All telephone and mobile phone users are required under the law to inform their service providers of any change to their details after they have registered under the Compulsory Registration for Telephone Services Decree.
Under the decree the registered customer for a SIM card or fixed line telephone should immediately inform the service provider about the change.
Any person who breaches this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $10,000 or imprisonment for six months.
According to the decree, service providers must suspend any and all telephone communications services to a telephone number which has not been registered within the 30 day timeframe.
Any service provider who fails to cancel the service within two weeks shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $200,000.
On the disclosure of customer information under the Telephone Services Decree, it states that no person may disclose any information which he or she obtained in exercising their powers or the performance of their duties under the decree, except in accordance with a search warrant issued by a Magistrate in the exercise of his or her powers under the decree.
It states that a Magistrate may issue a search warrant if there are investigations relating to prank calls to national emergency telephone numbers and also to investigations relating to treason and other offences against Government authority, offence against public order, offences against international order, offences against the person and threat of injury to a person employed in the public service.
Story by: Vijay Narayan
