Ministry of Law A simpler process to handle minor offenses
This is my understanding of the current situation. I may be wrong. I stand corrected. 

I understand that the Singapore Police Force (SPF) does not want to handle complaint of minor offenses, such as quarrels, assaults, disturbances and scams.

When a complainant lodge a police report, the police does not wish to investigate the case. Many of these complainants are not closed after several months or years. 

The complainant is usually advised to take up a civil case against the accused. 

Sometimes, the parties are asked to go for mediation. 

Most ordinary people are not familiar with taking a civil case, or may find it costly to engage a lawyer. 

I suggest that the government should appoint more police officers to attend to the complaints, appoint more magistrates to handle these cases and to simplify the process of resolving these cases. 

I suggest the following approach to deal with these matters:

a) The investigating officer can interview the complainant and the accused. In most cases, the parties may be able to settle the matter through an apology or some monetary compensation.

b) If the case is not settled amicably, and there is evidence of an offense, the police can send the case to be heard by the magistrate. 

c) The magistrate can hear the testimony of the relevant parties and make a judgment, i.e. levy a fine or short jail sentence. A set of simple rules can be provided for the handling of these minor offenses.

d)  This approach is similar to the simplified approach adopted by the small claims court for small financial disputes. In this case, it refers to minor offenses.

e) Any party may appeal against the decision of the magistrate. This can go to a higher court and can be handled through a more complicated process.

I hope that this suggestion can be considered by the minister. We need a more efficient process to handle these minor offenses.

Vote - do you agree with this suggestion?

Tan Kin Lian

 

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