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The Use Of Similar Fact In Criminal Proceedings: An Updated Framework, Siyuan Chen Dec 2020

The Use Of Similar Fact In Criminal Proceedings: An Updated Framework, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

When confronted with the question of whether to admit similiar fact for criminal cases, courts in Singapore are often faced with balancing potentially competing norms in the form of evidential expediency and fairness to the accused. Specifically, although similiar fact may help establish the ingredients of an offence, there existis a real risk that any resulting conviction of the accused and this potential weakness in inferential reasoning through indirect proof will - to use the word in its broadest sense - predjudice the accused.


Opening The Door To Fickle-Minded Guilty Pleas? Public Prosecutor V Dinesh S/O Rajantheran, Teng Jun Gerome Goh Sep 2020

Opening The Door To Fickle-Minded Guilty Pleas? Public Prosecutor V Dinesh S/O Rajantheran, Teng Jun Gerome Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Unlike applications to retract guilty pleas, accused persons are not required to provide valid and sufficient reasons when qualifying their guilty pleas in mitigation. In Criminal Reference No. 5 of 2018, the Court of Appeal held that section 228(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code allows accused persons to qualify their guilty pleas in mitigation to the extent that it amounts to a retraction of their guilty pleas unless there is an abuse of the court’s process. This comment considers the desirability of the current law and suggests that the law applying to such withdrawals of guilty pleas should be …


On Mandatory Criminal Sentences, Legislative Interpretation, And The Prospective Application Of The Law: A View From Singapore, Kwan Ho Lau Feb 2020

On Mandatory Criminal Sentences, Legislative Interpretation, And The Prospective Application Of The Law: A View From Singapore, Kwan Ho Lau

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Cana court find that a criminal sentence is mandatory under the penal legislation butchoose, exceptionally, to apply that finding only to future cases? This raisesan interesting question on the prospective application of a correctconstruction of legislation, requiring consideration of difficult issuessurrounding not just the temporal application of the law but also theprotection of the interests belonging to all citizenry, including convictedpersons. Recent decisions in Singapore and elsewhere provide an opening for amore detailed inquiry to be undertaken.


Sexual Grooming As An Offence In Singapore, S. Chandra Mohan, Yingqi Lee Jan 2020

Sexual Grooming As An Offence In Singapore, S. Chandra Mohan, Yingqi Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The offence of sexual grooming of a minor under 16 was introduced in the Singapore Penal Code (Cap 224, 2008 Rev Ed) in 2007. It was designed to protect the growing number of young Internet users from adult sex predators prowling the online platforms. However, there have been very few reported cases of sexual grooming under s 376E of the Penal Code and a noticeable dearth of any local legal comment on this provision. Until the review by the Penal Code Review Committee in 2018 and the consequent legislative changes in May 2019, the offence of sexual grooming has not …