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Siyuan CHEN

Articles 1 - 13 of 13

Full-Text Articles in Law

The Inadmissibility Of Unreliable Self-Inculpatory Statements, Siyuan Chen, Nicholas Poon Apr 2017

The Inadmissibility Of Unreliable Self-Inculpatory Statements, Siyuan Chen, Nicholas Poon

Siyuan CHEN

No abstract provided.


Possession And Knowledge In The Misuse Of Drugs Act: Nagaenthran A/L K Dharmalingam V. Public Prosecutor, Siyuan Chen, Nathaniel Poon-Ern Khng Apr 2017

Possession And Knowledge In The Misuse Of Drugs Act: Nagaenthran A/L K Dharmalingam V. Public Prosecutor, Siyuan Chen, Nathaniel Poon-Ern Khng

Siyuan CHEN

When the Court of Appeal rendered the decision of Tan Kiam Peng in 2008, it was unable to come to a conclusive determination of the correct interpretation of s. 18(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act, a provision pertaining to the presumption of an accused’s knowledge of the nature of the controlled drugs in his possession. This issue was presented to a differently constituted Court of Appeal in Nagaenthran, which seemingly ruled in favour of the narrow interpretation of s. 18(2) as opposed to the broader interpretation. Nagaenthran, however, did not address the questions raised by Tan Kiam Peng vis-à-vis …


Prosecutorial Discretion Revisited, Siyuan Chen Apr 2017

Prosecutorial Discretion Revisited, Siyuan Chen

Siyuan CHEN

No abstract provided.


The Judicial Duty To Give Reasons: Thong Ah Fat V Public Prosecutor [2011] Sgca 65, Siyuan Chen Apr 2017

The Judicial Duty To Give Reasons: Thong Ah Fat V Public Prosecutor [2011] Sgca 65, Siyuan Chen

Siyuan CHEN

The accused was charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act after being found with 142.41 grams of diamorphine at the Woodlands Checkpoint. The High Court Judge found the accused guilty and sentenced him to death in a brief judgment of five paragraphs. The Court of Appeal, however, ordered a retrial as it was of the view that the Judge’s reasoning was “unclear” and the “judicial duty to give reasoned decisions” was not discharged


Further Clarification From The High Court On The Limits To The Constitutional Right To Counsel: James Raj S/O Arokiasamy V Pp [2014] Sghc 10, Siyuan Chen, Kenneth Tan Jun 2014

Further Clarification From The High Court On The Limits To The Constitutional Right To Counsel: James Raj S/O Arokiasamy V Pp [2014] Sghc 10, Siyuan Chen, Kenneth Tan

Siyuan CHEN

Article 9(3) of the Constitution1 states that “Where a person is arrested, he … shall be allowed to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.” However, art 9(3) does not stipulate the point in time at which an arrested person is entitled to consult counsel. The local jurisprudence over the past few decades have affirmed the interpretation that an arrested person is not entitled to access counsel immediately upon arrest, but only after a reasonable amount of time has elapsed. The High Court in James Raj s/o Arokiasamy v Public Prosecutor (“James Raj”) has now shed …


The Right To Appeal Against A Decision Made On An Interlocutory Application: The Immediate Aftermath Of The 2010 Amendments, Eunice Chua, Siyuan Chen Jun 2014

The Right To Appeal Against A Decision Made On An Interlocutory Application: The Immediate Aftermath Of The 2010 Amendments, Eunice Chua, Siyuan Chen

Siyuan CHEN

One of the main reasons for amending the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Cap 322, 2007 Rev Ed) in 2010 was to introduce a calibrated approach towards interlocutory appeals to the Court of Appeal. The amended s 34 and the newly introduced Fourth and Fifth Scheds were interpreted for the first time in two recent Court of Appeal decisions, providing much needed guidance on the general approach towards statutory interpretation, as well as specific direction in terms of interpreting the term “order” in para (i) of the Fourth Sched and para (e) of the Fifth Sched, and the term “interlocutory …


Knowledge And Possession Under The Misuse Of Drugs Act, Siyuan Chen, Nathaniel Khng Aug 2012

Knowledge And Possession Under The Misuse Of Drugs Act, Siyuan Chen, Nathaniel Khng

Siyuan CHEN

When the Court of Appeal rendered the decision of Tan Kiam Peng in 2008, it was unable to come to a conclusive determination of the correct interpretation of s. 18(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act, a provision pertaining to the presumption of an accused’s knowledge of the nature of the controlled drugs in his possession. This issue was presented to a differently constituted Court of Appeal in Nagaenthran, which seemingly ruled in favour of the narrow interpretation of s. 18(2) as opposed to the broader interpretation. Nagaenthran, however, did not address the questions raised by Tan Kiam Peng vis-à-vis …


Wrongful Convictions In Singapore: A General Survey Of Risk Factors, Siyuan Chen, Eunice Chua Jul 2012

Wrongful Convictions In Singapore: A General Survey Of Risk Factors, Siyuan Chen, Eunice Chua

Siyuan CHEN

This article seeks to raise awareness about the potential for wrongful convictions in Singapore by analysing the factors commonly identified as contributing towards wrongful convictions in other jurisdictions, including institutional failures and suspect evidence. It also considers whether the social conditions in Singapore are favourable to discovering and publicising wrongful convictions. The authors come to the conclusion that Singapore does well on a number of fronts and no sweeping reforms are necessary However there are areas of risk viz the excessive focus on crime control rather than due process, which require some tweaking of the system.


The Expanding Limits Of Prosecutorial Discretion, Siyuan Chen Jul 2012

The Expanding Limits Of Prosecutorial Discretion, Siyuan Chen

Siyuan CHEN

No abstract provided.


The Inadmissibility Of Unreliable Self-Inculpatory Statements, Siyuan Chen, Nicholas Poon Jul 2012

The Inadmissibility Of Unreliable Self-Inculpatory Statements, Siyuan Chen, Nicholas Poon

Siyuan CHEN

No abstract provided.


Natural Justice: A Case For Uniform Rigour, Siyuan Chen, Lionel Leo Jul 2012

Natural Justice: A Case For Uniform Rigour, Siyuan Chen, Lionel Leo

Siyuan CHEN

This note considers if there is a discernible framework in which courts resolve alleged claims of breaches of natural justice. On the one hand, once it has been ascertained that the rules of natural justice apply, the court will look at all the circumstances of the case to determine if there has been any u nfairness. On the other hand, it has been suggested th even assuming the rules of natural justice apply, there can be varying degrees of rigour in which they are enforced, a sliding scale of sorts.


Reasonable Suspicion Or Real Likelihood: A Question Of Semantics? Re Shankar Alan S/O Anant Kulkarni, Lionel Leo, Siyuan Chen Jul 2012

Reasonable Suspicion Or Real Likelihood: A Question Of Semantics? Re Shankar Alan S/O Anant Kulkarni, Lionel Leo, Siyuan Chen

Siyuan CHEN

The law on apparent bias has been mired in some controversy following the High Court decision of Re Shankar Alan s/o Anant Kulkarni, where Sundaresh Menon J.C. seemingly departed from the tentative views of Andrew Phang J.C. (as he then was) in Tang Kin Hwa v. Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board on the issue of whether there were any material differences between the “reasonable suspicion of bias” test and the “real likelihood of bias” test, the two formulations of the test for apparent bias that have been variously adopted by different jurisdictions in the common law world. In Tang Kin …


The Judicial Duty To Give Reasons, Siyuan Chen, Nicholas Poon Jul 2012

The Judicial Duty To Give Reasons, Siyuan Chen, Nicholas Poon

Siyuan CHEN

No abstract provided.