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When we talk about the Criminal proceeding in Singapore we got to understand everything related to the law procedures. A few instances related to the criminal cases are the possession of robbery and drugs. In this case an attorney will represent you in court. Remember that hiring best criminal defense attorney could be a really essential thing since there will be a good judgment whether youre innocent or guilty. Police investigations usually start when they receive information about the alleged offence. What happens subsequently depends on the type of offence in question meaning whether the offence is arrestable or non-arrestable. In order to understand the criminal procedure in Singapore let us read together the whole proceedings point by point from ARREST to POST TRAIL proceedings. Arrest: There are 3 types of Arrest arrest with warrant arrest without warrant and private arrest by citizen. Upon arrest an individual can be searched and taken to a nearby police station for questioning. Post-question and answer session one can be locked-up and the personal belongings can be taken away by the police. A list of the belonging will be prepared and a copy of it will be given to the accused. At Police Station: Upon being arrested and detained you are entitled to make a call to your family/lawyer informing them of your arrest. In the police station you can be detained for maximum 48 hours. But the officer can provide a reason to obtain a Magistrate’s order to extend the custody. Whilst in custody you will be interviewed at length. Any statement taken from you is called the ‘long statement’. It is always good practice to record your statement so that it will help your lawyer to understand your case. However if the Police does not detain you for more than 48 hours you will be put on Police bail to ensure you come back to the police station or to attend Court when told to do so. Investigations: The investigation can take some time from few days to couple of years. Therefore it is advisable to co-operate with the investigating officer and provide whatever information/evidence you have at hand you may also inform about the witnesses if any to the office. It is advisable to hire the best

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criminal lawyer in Singapore to prepare a letter of representation on your behalf. Once investigations are completed the police officer will submit the case file to the Prosecution before any decision is made to charge you. Bail: Bail is a security usually financial given to the Court or Police to ensure that the Accused released will returns to court or police station if and when required. A person under bail cannot leave the country without the permission of the Court or the relevant Police Officer handling the matter. Also the bailor have to take his/her responsibilities. Court Appearance: On the police bail bond you will be informed about the appearance date in the court. You need to inform your lawyer and instruct to represent and act on your behalf in the court. All first court appearance Mentions are usually at the Subordinate Courts of Singapore. At the court the interpreter will call your name out and read the charge to you. After each charge is read and explained to you you are then asked how you wish to plead to the charge. You can either admit to the offence plead guilty or dispute the offence plead not guilty. Pre-Trial Conference: This is a process to let the judge know how the case is progressing and to determine if the case is ready to proceed to trial. Trial dates will only be fixed when all parties are ready and prepared for trial. Criminal PTCs and CCDCs are conducted in the Supreme Court weekly. They are held in chambers and are not open to the public. Trial Process: If the accused is committed for trial in the High Court after a Committal Hearing or after his case has been transmitted he will be remanded in prison pending trial. Bail is available only at the discretion of the High Court. If the accused or the Public Prosecutor is dissatisfied with the decision made by the High Court an appeal may be filed to the Court of Appeal. Post-Trial: Both your lawyer and the Prosecution will summarize the evidence and make respective arguments to the Court. The Court then makes its decision as per the criminal procedure code on whether you are guilty

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convicted or not guilty acquitted. If you are convicted after a trial you can appeal against the Court’s decision on your conviction and/or your sentence. If you looking for lawyer make sure you do a thorough research over the internet and short list the names of top law firms in Singapore and choose the best criminal lawyer who have detailed knowledge about the criminal procedure code in Singapore so that you have high chances for getting acquitted from all charges.