Looking for a criminal defence lawyer in Singapore?

Legal representation: Do you need to engage a lawyer for your Criminal case in Court?

Engaging a lawyer is a personal choice that depends on your own unique circumstances, objectives and resources. It is an important choice that must be made only after you have considered the strengths and weaknesses of the available options. If you are representing yourself, you must know the legal procedure and rules that the Court will follow and the legal principles that the Court will apply in your case.

If you plan to represent yourself, it is important that you know that the Court won’t change the rules and standards for you just because you are representing yourself as a layman. You must present your case as if you are represented by a lawyer and you must be prepared to be responsible for preparing for and conducting your case. Even though the Court can give some guidance regarding the trial procedures, the Court suggest what you must do to defend yourself. The Court’s role is to make sure that you have a fair trial.

You can decide on representing yourself if you feel you can handle all the legal procedure and the legal principles. If not, you must try to engage a lawyer or at least talk to a lawyer before you choose to conduct your case without a lawyer. A good lawyer will reduce your stress in preparing for and conducting your case in Court.

Bail: Can you get the Court’s permission to leave Singapore when you are on bail?

If you are on bail for your Criminal case in Court, you can ask for permission to travel outside of Singapore by submitting an official application in writing, submitting an online application or by submitting a hardcopy application form.

The application must give the details of your case e.g. duration, destination and purpose of the trip. After the application is made, the Court will decide on the application. On the date of the hearing in Court, you and your bailor must turn up and you must give the reason(s) for the application. You must inform the Court of the intended destination(s) together with the dates you will be leaving and returning to Singapore. Your bailor must also give his consent before the Court decides on the application. The Prosecution will respond and give its position on the application. After hearing both sides, the Court will decide to either deny or give permission and whether additional conditions will apply. The Prosecution can apply for the bail amount to be increased.

If you breach your bail conditions, your bail will be revoked and the bail amount forfeited.

Court hearings: What happens when you say that you are Pleading Guilty, Claiming Trial and adjourning the case?

If you decide to plead guilty, your case will generally be transferred to another Court which will hear the case and decide on whether you are guilty of the offence and then impose sentence.

If you decide to claim trial, your case will be fixed for a Pre-Trial Conference (PTC) where your case will be managed in preparation for and leading to the trial.

If you decide to adjourn your case to another date, the Court will decide if you can be released on bail until the next hearing. Bail is generally approved unless there are reasons to believe that you won’t appear at the next hearing or commit other offences while on bail.

Pre-Trial Conferences: What happens at a PTC?

The PTC is conducted to find out whether the case is ready for trial. You must attend this PTC together with the Prosecution. At this Court hearing, the Court will be told of the witnesses and evidence that will be produced by you and by the Prosecution. After all the administrative matters have been taken care of, the Court will schedule the case for a trial.

Criminal Case Disclosure Conference: What happens at a CCDC?

The Criminal Case Disclosure Conference is an official system of mutual disclosure between the Prosecution and you (the accused person) to enable the sides to know in advance what arguments will be made against them and what evidence must be produced to challenge it. This means that both sides must share aspects of their cases and the evidence that they want to rely on.

At the first PTC, the Court will tell you if the CCDC process automatically applies to your case and he will ask you to choose if you want to participate in the CCDC. If the CCDC process does automatically not apply to your case, it can still apply if all parties involved in the case agree.

Taking part in CCDC is optional. If you take part in the CCDC, you can get a better understanding of the Prosecution’s evidence against you and this can help you decide and weigh your options. If you choose not to take part in the CCDC, you won’t have a chance to see the Prosecution’s evidence before the trial and the Court will fix a date for the trial after the administrative matters have been taken care of.

Claiming trial: What happens at a trial?

A trial is conducted to allow the Court to decide if you are guilty of the charge against you. During the trial, the Court will review the evidence produced by you and the Prosecution. This includes witness testimonies, documents, videos, photographs, and physical objects. The Court will aim to find out what had really happened in your case by evaluating the accuracy and credibility of the evidence. After reviewing all the evidence, the Court will decide if you should be convicted or acquitted of the charge against you.

The Court can only decide on the evidence presented during the trial. You must produce evidence and witnesses in support of your defence at the trial. If you want to depend on what another person says or knows, he must come to Court and be prepared for the Prosecution to ask him questions. If the CCDC process applies in your case, you will need to give notice in writing to the Court and all other parties if you want to call any witness or produce any exhibit that has not been disclosed earlier. If you are going to bring a new witness or exhibit, you must give written notice and describe what the evidence will involve and relate to.

Mitigation Plea: What do I need to do to present the mitigating factors in my case?

If you have pleaded guilty to your charge or you have been convicted by the Court after a trial, you must present your mitigation plea to the Court by giving details of the relevant mitigating facts and the reasons why you deserve a more lenient sentence.

Examples of common mitigating factors include the following:

• You are below 21 years old and a possible candidate for probation.
• You have medical documents to show that you are suffering from a mental condition which contributed to the commission of the crime.
• You have a clean criminal record.
• You pleaded guilty early because you are sorry for what you have done.
• You compensated the victim.
• You had a small role in the offence or you were pressured into committing the offence.

If you are unsure of what information or facts are relevant for the purpose of a mitigation plea, a good lawyer can help advise you on the mitigating factors that are important to your case and decide on which factors apply to your situation. The mitigation plea is made to the Court orally or in writing. You must prepare and submit your mitigation plea to the Court in advance before the hearing to give the Court enough time to review your mitigation plea.

Sentencing: How do you ask for permission to postpone the start of your imprisonment sentence?

If you have been sentenced to imprisonment, you must serve your sentence immediately after the Court imposes the sentence. If you can ask the Court to postpone the start of your imprisonment sentence, you must inform the Court immediately after your sentence is ordered and give good reasons why you should be allowed to start your imprisonment sentence later. Your bailor must be in Court and agree to your request. The Prosecution can either object or consent to you. Even if the Prosecution consents to your request, your bail can be increased as an additional condition of bail. If your request is approved, you must surrender to the Court at the end of the deferred and postponed period. If the Court approves your request but increases bail as a condition, you must start serving your imprisonment sentence immediately you cannot provide the increased bail.