Being Charged in Court

 

When you are charged in Court, the charge setting out the offence alleged to be committed by you will be read and explained to you. This will take place at the Criminal Mentions Court (Court No. 26 or Court No. 23) located at the Subordinate Courts of Singapore, and should occur no longer than 48 hours after your arrest and remand.

 

Who Can Investigate You

You must tell the Court if you are unclear about the charge. If you need an interpreter, ask for one. The Court will provide an interpreter to translate the charge to the language that you can understand.

 

Each offence alleged to be committed by you will be listed as a separate charge. You can be charged with more than one offence at the same time. One or more persons can also be charged together with you if they are accused of the same offence(s). However, separate charges may be preferred against you.

 

The charge should contain details of the date, time, place, names of the victims and/or the property involved in the offence alleged.

 

After the charge is read and explained to you, you will be asked how you wish to plead to the charge. You can choose to plead guilty (ie admit to the charge) or claim trial (ie you do not admit to the charge).

 

Application for Adjournment

 

If you are unable to decide whether to plead guilty or claim trial, or you wish to consult or be represented by a lawyer, you can request for a short adjournment. The application for adjournment will be considered on its merits and in accordance with the law.

 

When in doubt, always consult a lawyer. You may be required to furnish Court bail during the adjournment. Bail may or may not be granted, depending on the nature of the charge and the circumstances of your case.

 

Pleading Guilty

 

If you plead guilty to the charge, you must admit fully to the offence. You must also understand the nature and the consequences of your plea, ie you must be aware of the minimum and maximum punishments you face under the charge and be prepared to accept whatever punishment the Court may give.

 

The Prosecuting Officer will read out the Statement of Facts relating to the charge to you. If you do not agree with what is stated in the Statement of Facts, you must tell the Court. The Court will ask you whether you disagree with the Statement of Facts totally or in part. If you disagree with the Statement of Facts (unless what you disagree with is not important), the Court will not accept your plea of guilt and will direct you to claim trial to the charge.

 

If you agree fully to the Statement of Facts, the Court will record your plea upon such admission and convict you.

 

Previous Convictions

 

After you have pleaded guilty to the charge and have admitted to the Statement of Facts, the Prosecuting Officer will inform the Court of your previous convictions, if any. You will be asked whether you admit to those convictions. Those convictions may be considered by the Court in sentencing you.

 

Mitigation

 

You will then be asked by the Court if you wish to state any facts or circumstances to explain the reason(s) why you committed the offence and why the Court should be lenient in sentencing you. For example: family background, education, medical background, employment, recovery of all or some of the property and compensation given to the victim.

 

Victim Impact Statement

 

Before the Court decides on a sentence, the Prosecuting Officer may apply to read to the Court a Victim Impact Statement. This is a recently introduced procedure by which the Court may assess the effect of the offences on the victim and then consider an appropriate sentence.

 

Claiming Trial

 

If you decide to claim trial to the charge, your case will be fixed for a Pre-Trial Conference. Trial dates will be fixed when all parties are ready for trial. You may be required to furnish Court bail to ensure your attendance in Court. (Please see the section on ‘Arrest & Bail’)

 

On the day of the trial, you will be required by the Court to state your defence after the Prosecution has completed its case against you. If you are unable to do so, you will be found guilty and convicted.

 

If you are able to raise a reasonable doubt in the Prosecution's case, then you will be acquitted and released immediately.

 

Appeal

 

If you are not satisfied either with your sentence or conviction or both, you can file an appeal to the High Court. You have 10 days from the date of the conviction or sentence to file the appeal.

 

As a general rule, if you have already pleaded guilty to the charge, you can only appeal against the sentence.