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Articles 1 - 30 of 36
Full-Text Articles in Law
Void Marriages, Maintenance, And Matrimonial Assets: Adp V Adq [2012] Sgca 6, Siyuan Chen
Void Marriages, Maintenance, And Matrimonial Assets: Adp V Adq [2012] Sgca 6, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
Do Singapore courts have jurisdiction under the Women’s Charter to order maintenance and the division of matrimonial assets when a marriage has been declared void? This was the novel issue presented in ADP v ADQ, and the Court of Appeal answered in the affirmative.
The Little India Riot: Domestic And International Law Perspectives, Siyuan Chen
The Little India Riot: Domestic And International Law Perspectives, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
A riot involving hundreds of foreign labourers broke out in Little India, Singapore, on 8 December 2013. Only the second riot to occur in more than 40 years in fairly tranquil Singapore, the damage was extensive as rioters destroyed police and emergency vehicles and even injured dozens of police and civil defence personnel. The authorities only needed a few days to complete the investigations and shortly after, some of the alleged rioters were arrested and charged, while some of them were repatriated. The swiftness of the entire process prompted harsh criticism from international and local human rights groups, who claimed …
The Prosecution's Duty Of Disclosure In Singapore: Muhammad Bin Kadar V Public Prosecutor [2011] 3 Slr 1205, Siyuan Chen
The Prosecution's Duty Of Disclosure In Singapore: Muhammad Bin Kadar V Public Prosecutor [2011] 3 Slr 1205, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
The Court of Appeal (CA) judgment in Muhammad bin Kadar v Public Prosecutor created quite a stir in Singapore. The case pertained to a murder involving two suspects, and its resolution took almost six years, with many twists and turns as to the actual facts. The CA attributed the confusion in part to questionable practices adopted by the police and the prosecution at various points in the proceedings, and reserved strong words for them in its judgment. It also established new requirements for the prosecution regarding its duty to the court to disclose relevant material not favourable to the case …
The Regulatory Framework For Aerial Imaging By Recreational Users Of "Drones" In Singapore: Old And Emerging Issues And Some Possible Solutions, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
In response to the sudden proliferation of hobbyist unmanned aerial vehicles used for digital imaging – or “drones”, as they are popularly, but rather inaccurately, labelled – the Singapore government enacted the Unmanned Aircraft (Public Safety and Security) Act in 2015 and also amended various existing laws relating to air navigation. However, in view of the rapid evolution in drone technology and the ever-expanding range of useful applications brought about by drones, what are some of the challenges that would be faced when enforcing the law against recreational users of aerial imaging in particular, and what are some of the …
The Unresolved Legality Of Online Gambling In Singapore, Siyuan Chen
The Unresolved Legality Of Online Gambling In Singapore, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
This article addresses what appears to be a hitherto (legislatively and judicially) unresolved issue in a country where gambling is an established sub-culture – the legality of online gambling. The existing legislation does not provide direct answers, and as a result, the courts have not been given the opportunity to answer the question directly either. The police have previously made a few statements to the press and the media, but what should we make of them? While placing bets with unauthorised bookies (including those who operate their own website or use others’ websites) is clearly outlawed, leaving the offender with …
The Relationship Between International Law And Domestic Law: Yong Vui Kong V Pp [2010] 3 Slr 489 [Case Note], Siyuan Chen
The Relationship Between International Law And Domestic Law: Yong Vui Kong V Pp [2010] 3 Slr 489 [Case Note], Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
The Court of Appeal in Yong Vui Kong v PP [2010] 3 SLR 489 recently addressed at length the issue of the constitutionality of the mandatory death penalty. In the main, the appellant had argued that the mandatory death penalty was unconstitutional because it violated Art 9(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (1999 Rev Ed), which states that: “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance with law.” The court ultimately rejected this argument. This piece focuses on the main international law issue emanating from the said constitutional challenge, viz, the …
The Regulation Of The Recreational Use Of “Drones” For Aerial Photography And Videography: Comparing Singapore’S Unmanned Aircraft Act With Other Legislation, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
In the last few years, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of remote-controlled copters or “drones” by recreational users to capture aerial photographs and videos on an unprecedented scale. The convergence of cutting-edge technological developments in gyroscopic gimbals, long-range wireless transmissions, GPS-enabled stabilisation and flightpath-preprogramming, first-person-views, and compact digital imaging has led to the proliferation of these camera-carrying devices that even hobbyists can pilot with reasonable safety. However, there has been a consistent stream of public concern relating to issues of safety, privacy, and disruption of commercial interests. Lost in the paranoid cacophony is a question that …
Some Thoughts On A Record-Breaking 2014/15 Season For Singapore’S International Mooters, Siyuan Chen
Some Thoughts On A Record-Breaking 2014/15 Season For Singapore’S International Mooters, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
Singapore has an extremely proud tradition in international moot court competitions. The famous NUS’82 team which won Singapore’s first Jessup championship comprised members who have all gone on to become Senior Counsel; one is now a High Court Judge (Steven Chong) and another, the Attorney-General (VK Rajah). Videos of championship finals featuring Singapore mooters continue to be used as training tools by universities all over the world, especially the 2001 Jessup final featuring the first and only person to have ever won the two largest moots, the Jessup and the Vis. And in that same year (2001), NUS won arguably …
The Corroborative Effect Of Lies, Siyuan Chen
The Corroborative Effect Of Lies, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
PP v Kamrul Hasan Abdul Quddus [2010] SGHC 7; Kamrul Hasan Abdul Quddus v PP [2011] SGCA 52. Overview of the case: In PP v Kamrul Hasan Abdul Quddus, the accused was charged with murder. He and the deceased had been in a tumultuous relationship, and the main evidence that connected the deceased’s death to the accused, apart from the fact that her body was found in the construction site that the accused worked at, was that DNA taken from her rectum tested positive for semen that matched his DNA.
The Limits Of Prosecutorial Discretion In Singapore: Past, Present, And Future, Siyuan Chen
The Limits Of Prosecutorial Discretion In Singapore: Past, Present, And Future, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
The exercise of prosecutorial discretion is a unique executive act that continues to be very well-protected from public scrutiny in many jurisdictions throughout the world. In this article, I attempt to survey virtually the entire body of case law on the limits of prosecutorial discretion in Singapore. Probably because prosecutorial discretion is protected by the Constitution, it took a while for the Singapore courts to retreat from its initial characterisation of the discretion as absolute and outside the scope of any form of review. Against a wider backdrop of increasing rights-consciousness (especially within the courts) and the public demand for …
Revisiting The Similar Fact Rule In Singapore: Public Prosecutor V. Mas Swan Bin Adnan And Another, Siyuan Chen
Revisiting The Similar Fact Rule In Singapore: Public Prosecutor V. Mas Swan Bin Adnan And Another, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
The similar fact rule in Singapore—as with the law on any evidence law doctrine that can be found in both our Evidence Act and the common law—has required clarification for some time. This note, which discusses the latest local decision on the similar fact rule, considers if that decision is compatible with the Evidence Act and the various conceptualisations underlying the doctrine.
The 2012 Amendments To Singapore's Evidence Act: More Questions Than Answers As Regards Expert Opionion Evidence?, Siyuan Chen
The 2012 Amendments To Singapore's Evidence Act: More Questions Than Answers As Regards Expert Opionion Evidence?, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
Singapore amended the expert opinion evidence provisions in its Evidence Act (EA) in 2012. The criteria for admissibility have been broadened, but the courts are now also expressly given the discretion to exclude relevant expert opinion evidence if it is ‘in the interests of justice’. This article explains why the 2012 amendments have raised more questions than answered them. First, Parliament did not appear to have properly appreciated the distinction—as conceptualised by the EA—between legal and logical relevance and relevance and admissibility. Second, it did not appear to have appreciated the distinction between general and specific relevance. Third, the introduction …
The Division Of Matrimonial Assets: A Mathematical Methodology As A "Check"? Ajr V. Ajs, Siyuan Chen
The Division Of Matrimonial Assets: A Mathematical Methodology As A "Check"? Ajr V. Ajs, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
In a recent High Court decision concerning the division of matrimonial assets, the Judge developed an extensive (and somewhat mathematical) methodology “as a rough check” to his discretionary powers in determining a “just and equitable” division of the matrimonial assets. This introduced a new perspective to an exercise long considered to be impossible to be mathematically precise. This piece considers the extent of the utility of the new methodology.
The Final Twist In Common Intention? Daniel Vijay S/O Katherasan V. Public Prosecutor, Siyuan Chen
The Final Twist In Common Intention? Daniel Vijay S/O Katherasan V. Public Prosecutor, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
It was only in 2008 that the Court of Appeal made a seminal restatement of the law on common intention, particularly with respect to liability in so-called ‘twin crime’ situations. The question posed then was posed again recently in Daniel Vijay: what exactly is the required mens rea for the secondary offender in such situations? In 2008, the Court of Appeal said that the secondary offender had to subjectively know that one in his party might likely commit the collateral offence in furtherance of the common intention of carrying out the primary offence. Now, in Daniel Vijay, the Court …
The Inadmissibility Of Unreliable Self-Inculpatory Statements, Siyuan Chen, Nicholas Poon
The Inadmissibility Of Unreliable Self-Inculpatory Statements, Siyuan Chen, Nicholas Poon
Siyuan CHEN
No abstract provided.
The Discretionary Death Penalty For Drug Couriers In Singapore: Four Challenges, Siyuan Chen
The Discretionary Death Penalty For Drug Couriers In Singapore: Four Challenges, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
In 2012, Singapore amended its Misuse of Drugs to give courts hearing capital drug trafficking cases the discretion to replace the default death penalty with life imprisonment and caning, provided that the accused person can show that he was merely a drug courier and the prosecution certifies that he had substantively assisted the authorities in disrupting drug trafficking activities. The Singapore High Court and Court of Appeal have since made important pronouncements on the 2012 amendments, but several challenges remain: first, whether the privilege against self-incrimination has been further eroded; secondly, whether an accused person can invoke the statutory relief …
Sham Marriages, Ancillary Powers, And Moral Discourse: Toh Seok Kheng V. Huang Huiqun; Adp V. Adq, Siyuan Chen
Sham Marriages, Ancillary Powers, And Moral Discourse: Toh Seok Kheng V. Huang Huiqun; Adp V. Adq, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
Is marriage an institution (of public morality) or a contract (of private ordering)? In Toh Seok Kheng, the High Court concluded that it was unable to declare a “sham marriage” void just because the motives behind the marriage seemed improper. In ADP, the High Court held that since a void marriage meant there was no marriage to begin with, the “wife” was not entitled to maintenance, and there could not have been any “matrimonial assets” to be divided, unless she had a strong “moral” claim. This piece considers how the aforementioned moral-contractual dichotomy emerges in these cases.
Re-Assessing The Evidentiary Regime Of The International Court Of Justice: A Case For Codifying Its Discretion To Exclude Evidence, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
Like many international tribunals, the International Court of Justice subscribes heavily to the principle of free admissibility of evidence. Neither its statute nor rules impose substantive restrictions on the admissibility of evidence, whether by way of exclusionary rules or an exclusionary discretion. Instead, the court’s practice has been to focus on evaluating and weighing the evidence after it has been admitted. There are certainly features of the ICJ that sets it apart from domestic courts and arguably justify such an approach: the ICJ is for settling disputes between sovereign states; it does not use a typical fact-finding system; its rules …
Possession And Knowledge In The Misuse Of Drugs Act: Nagaenthran A/L K Dharmalingam V. Public Prosecutor, Siyuan Chen, Nathaniel Poon-Ern Khng
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 …
Redefining Relevancy And Exclusionary Discretion In Sir James Fitzjames Stephen’S Indian Evidence Act Of 1872: The Singapore Experiment And Lessons For Other Indian Evidence Act Jurisdictions, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
In many jurisdictions, the rules of evidence can often be instrumental in determining the outcome of a dispute. But to what extent can evidence law be controlled by codification, or is it better to leave its regulation and development to the judges via common law? In an attempt to bridge the gap between the rules of an antiquated evidence statute and the modern realities of practice, Singapore’s Evidence Act was amended in 2012. Certain relevancy provisions were amended to allow greater admissibility of evidence, while new provisions were introduced to act as a check against abuse. However, it will be …
Prosecutorial Discretion Revisited, Siyuan Chen
Reliability And Relevance As The Touchstones For Admissibility Of Evidence In Criminal Proceedings: Muhammad Bin Kadar V Pp [2011] 3 Slr 1205 [Case Note], Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
The Court of Appeal in Muhammad bin Kadar v PP [2011] 3 SLR 1205 (“Kadar”) formally recognised the judicial discretion to exclude evidence as an integral part of the law on criminal evidence in Singapore. This discretion, the court held, would help ensure that all evidence coming before the court would be as reliable as possible. While this commentary agrees that the foundational basis for the exclusionary discretion doctrine is desirable, it suggests that there are difficulties with the application of the doctrine. An alternative approach that works around the difficulties is canvassed for consideration.
Discretionary Death Penalty For Convicted Drug Couriers In Singapore: Reflections On High Jurisprudence Thus Far, Siyuan Chen
Discretionary Death Penalty For Convicted Drug Couriers In Singapore: Reflections On High Jurisprudence Thus Far, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
For decades, drug trafficking was a serious offence in Singapore potentially punishable by mandatory death. In 2012, Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) was amended to give the courts sentencing discretion if the accused can first prove that he was merely a courier, and to better reflect the moral culpability accorded as between mules and kingpins in the hierarchy of drug syndicates. However, there are some complications in proving this. Not only must the accused show that he was merely a courier, he must also show that he had substantively assisted the authorities in disrupting drugtrafficking activities in Singapore. This …
Mediated Postnuptial Agreements And Ancillary Matters, Siyuan Chen
Mediated Postnuptial Agreements And Ancillary Matters, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
When the parties in a divorce have, with the benefit of legal counsel, gone through mediation and negotiated an agreement to settle the ancillary issues of maintenance and the division of matrimonial assets, is there any reason for the court to exercise its statutorily conferred discretion to ignore such an agreement or should it seek to uphold it despite objections from one of the parties? Whereas the High Court in this case declined to follow all of the terms in the agreement on the ground that some of them were not just and equitable, the Court of Appeal held that …
Misconduct And The Division Of Matrimonial Assets: Clarification From The Court Of Appeal Chan Tin Sun V Fong Quay Sim [2015] Sgca 2, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
No abstract provided.
Inter-Spousal Gifts As Matrimonial Assets?, Siyuan Chen
Inter-Spousal Gifts As Matrimonial Assets?, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
Is an inter-spousal gift, acquired by the donor other than as a gift or inheritance from a third party, part of the pool of matrimonial assets liable to be divided? Two 2011 High Court cases present seemingly different perspectives.
Maintenance Under The Women's Charter, Siyuan Chen
Killing New Vistas With The Over-Regulation Of Recreational 'Drone' Use, Siyuan Chen
Killing New Vistas With The Over-Regulation Of Recreational 'Drone' Use, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
In the last few years, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of remote-controlled copters – often given the convenient but misleading epithets of unmanned aerial vehicles or “drones” – by recreational users to capture aerial photographs and videos on an unprecedented scale. Asia is no exception. The convergence of cutting-edge technological developments in gyroscopic gimbals, long-range wireless transmissions, GPS-enabled stabilisation, GPS-enabled flightpath-preprogramming, first-person-views, and compact digital imaging has led to the proliferation of affordable camera-carrying “drones” that even hobbyists can pilot with reasonable safety. Thus far, despite purported controversies there have not been any reports of serious …
The Judicial Duty To Give Reasons: Thong Ah Fat V Public Prosecutor [2011] Sgca 65, Siyuan Chen
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
The Judicial Discretion To Exclude Relevant Evidence: Perspectives From An Indian Evidence Act Jurisdiction, Siyuan Chen
The Judicial Discretion To Exclude Relevant Evidence: Perspectives From An Indian Evidence Act Jurisdiction, Siyuan Chen
Siyuan CHEN
Stephen’s ground-breaking Indian Evidence Act contained ideas that appear unfamiliar in the context of modern rules of evidence. Singapore is an Indian Evidence Act jurisdiction which has retained those ideas, such as the non-distinction between relevance and admissibility, the framing of exclusionary rules in inclusionary terms, and the prohibition against relying on common law developments inconsistent with the Evidence Act. These peculiarities should have presented obstacles to the applicability of the common law concept of the judicial discretion to exclude relevant evidence, but this has not been the case. In this article, I first suggest why Singapore courts might have …