Criminal Procedure & Law of Evidence: Singapore Arrest Procedures

This report provides a comprehensive overview of criminal procedure and the law of evidence in Singapore, with a specific focus on the powers of arrest. It begins by defining arrest and its significance within the criminal justice system, highlighting the role of the police and other relevant authorities. The report then delves into the legal framework governing arrest, including arrestable offenses and the conditions under which an arrest can be made with or without a warrant. It details the specific procedures followed by the police during an arrest, the rights of the arrested person, and the role of civilians in the arrest process. The report also references key legislation, such as the Criminal Procedure Code and the Penal Code, to provide a clear understanding of the legal basis for arrest procedures in Singapore. Finally, it outlines the process following an arrest, including the transfer of the offender to the police headquarters, the initial court appearance, and the possibility of bail, ensuring a thorough examination of the entire process.

Running head: CRIMINAL PROCEDURE & LAW OF EVIDENCE
Criminal Procedure & Law of Evidence
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CRIMINAL PROCEDURE & LAW OF EVIDENCE
Table of Contents
The powers of Arrest.......................................................................................................................2
The Arrestable offense.....................................................................................................................3
Police arrest procedure in Singapore...............................................................................................4
Arrest without a warrant..................................................................................................................5
Arrest with a Warrant......................................................................................................................5
Arrest by the civilian.......................................................................................................................5
Reference.........................................................................................................................................7

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Power of Arrest
The Criminal Law of Singapore is derived from the common law system, which is highly
regulated through the criminalization of many activities that are considered as fairly harmless in
other countries. The criminal law and legislation help in the prevention of different crimes like
homicide, cheatings and thefts or other relevant crimes. All of the crimes are punishable under
the Penal Code (Sso.agc.gov.sg 2018). The government of Singapore has taken the
responsibilities of the criminal issues and the offender. They have investigated the matters,
identified the issues and processed the whole situation. After the investigation process, the police
officer or relevant authorities have been arrested the offender (Owusu-Bempah 2016). An arrest
is defined a process by the criminal justice, which occurred when a person is taken into the
police custody and deprived of the liberty. The police have right to arrest a person for
investigating the criminal issues (Duijn, Kashirin and Sloot 2014).
A police officer, other public servant officer or a citizen with or without a warrant can
arrest a person. When a police officer, other public servant officer or a citizen have found that a
person has been committed an offense or guilty for such relevant grounds of any criminal
liability, then they can be arrested the person. The Penal Code of Singapore has been legislated
such powers that a warrant is not necessary to arrest a person. There are some other relevant acts,
which also set the similar laws and statues in Singapore. Those are Kidnapping Act, Arms
Offences Act, Vandalism Act and Misuse of Drugs Act (Sso.agc.gov.sg 2018).
The powers of Arrest
In Part VI of the Criminal Procedure Code of Singapore has stated about the process of
compelling appearance, arrest and bail (Sso.agc.gov.sg 2018). The police or relevant

3CRIMINAL PROCEDURE & LAW OF EVIDENCE
enforcement agencies like Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA), Commercial Affairs
Department (CAD), Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) and Corrupt Practices Investigation
Bureau (CPIB) have rights to arrest a person with or without warrant for involvement with any
criminal offenses. They have been provided with enough power and not required to collect or
obtain any notice or warrant from the authority of the Court for arrest the offender (Owusu-
Bempah 2016). A citizen has right to arrest an offender. When an offender has been arrested by a
citizen, then without any delay, that offender will be handover him or her to the police station.
However, in this matter, the citizen is allowed to defend his or her body or property against harm
without any fear of reprisal from the law (Duijn, Kashirin and Sloot 2014).
The Arrestable offense
In the Third Column of the First Schedule of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), a list has
been given of different arrestable offenses (Sso.agc.gov.sg 2018). According to the given list, if
any person is found to commit the offense, then the police, other relevant authorities or a citizen
can arrest that person. The arrestable offenses include:
 Assault or uses of Criminal force Rioting Theft Robbery Impersonation of a public servant Extortion Cheating Criminal Breach of trust

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 Affray, Driving rashly or negligently Criminal intimidation Rape Sexual assault by penetration without consent Wrongful restraint or confinement Trafficking Dishonestly eating of the stolen property Consumption of drugs
 Offences under the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act Offences under the Vandalism Act
Therefore, according to the above list, if the police officer or relevant authority or citizen has
been found that any person committing the same offense, then she or he might be arrested
without a warrant. However, for the non-arrestable offense, police never arrest a person without
any warrant. In such situation, the police officer will obtain an order or file a Magistrate’s
Complaint at the State Courts Crime Registry (Sso.agc.gov.sg 2018). After the confirmation
from the court, the police will get the warrant notice and arrest the person (Owusu-Bempah
2016).
Police arrest procedure in Singapore
The police can be arrested a person with or without a warrant notice. When a person has
been suspected of the act of serious or dangerous offense then the police can arrest that person
with or without a warrant (Duijn, Kashirin and Sloot 2014). Here, the appropriate authority will
investigate the offense. The police have right to use reasonable forces for arrest the offender

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(Owusu-Bempah 2016). However, for the offenses like voluntarily causing hurt, police must
investigate the matter before proceeding for arrest. The section 83 of the Criminal Procedure
Code has legislated that a police or relevant authority can arrest a women offender by a woman
only (Sso.agc.gov.sg 2018).
Arrest without a warrant
The section 64 of the Criminal Procedure Code has legislated that the police has authority
to arrest a person without a warrant when the offender has found or subjected to an arrestable
offense (Sso.agc.gov.sg 2018). According to the above list of arrestable offense, police or
relevant authority or a citizen can arrest the offender without a warrant. The Criminal Procedure
Code has legislated in section 65 that a person can be arrested without a warrant if he or she
denies providing name and address as per the demand of the police or relevant authorities
(Sso.agc.gov.sg 2018). However, section 68 has legislated that, only 48hours, the arrested person
can be detained in the custody (Sso.agc.gov.sg 2018).
Arrest with a Warrant
In Section 69 of the Criminal Procedure Code, it has been legislated that a person has
committed arrestable or non-arrestable offense can be arrested with a warrant by the police or
relevant enforcement officer or by a citizen (Sso.agc.gov.sg 2018). After arresting that person, it
is the duty of the police authority that they will produce the offender to the relevant court without
any delay. According to the nature of the case, the offender can ask for bail.

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Arrest by the civilian
The Section 66 of the Criminal Procedure Code, a person who is not police or such
relevant authority and citizen of the country can arrest the offender who has committed the
arrestable offense (Sso.agc.gov.sg 2018). The civilian is allowed to defend his or her own body
or property against harm without any fear of reprisal from the law.
Therefore, after the offender was arrested, he or she will be informed the grounds of
arrest and must be produced to the court without any delay. The offender can consult with a legal
practitioner. After arresting a person, the civilian will hand over him or her to the police or
relevant authority. The police will transfer the offender to the police headquarters and
immediately produced to the relevant court. All of the personal belongings will be transferred to
the police. After the first court appearance, the offender may apply for bail (Owusu-Bempah
2016). If the relevant court authority does not grant the bail, then the court will order for
investigation and the charges will be convicted to the offender according to the nature of the case
(Duijn, Kashirin and Sloot 2014).

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Reference
Duijn, P.A., Kashirin, V. and Sloot, P.M., 2014. The relative ineffectiveness of criminal network
disruption. Scientific reports, 4, p.4238.
Owusu-Bempah, A., 2016. Defendant participation in the criminal process. Taylor & Francis.
Peak, K.J. and Madensen, T.D., 2018. Introduction to criminal justice: Practice and process. Sage
Publications.
Ronel, N. and Segev, D., 2014. Positive criminology in practice. International Journal of
Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 58(11), pp.1389-1407.
Schmalleger, F., Donaldson, S., Kashiwahara, K., Koppal, T., Chase, S., Brown, A., Jarriel, T.
and Marash, D., 2014. Criminal justice today. Prentice Hall.
Sso.agc.gov.sg. 2018. Criminal Procedure Code - Singapore Statutes Online. [online] Available
at: https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/CPC2010?ProvIds=P1VI-#pr87- [Accessed 12 Jan. 2018].
Worrall, J.L., 2014. Criminal procedure: from first contact to appeal. Pearson Higher Ed.