have the right to vote and hold office.

• b) Ordinary Members :
  This membership is open to all persons above twenty-one years of age that are competent counsellors. A competent counsellor is one who has completed a formal counselling course approved by the Membership Sub-Committee OR has at least one year of experience in counselling ex-drug addicts or ex-prisoners.
  Only Ordinary Members shall have voting rights and the rights to hold office.
  Both Junior & Ordinary members must be recommended by the Membership Sub-committee and must fulfill the following:

  i) be Born Again and attending a local church.
  ii) be a member of a local church (approved by the Membership Sub-Committee).
  iii) accept without any mental reservation the doctrinal statement of faith of the Society.

• c) Institutional Members :
  This membership is open to any legally constituted Church, company, corporation, society and organisation. Institutional Members have no rights to vote and to hold office.

• d) Honorary Members :
  This membership is open to any person who, may from time to time be conferred by the Committee and who shall have been an active supporter of the Society. Honorary members have no rights to vote and to hold office.

2] Membership (General Qualification) :-

• a) Membership shall be open to persons residing in Singapore who express a commitment towards fulfilling the objects of the Society.
  b) Membership is unlimited.
  c) Procedure of application for membership.

  i] The applicant may be required to attend an interview conducted by the Membership Sub-Committee. The object of which is to ascertain whether:
  a) He understands the duties and responsibilities of membership.
  b) He accepts the Constitution.

  ii] The Membership Sub-Committee may in their discretion and according to the standing policy on Society’s membership, recommend or not recommend any application to the Committee.

  iii] Should the applicant be recommended to the Committee, he or she will be accepted as a member by a simple majority vote.

  iv] A person wishing to join the Society should submit his or her name to the Honorary Secretary. The method of election of a new member is as follows:
  A new member must be proposed and seconded by existing members. His name shall be put on the notice board in the Society’s premises for one week at the end of which time he will be eligible for membership provided that there are no objections. In the event of objections being raised, the Membership Sub-Committee will decide the matter. A copy of the Constitution of the Society shall be made available to every applicant.

  v] A member may by written notice to that effect resign from membership at any time. Such a resignation shall take effect at the time specified therein. If any Committee Member should tender his resignation to take effect at a future time, the remaining members of the Committee (other than such member) shall have power to elect a successor to take office at such time as the resignation shall become effective.

  vi] The membership of any member of the Society may be terminated by simple majority vote of the members (other than such member) at any General Meeting of the Society. Termination hereunder shall be effective upon mailing of a written notice thereof to the member whose membership is thereby terminated. A Committee Member of the Society, whose membership is terminated, shall also be deemed to be removed as a Committee Member.

  vii] A member shall not voluntarily or involuntarily transfer his membership or any right arising therefrom.

  viii] No member shall be liable to the Society for any dues, subscriptions or assessments of any kind except as he may specifically agree to in writing. The subscriptions may be reduced or waived at the discretion of the Membership Sub-Committee from case to case.

Types of General Meetings:

1] The General Meetings of the Society shall consist of:

• a) Annual General Meeting.
  b) Extraordinary General Meeting.

2] Supreme Authority of the Society

The supreme authority of the Society shall be vested in a General Meeting of its voting members and decisions at all such meetings shall be decided by a majority vote of all voting members present and voting unless otherwise required by the Constitution for some specific decision.

3] Quorum

The quorum for General Meetings shall be twenty-five (25%) per cent of the voting total membership.

4] Minutes

The Honorary Secretary shall make available to the Ordinary Members copies of the minutes of each General Meeting as soon as possible after its conclusion.

5] Conducting Annual/Extraordinary General Meeting

• a) The Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held by April of each calendar year. The Annual General Meeting shall be held at such time and place, as the Committee shall appoint. At other times, an Extraordinary General Meeting must be called by the President on the request in writing of not less than 25% of the total voting membership or ten (10) voting members and may be called at any time by order of the Committee. The Extraordinary General Meeting shall be convened within two (2) months from receiving this request to convene the Extraordinary General Meeting.
  b) If the Committee does not within two (2) months after the date of the receipt of the written request proceed to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting, the members who requested for the Extraordinary General Meeting shall convene the Extraordinary General Meeting by giving ten (10) days’ notice to voting members setting forth the business to be transacted and simultaneously posting the agenda on the Society’s notice board.
  c) In the event of there being no quorum at a General Meeting, the meeting shall be adjourned for half hour and should the number then present still be insufficient to form a quorum, those present shall then be considered a quorum, but they shall have no power to amend any part of the existing Constitution.

6] Business

The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be:

• a) To receive the Committee’s annual report on the work and activities of the Society during the previous year.
  b) To receive the Honorary Treasurer’s report and audited accounts of the Society for the previous financial year.
  c) To elect office-bearers and Honorary Auditors for the ensuing term.
  d) To transact such other matters as may be put before it as tabled in the agenda for the meeting.

7] Notice

• a) A notice of Annual General Meeting stating the date, time and place of meeting shall be given by the Honorary Secretary to the Ordinary Members at least twenty-one (21) days before the date fixed for the Annual General Meeting.
  b) At least one week’s notice shall be given of an Extraordinary General Meeting and particulars of its agenda shall be pasted on the Society’s notice board four days in advance of the meeting.

8] Submission of Motions

Any motion for discussion at the Annual General Meeting shall be submitted by the voting members to the Honorary Secretary not later than fourteen (14) days before the date of the Annual General Meeting.

9] Requisite Matters

The Honorary Secretary shall, at least twenty-one (21) days before the Annual General Meeting, make available to voting members the following:

• a) The agenda together with report;
  b) The audited accounts of the previous year and shall further make available the same at the Society’s registered place of business for the perusal of the member.

1] Two voting members not being members of the Committee shall be elected as Honorary Auditors at alternate Annual General Meeting and shall hold office for two years only and shall not be re-elected except after a lapse of one term. The accounts of the Society shall be audited by a firm of Certified Public Accountants if the gross income or expenditure of the Society exceeds $500,000 in that financial year, in accordance with Section 4 of the Societies Regulations. They shall be required to audit each financial year’s accounts and present a report upon them to the Annual General Meeting. They may be required by the President to audit the Society’s accounts for any period within their tenure of office at any date and make a report to the Committee.
2] If the Society at any time acquires any immovable property, such property shall be vested in trustees subject to a declaration of trust. No trustee shall affect any sale or mortgage of the property without the prior approval of the general meeting of members. Any trustee may at any time resign from his trusteeship. If a trustee dies or becomes a lunatic or of unsound mind or moves permanently or is absent from the Republic of Singapore for a continuous period of one year, he shall be deemed to have resigned from his trusteeship. If a trustee is guilty of misconduct of such a kind as to render it undesirable that he continues as a trustee, a general meeting may remove him from his trusteeship. Vacancies in the trusteeship may be filled at a general meeting, but the number shall not be greater than four or less than two. Notice of any proposal to remove a trustee from his trusteeship or to appoint- a new trustee to fill a vacancy must be given by affixing in the premises of the Society a document containing such proposal at least two weeks before the meeting at which the proposal is to be discussed. The result of such meeting shall then be notified to the Registrar of Societies and, where the Society is a registered charity, the Commissioner of Charities. The addresses of immovable properties, names of trustees and any subsequent changes shall be notified to the Registrar of Societies and, where the Society is a registered charity, the Commissioner of Charities.

The financial year of the Society shall be from 1st January to 31st December.

1] Gambling of any kind, excluding the promotion or conduct of a private lottery which has been permitted under the Private Lotteries Act Cap 250, is forbidden on the Society’s premises. The introduction of materials for gambling or drug taking and of bad characters into the premises is prohibited.
2] The funds of the Society shall not be used to pay fines of members who have been convicted in Court.
3] The Society shall not engage in Trade Union activity as defined in any written law related to trade unions for the time being in force in Singapore.
4] The Society shall not attempt to restrict/interfere with trade or make directly or indirectly any recommendations to any arrangement with its members which has the purpose or is likely to have the effect of fixing or controlling the price or discount, allowance or rebate relating to any goods or services which adversely affects consumer interests.
5] The Society shall not indulge in any political activity or allow its funds and/or premises to be used for political purposes unless with the prior written approval from the relevant authorities.
6] The Society shall not hold any lottery, whether confined to its members or not, in the name of the Society or its office-bearers, Committee or members unless with the prior approval of the relevant authorities.
7] The Society shall not raise funds from the public for whatever purpose without the prior approval in writing to the relevant Assistant Director Operations, Licensing Division, Singapore Police Force and other authorities.

The Society shall not amend its Constitution without the prior approval in writing of the Registrar of Societies and, where the Society is a registered charity, the Commissioner of Charities. No alteration or addition/deletion to this Constitution shall be passed except at a general meeting and with the consent of two-thirds (2/3) of the voting members present at the General Meeting.

In the event of any question or matter arising out of any point, which is not expressly provided for in the rules, the Committee shall have power to use their own discretion. The decision of the Committee shall be final unless it is reversed at a general meeting of the members.

In the event of any dispute arising amongst members, they shall attempt to resolve the matter at an Extraordinary General Meeting in accordance with this Constitution. Should the members fail to resolve the matter, they may bring the matter to a court of law for settlement.

In the event that the Society ceases to be a registered charity under the Charities Act, all debts and liabilities legally incurred on behalf of the Society shall be fully discharged, and the remaining funds will be donated to charitable organisation(s) with similar objectives which is (are) registered under the Charities Act as the members of the Society may determine at the General Meeting, unless otherwise allowed by the Commissioner of Charities.

1] The Society shall not be dissolved, except with the consent of not less than three-quarters (3/4) of the voting members of the Society for the time being resident in Singapore expressed, either in person or by proxy, at a general meeting convened for the purpose.
2] In the event of the Society being dissolved as provided above, all debts and liabilities legally incurred on behalf of the Society shall be fully discharged and the remaining funds will be donated to an approved charity or charities with similar objectives in Singapore which is/are registered under the Charities Act (Cap.37), as the members of the Society may determine at the General Meeting.
3] A certificate of dissolution shall be given within 7 days of the dissolution to the Registrar of Societies and, where the Society is a registered charity, the Commissioner of Charities.

Visitors and guests may be admitted into the premises of the Society but they shall not be admitted into the privileges of the Society. All visitors and guests shall abide by the Society’s rules and regulations.