The Penal Code 1871 sets out general principles of the criminal law of Singapore, as well as the elements and penalties of general criminal offences such as

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

, criminal intimidation, mischief, grievous hurt,

theft Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shor ...

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

sex crimes Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes. Some laws regarding sexual activity are ...

and

cheating Cheating generally describes various actions designed to subvert or disobey rules in order to obtain unfair advantages without being noticed. This includes acts of bribery, cronyism and nepotism in any situation where individuals are given pr ...

. The Penal Code does not define and list exhaustively all the

criminal offence In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

s applicable in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

– a large number of these are created by other statutes such as the Arms Offences Act, Kidnapping Act, Misuse of Drugs Act and Vandalism Act.

History

For most of the 19th century the criminal law which applied in the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...

(comprising Prince of Wales' Island (

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

and

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

) was that of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, insofar as local circumstances permitted. There was little doubt that at the time English common law crimes were recognized in these territories. However, due to problems such as doubts as to the applicability of Indian Acts, in 1871 the Straits Settlements Penal Code 1871 was enacted. It came into operation on 16 September 1872. The Code was practically a re-enactment of the

Indian Penal Code The Indian Penal Code (IPC) was the official criminal code of the Republic of India, inherited from British India after independence. It remained in force until it was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in December 2023 ...

. Over the years, the Penal Code has been amended several times.

Provisions

The Penal Code has over 500 sections, and is divided into 24 chapters. The Penal Code defines the elements of each offence and prescribes the maximum, and occasionally also the minimum, penalties for it. The basic form of an offence (commonly referred to as the 'simple offence' or, using Latin terminology, as the 'offence ''simpliciter) has the lowest penalties. More serious forms of the offence are defined as separate offences and attract stiffer penalties. For instance, theft is defined in section 378 of the Code, and section 379 makes simple theft an offence punishable with imprisonment of up to three years or with fine or both. Section 379A punishes the theft of a motor vehicle or any component part of a motor vehicle with imprisonment of not less than one year and not more than seven years and a fine.

Charge in court

The Attorney-General of Singapore's role as the Public Prosecutor is done by the AGC's Crime Division. Prosecutorial discretion grants AGC the power to institute, conduct or discontinue any prosecution at his discretion. In criminal law, it is the role of the prosecution to must prove the case in court against the accused

beyond reasonable doubt Beyond (a) reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the standard of balance of probabilities (US English: preponderance of t ...

. In general, an accused offender is usually first charged with an appropriate offence that can be established on the facts of the case. Upon engaging a lawyer (defence counsel), the defence counsel will make written representations without prejudice legally to the prosecuting authority, the Prosecution may then review, exercise his prosecutorial discretion, and consent to amend the charge with lesser relevant offence, a process known as

plea bargaining A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include ...

. This is where the defence counsels will engage without prejudice with the

Public Prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

in negotiations for reduction of charges, or mitigation in plea to seek leniency from the Court.

Reform

2007 Penal Code amendments

In 2006, the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

(MHA), in consultation with the Attorney-General's Chambers, Ministry of Law and other agencies, conducted an extensive review of the Penal Code in order to bring it "up to date, and make it more effective in maintaining a safe and secure society in today's context". Between 9 November and 9 December 2006, the MHA held a public consultation on proposed changes to the Code. Among the proposed amendments are the ones set out below.

Expansion and modification of the scope of existing offences

*Offences committed via electronic medium – The scope of certain sections will be expanded to cover offences committed via an electronic medium, including s. 292 (sale of obscene books. ''etc.''), s. 298 (uttering words, ''etc.'', with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person), s. 499 (defamation) and s. 505 (statements conducing to public mischief). *Cheating – Section 415, which defines the offence of cheating, will be amended to make clear that (a) the offence is committed whether or not deception was the sole or main inducement; (b) it extends to cover damage or harm to any person instead of only to the person deceived; and (c) any representation made through an agent will be treated as having been made by the person himself or herself. *Unlawful assembly – Section 141 will be amended so that an unlawful assembly is an assembly of five or more people whose common object is to commit any offence, and not just an offence relating to public tranquillity. *New offence of uttering words, ''etc.'', with deliberate intent to wound racial feelings – Section 298, which creates the offence of uttering words, ''etc.'', with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person, will be expanded to cover the wounding of racial feelings as well. This is to provide the

with the option of charging offenders under the Penal Code instead of only the Sedition Act. *Decriminalization of anal and oral sex in certain circumstances; bestiality – Section 377 (carnal intercourse against the order of nature) will be repealed and re-enacted in a modified form, such that anal and oral sex, if done in private between a consulting heterosexual couple aged 16 years old and above, will no longer be criminal offences. The offence of bestiality, also currently covered by s. 377, will be expanded to cover the scenario where a person is compelled by another person to perform bestiality without his or her consent. The new s 377 will be replaced by omitting "unnatural sex" to be replaced by "Sex with a corpse" or dead bodies which will be outlawed. *Incest – The offence of incest created by ss. 376A, 376B and 376C will be expanded to (a) cover other sexual acts involving penetration, in addition to sexual intercourse; (b) cover penetrative sexual acts between a grandmother and her grandson; and (c) provide that a boy under 16 years cannot be prosecuted for incest (as currently provided for females under 16 years) as they are not mature enough to make an informed decision. *Rape – The offence of rape ( s. 375) will be amended to cover persons who have undergone

sex reassignment surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their gender identity. The phrase is most often associat ...

, and to define sexual intercourse to include acts involving a surgically constructed penis or vagina that is integrated into the body of a person. *Enhanced penalties for outraging modesty of minor under 14 years – The penalties for outraging the modesty of a minor under 14 years under s. 354 will be enhanced. *Increase in age restriction for selling, ''etc.'', obscene object to minor – The age restriction under s. 293, which makes it an offence for any person to sell, hire, distribute, exhibit or circulate any obscene object to any person under 20 years, will be increased to 21 years in line with the Restricted 21 (R21) classification for films.''Ibid.''

History

Provisions

Charge in court

Reform

2007 Penal Code amendments

Expansion and modification of the scope of existing offences

See also

Notes

Further reading