PART 1 | 1. This Act is the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 and is generally referred to in this Act as this Code. |
2.—(1) In this Code, unless the context otherwise requires —| “advocate” means an advocate and solicitor lawfully entitled to practise criminal law in Singapore; |
| “arrestable offence” and “arrestable case” mean, respectively, an offence for which and a case in which a police officer may ordinarily arrest without warrant according to the third column of the First Schedule or under any other written law; |
| “audiovisual recording” means an aggregate of visual images and sounds embodied in a thing, so as to be capable, by the use of that thing, of being produced electronically and shown as a moving picture with associated sounds; |
| “bailable offence” means an offence shown as bailable in the fifth column of the First Schedule or which is made bailable by any other written law, and “non‑bailable offence” means any offence other than a bailable offence; |
| “child abuse offence” means an offence under section 6(1), 7, 8, 14(2), 16 or 17 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1993, or an offence under section 377BG, 377BH, 377BI, 377BJ, 377BK or 377BL of the Penal Code 1871, and includes an abetment of, a conspiracy to commit, or an attempt to commit, such an offence; |
| “complaint” means any allegation made orally or in writing to a Magistrate with a view to the Magistrate taking action under this Code that some person, whether known or unknown, has committed or is guilty of an offence; |
| “computer” has the meaning given by the Computer Misuse Act 1993; |
| “court” means the Court of Appeal, the General Division of the High Court, a Family Court, a Youth Court, a District Court or a Magistrate’s Court (as the case may be) which exercises criminal jurisdiction; |
“Criminal Procedure Rules” —| (a) | means the Criminal Procedure Rules 2018 made under this Code and any other written law by the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee constituted under section 428A; and | | (b) | includes any subsidiary legislation deemed under section 428A(15) to be Criminal Procedure Rules; |
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“criminal record” means the record of any —| (a) | conviction in any court, or subordinate military court established under section 80 of the Singapore Armed Forces Act 1972; | | (b) | order made under section 34(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973; | | (c) | supervision order made under section 16 of the Intoxicating Substances Act 1987; | | (d) | order made under section 30(1) of the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act 1955; and | | (e) | order as may be prescribed by the Minister charged with the responsibility for home affairs to be a criminal record for the purposes of this Code; |
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| “data” has the meaning given by the Computer Misuse Act 1993; |
| “financial institution” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992; |
| “fine” means any fine or financial penalty imposed by any court upon any conviction of any offence; |
| “fine‑only offence” means an offence that is punishable only with a fine; |
| “Judge” means a Supreme Court Judge, a Senior Judge or a Judicial Commissioner sitting in the General Division of the High Court in accordance with the Constitution and the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1969; |
| “Judge sitting in the Court of Appeal” means a Supreme Court Judge, a Senior Judge or a Judicial Commissioner sitting in the Court of Appeal in accordance with the Constitution and the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1969; |
| “judicial proceeding” means any proceeding in the course of which evidence is or may be legally taken by a court; |
| “juvenile” means a person who, in the absence of legal proof to the contrary, is 7 years of age or above and below 16 years of age in the opinion of the court; |
| “law enforcement agency” means any authority or person charged with the duty of investigating offences or charging offenders under any written law; |
| “life imprisonment” means imprisonment for the duration of a person’s natural life; |
| “non-arrestable offence” and “non‑arrestable case” mean, respectively, an offence for which and a case in which a police officer may not ordinarily arrest without warrant according to the third column of the First Schedule or under any other written law; |
| “offence” means an act or omission punishable by any written law; |
“place” includes —| (a) | any building or structure, whether permanent or temporary; | | (b) | any land, whether or not built on; | | (c) | any place, whether or not enclosed, and whether or not situated underground or underwater; | | (d) | any vessel, aircraft, train, or vehicle (whether mechanically‑propelled or otherwise) or any other means of transport; and | | (e) | any part of any place referred to in paragraphs (a) to (d); |
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| “police officer” has the meaning given by the Police Force Act 2004; |
| “police station” means any local office of the Singapore Police Force; [Act 5 of 2024 wef 31/05/2024] |
| “Postal Authority”, “public parcel locker network operator” and “public postal licensee” have the meanings given by section 2(1) of the Postal Services Act 1999; |
| “proceeding” includes a criminal case disclosure conference and a case conference, held under Part 9 or 10, as the case may be; [Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022] |
| “property” means money and all other property, movable or immovable, including things in action and other intangible or incorporeal property; |
“public body” means —| (a) | the Government or any department, office or service of the Government; or | | (b) | any corporation, authority, board, council, commission, office or other body established by or under any public Act for a public purpose; |
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| “Registrar of the Family Justice Courts” means the registrar of the Family Justice Courts, and includes the deputy registrar and an assistant registrar of the Family Justice Courts; |
| “Registrar of the State Courts” means the registrar of the State Courts, and includes a deputy registrar of the State Courts; |
| “Registrar of the Supreme Court” includes the Deputy Registrar and an Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court; |
| “repealed Code” means the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68, 1985 Revised Edition) repealed by this Code; |
“sexual offence” means —| (a) | an offence under section 354, 354A, 355, 372, 373, 373A, 375, 376, 376A, 376AA, 376B, 376C, 376D, 376E, 376EA, 376EB, 376EC, 376ED, 376EE, 376F, 376G, 376H, 377(3), 377B(3), 377BA, 377BB, 377BC, 377BD, 377BE or 377BF of the Penal Code 1871; or [Act 39 of 2022 wef 03/01/2023] | | (b) | an offence under section 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 146A, 147 or 148 of the Women’s Charter 1961, |
| and includes an abetment of, a conspiracy to commit, or an attempt to commit, such an offence; |
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| “signed” or “signature” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Electronic Transactions Act 2010; |
| “State Court” means any court constituted under the State Courts Act 1970 for the administration of criminal justice; |
| “stolen property” has the meaning given by section 410 of the Penal Code 1871; |
| “terrorist act” has the meaning given by section 2(2) and (3) of the Terrorism (Suppression of Financing) Act 2002; |
| “travel document” means a passport and includes any document issued by any State (including Singapore) or territory for the purpose of facilitating travel by the holder thereof; |
| “writing” includes any mode of representing or reproducing words, figures, drawings or symbols in a visible form, whether permanent or otherwise. [3/2013; 5/2014; 27/2014; 42/2014; 9/2018; 12/2018; 19/2018; 15/2019; 40/2019; 10/2021] |
| (1A) Any power conferred on a court by this Code to make an order for the disposal of any property includes a power to make an order for the forfeiture, confiscation or destruction of the property, or for the delivery of the property to any person, but must be exercised subject to any provisions on forfeiture, confiscation, destruction or delivery in any other written law that is applicable to the case. [19/2018] |
| (2) Words and expressions used in this Code which are defined in the Penal Code 1871 but not defined in this section have the meanings given by the Penal Code 1871. |
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| Service of notices, orders and documents |
3.—(1) Subject to this section, any notice, order or document (other than a summons or a notice to attend court issued under this Code) required or permitted to be served on a person under this Code may be served on that person —| (a) | by delivering it personally to that person; | | (b) | by addressing it to that person and delivering it at the last known residential address of that person to an adult person who is a member of his or her family; | | (c) | by addressing it to that person and delivering it at the last known business address of that person to that person’s employee or by addressing it to that person’s advocate (if any) and delivering it to the advocate at the advocate’s office; | | (d) | by sending it by registered post addressed to that person at that person’s last known residential or business address, or sending it by registered post addressed to that person’s advocate (if any) at the advocate’s office; | | (e) | by addressing it to that person and transmitting it by fax to that person’s last known fax number, or addressing it to that person’s advocate (if any) and transmitting it by fax to the advocate’s office fax number; | | (ea) | by addressing it to that person, and transmitting it to an electronic mail address specified by that person in accordance with subsection (4A); | | (eb) | by addressing it to that person’s advocate (if any), and transmitting it to an electronic mail address specified by the advocate in accordance with subsection (4B); | | (f) | by leaving it at that person’s last known residential or business address, if service cannot be effected under paragraphs (a) to (e); | | (g) | in the case of a body corporate or a limited liability partnership —| (i) | by delivering it to the director, manager or secretary, or other similar officer of the body corporate or limited liability partnership, at its registered office or principal place of business; | | (ii) | by delivering it to the advocate (if any) of the body corporate or limited liability partnership at the advocate’s office; | | (iii) | by sending it by registered post addressed to the body corporate or limited liability partnership at the registered office or principal place of business of the body corporate or limited liability partnership; | | (iv) | by sending it by registered post addressed to the advocate (if any) of the body corporate or limited liability partnership at the advocate’s office; | | (v) | by addressing it to that body corporate or limited liability partnership and transmitting it to the last known fax number of the body corporate or limited liability partnership; | | (vi) | by addressing it to the advocate (if any) of the body corporate or limited liability partnership and transmitting it by fax to the advocate’s office fax number; | | (vii) | by addressing it to that body corporate or limited liability partnership, and transmitting it to an electronic mail address specified by that body corporate or limited liability partnership in accordance with subsection (4A); or | | (viii) | by addressing it to the advocate (if any) of the body corporate or limited liability partnership, and transmitting it to an electronic mail address specified by the advocate in accordance with subsection (4B); |
| | (h) | in the case of a partnership other than a limited liability partnership —| (i) | by delivering it to any one of the partners or the secretary, or other similar officer of the partnership, at its registered office or principal place of business; | | (ii) | by delivering it to the advocate (if any) of the partnership at the advocate’s office; | | (iii) | by sending it by registered post addressed to the partnership at the registered office or principal place of business of the partnership; | | (iv) | by sending it by registered post addressed to the advocate (if any) of the partnership at the advocate’s office; | | (v) | by addressing it to that partnership and transmitting it to the last known fax number of the partnership; | | (vi) | by addressing it to the advocate (if any) of the partnership and transmitting it by fax to the advocate’s office fax number; | | (vii) | by addressing it to that partnership, and transmitting it to an electronic mail address specified by that partnership in accordance with subsection (4A); or | | (viii) | by addressing it to the advocate (if any) of the partnership, and transmitting it to an electronic mail address specified by the advocate in accordance with subsection (4B); |
| | (i) | in the case of an unincorporated association —| (i) | by delivering it to the president, the secretary or any member of the committee of the unincorporated association, or any person holding a position analogous to that of the president, secretary or member of the committee, at the address of the unincorporated association; | | (ii) | by delivering it to the advocate (if any) of the unincorporated association at the advocate’s office; | | (iii) | by sending it by registered post addressed to the unincorporated association at the address of the unincorporated association; | | (iv) | by sending it by registered post addressed to the advocate (if any) of the unincorporated association at the advocate’s office; | | (v) | by addressing it to that unincorporated association and transmitting it to the last known fax number of the unincorporated association; | | (vi) | by addressing it to the advocate (if any) of the unincorporated association and transmitting it by fax to the advocate’s office fax number; | | (vii) | by addressing it to that unincorporated association, and transmitting it to an electronic mail address specified by that unincorporated association in accordance with subsection (4A); or | | (viii) | by addressing it to the advocate (if any) of the unincorporated association, and transmitting it to an electronic mail address specified by the advocate in accordance with subsection (4B); or |
| | (j) | by any other prescribed method. [19/2018] |
| (2) In the case of service under subsection (1)(a), the person to whom the notice, order or document is served must, if so required by the serving officer, acknowledge its receipt by signing on an acknowledgment slip. |
| (3) In the case of service under subsection (1)(b) and (c), the family member or employee to whom the notice, order or document is delivered must, if so required by the serving officer, acknowledge its receipt by signing on an acknowledgment slip and writing down his or her name, age, identity card or passport number, contact details and relationship to the person on whom the notice, order or document is intended to be served. |
| (4) In the case of service under subsection (1)(g)(i), (h)(i) and (i)(i), the person to whom the notice, order or document is delivered must, if so required by the serving officer, acknowledge its receipt by signing on an acknowledgment slip and writing down his or her name, age, identity card or passport number, contact details and position in the body corporate, limited liability partnership, partnership or unincorporated association (as the case may be) on which the notice, order or document is intended to be served. |
(4A) The notice, order or document may be served in a manner specified in subsection (1)(ea), (g)(vii), (h)(vii) or (i)(vii) only if both of the following conditions are satisfied:| (a) | the person to whom the notice, order or document is to be served gives that person’s prior written consent for the notice, order or document to be served in that manner; | | (b) | that person specifies, in that written consent, the electronic mail address to which the notice, order or document is to be transmitted. [19/2018] |
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(4B) The notice, order or document may be served in a manner specified in subsection (1)(eb), (g)(viii), (h)(viii) or (i)(viii) only if both of the following conditions are satisfied:| (a) | the advocate (if any) of the person to whom the notice, order or document is to be served gives the advocate’s prior written consent for the notice, order or document to be served in that manner; | | (b) | the advocate specifies, in that written consent, the electronic mail address to which the notice, order or document is to be transmitted. [19/2018] |
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| (5) A reference in this Code to service by registered post is a reference to a postal service that records the posting and delivery of mail by the Postal Authority or public postal licensee. |
| (6) When a notice, order or document is served under this section, an affidavit of such service purporting to be made by the process server before an officer authorised to administer an oath is admissible in evidence. |
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| Trial of offences under Penal Code 1871 or other laws |
4.—(1) Offences under the Penal Code 1871 must be inquired into and tried according to this Code.| (2) Offences under any other written law must also be inquired into and tried according to this Code, subject to any law regulating the manner or place of inquiring into or trying those offences. |
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| Saving of powers of Supreme Court and law officers |
| 5. Nothing in this Code derogates from the jurisdiction or powers of the Court of Appeal or the General Division of the High Court or the Judges thereof, or the Attorney‑General, a Deputy Attorney‑General or the Solicitor‑General. [41/2014; 40/2019] |
| Where no procedure is provided |
| 6. As regards matters of criminal procedure for which no special provision has been made by this Code or by any other law for the time being in force, such procedure as the justice of the case may require, and which is not inconsistent with this Code or such other law, may be adopted. |
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