Division 2 — Remission orders
Application
50G.  This Division applies where a prisoner is sentenced to one or more terms of imprisonment that is not a default sentence, and is not also sentenced to life imprisonment.
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Grant of remission
50H.—(1)  Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a prisoner is, upon his or her admission to prison, entitled to have his or her sentence remitted in accordance with and subject to the provisions of this Act.
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(2)  A prisoner who is sentenced to an aggregate term of imprisonment of 14 days or less is not entitled to have his or her sentence remitted.
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(3)  A prisoner is not entitled to have his or her sentence of imprisonment remitted if his or her sentence of imprisonment consists wholly of —
(a)one or more terms of imprisonment imposed as enhanced sentences under section 50T(1)(a);
(b)one or more terms of imprisonment imposed for offences under section 50Y(1); or
(c)any combination of paragraphs (a) and (b).
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When must remission order be made
50I.—(1)  The Commissioner must make a remission order in respect of a prisoner —
(a)unless paragraph (b) applies, on the day after the day the prisoner has served whichever of the following that ends later:
(i)two-thirds of all the consecutive terms of imprisonment to which the prisoner was sentenced;
(ii)14 days of the prisoner’s sentence; and
(b)where the prisoner is sentenced to any enhanced sentence under section 50T(1)(a), or for any offence under section 50Y(1), and to any other sentence of imprisonment, on the day after the day the prisoner has served whichever of the following that ends later:
(i)the aggregate of —
(A)all the terms of imprisonment to which the prisoner was sentenced as enhanced sentence under section 50T(1)(a), or for any offence under section 50Y(1); and
(B)two-thirds of all the other consecutive terms of imprisonment (if any) to which the prisoner was sentenced;
(ii)14 days of the prisoner’s sentence.
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(2)  Despite subsection (1), in determining whether a sentence is served for the purposes of making a remission order under subsection (1), each of the following periods, or if there is more than one such period, the aggregate of those periods, is not reckonable:
(a)one-third of any time which the prisoner is confined in a punishment cell under this Act;
(b)one-third of any time spent by the prisoner in a hospital through his or her own fault or malingering;
(c)any period of remission which is forfeited under this Act, unless the forfeited remission is restored by the Superintendent;
(d)any period of deferment which is ordered by the President under subsection (4);
(e)any other periods of time as may be prescribed.
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(3)  The Commissioner may defer making a remission order by not longer than 2 weeks in order to enable the execution of any punishment ordered by the court and which on the date the remission order would have been made under subsection (1) if not for this subsection, has not been executed.
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(4)  When a prisoner commits an offence while serving his or her sentence, the President may order the Commissioner not to make a remission order, or to defer making a remission order by any period that the President may specify, if the President is of the opinion that the offence is a grave offence, having regard to all the following factors:
(a)the nature of the offence;
(b)the punishment which the offence attracts;
(c)the circumstances in which the offence was committed;
(d)all other relevant circumstances.
Illustrations
     (a)  A prisoner is sentenced to 2 years’ imprisonment for the offence of theft under section 379 of the Penal Code 1871 and one year’s imprisonment for the offence of cheating under section 417 of the Code. Both sentences are ordered to run consecutively and the aggregate sentence is ordered to take effect from 1 January 2013. The prisoner will have served the requisite portion of his or her sentence (2 years) on 31 December 2014, and the Commissioner will be required to make a remission order on 1 January 2015.
     (b)  A prisoner is sentenced to one year’s imprisonment for the offence of theft under section 379 of the Penal Code 1871 and 2 years’ imprisonment as enhanced sentence under section 50T(1)(a). The prisoner’s sentence is ordered to take effect from 1 January 2013. The prisoner would have served the requisite portion of the sentence (2 years and 8 months) on 31 August 2015, and the Commissioner will be required to make a remission order on 1 September 2015.
     (c)  A prisoner is sentenced to one year’s imprisonment for the offence of theft under section 379 of the Penal Code 1871. The sentence is ordered to take effect from 1 January 2013. While serving the sentence, the prisoner spent 3 months in hospital through his or her own fault. The Commissioner will be required to make a remission order on 1 October 2013.
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Remission order when prisoner has served 20 years of sentence
50J.—(1)  Where a prisoner has served 20 years of his or her sentence but the Commissioner is not required to make a remission order under section 50I, the Minister must review the prisoner’s case and may, in the Minister’s discretion, direct the Commissioner to make a remission order in respect of the prisoner.
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(2)  Where the Minister has refused to direct the Commissioner to make a remission order in respect of a prisoner under subsection (1), the Minister must, unless the prisoner is earlier released from imprisonment, review the Minister’s decision at intervals not exceeding 12 months each and may, in the Minister’s discretion, direct the Commissioner to make a remission order in respect of the prisoner.
Illustration
     A prisoner is sentenced to a total of 24 years’ imprisonment. The sentence is ordered to take effect from 1 January 2013. After taking into account the various periods of time mentioned in section 50I(2), the Commissioner is required to defer making a remission order until 1 January 2035. However, the Minister must review the prisoner’s case on 1 January 2033 and may direct the Commissioner to make a remission order. If the Minister does not direct the Commissioner to make a remission order, the Minister must review his or her decision no later than 1 January 2034.
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Effect of section 50I or 50J remission order on sentence
50K.—(1)  Where a remission order is made in respect of a prisoner under section 50I or 50J —
(a)the remainder of the prisoner’s sentence, as determined in accordance with subsection (2), (3) or (4) (as the case may be) is suspended; and
(b)that remainder of the prisoner’s sentence is to be remitted when the remission order expires.
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(2)  If the remission order is made under section 50I and no consecutive sentence is imposed on the prisoner in respect of whom the remission order is made, the remainder of the prisoner’s sentence is the period —
(a)starting on the date the remission order is made; and
(b)ending at the end of the day on which the prisoner would have completed serving his or her entire sentence of imprisonment if no remission order had been made.
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(3)  If the remission order is made under section 50I and 2 or more consecutive sentences are imposed on the prisoner in respect of whom the remission order is made, the remainder of the prisoner’s sentence is the period worked out according to the following steps:
(a)first, apportion the total time (in days) the prisoner has spent serving his or her aggregate sentence among each of the consecutive sentences (including default sentences) as if each sentence is served in the same proportion;
(b)second, work out the portion (in days) of each of the consecutive sentences (including default sentences) which is not served after taking into account the portion which is deemed under paragraph (a) as having been served;
(c)third, add the portion of each of the consecutive sentences (excluding default sentences) worked out under paragraph (b) which is not served.
Illustration
     A prisoner is sentenced to 6 weeks’ imprisonment on 1 January 2013 for the offence of theft under section 379 of the Penal Code 1871, 6 weeks’ imprisonment for the offence of cheating under section 417 of the Code, and a default sentence of 3 weeks for the offence of house‑trespass under section 448 of the Code. All 3 sentences are ordered to run consecutively and the aggregate sentence is imprisonment for a term of 15 weeks (105 days). The Commissioner makes a remission order after the prisoner has served two‑thirds of his or her aggregate sentence, i.e. 70 days. When the remission order is made, the time spent by the prisoner serving his or her aggregate sentence will be divided between the 3 consecutive sentences such that the prisoner has served the same proportion of each sentence, i.e. 28 days in relation to the sentence for theft, 28 days in relation to the sentence for cheating, and 14 days in relation to the sentence for house‑trespass. The portion of the default sentence for house‑trespass which has not been served (7 days) will be remitted. The portions of the sentences for theft and cheating which have not been served (14 days each) will be aggregated and the aggregate (28 days) will be the remainder of the prisoner’s sentence, which will be suspended until the remission order expires, whereupon it will be remitted.
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(4)  If the remission order is made under section 50J, the remainder of the prisoner’s sentence is the period worked out according to the following steps:
(a)first, work out the portion (in days) of the prisoner’s aggregate sentence which has not been served —
(i)starting on the date of the remission order made under section 50J; and
(ii)ending at the end of the day immediately before the day on which the Commissioner would have been required to make a remission order under section 50I in respect of the prisoner if the Minister had not directed the Commissioner to make a remission order under section 50J;
(b)second, work out the portion (in days) of the prisoner’s aggregate sentence which has not been served —
(i)starting on the day on which the Commissioner would have been required to make a remission order under section 50I in respect of the prisoner if the Minister had not directed the Commissioner to make a remission order under section 50J; and
(ii)ending on the day the prisoner would have been released from prison had no remission order been made in respect of the prisoner;
(c)third, apportion the portion (in days) of the prisoner’s aggregate sentence worked out under paragraph (b) between each consecutive term of imprisonment (including default sentences) to which the prisoner was sentenced such that the same proportion of each sentence has not been served;
(d)fourth, work out the portion (in days) of all default sentences (if any) which has not been served under paragraph (c);
(e)fifth, subtract the portion of the prisoner’s sentence worked out under paragraph (d) from the portion of the prisoner’s unserved sentence worked out under paragraph (b);
(f)sixth, add the portion of the prisoner’s sentence worked out under paragraph (a) to the portion of the prisoner’s sentence worked out under paragraph (e).
Illustration
     A prisoner is sentenced to a total of 25 years’ imprisonment, of which one year’s imprisonment is a default sentence. The sentence is ordered to take effect from 1 January 2013. The last day of the prisoner’s sentence if no remission order is made would be 31 December 2037. After taking into account the various periods of time mentioned in section 50I(2), the Commissioner is required to defer making a remission order until 1 November 2033. The Minister reviewed the prisoner’s case on 1 January 2033 and directed the Commissioner to make a remission order under section 50J on the same day. The period starting on 1 November 2033 and ending on 31 December 2037 (4 years and 2 months) will be apportioned such that 2 months of the prisoner’s default sentence and 4 years of the prisoner’s other sentences of imprisonment has not been served. The 4 years will be added to the period starting on 1 January 2033 and ending on 31 October 2033 (10 months) and the total (4 years and 10 months) will be the remainder of the prisoner’s sentence.
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(5)  The portion of a default sentence worked out under subsections (3)(b) and (4)(d) as not having been served is remitted upon the making of the remission order.
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Duration of section 50I or 50J remission order
50L.  Unless extended under section 50M or 50N, a remission order in respect of a prisoner made under section 50I or 50J —
(a)has effect for a period equal to the remainder of the prisoner’s sentence as determined under section 50K; and
(b)expires at the end of the period mentioned in paragraph (a).
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Extension of section 50I or 50J remission order
50M.—(1)  This section applies where —
(a)a prisoner released on a remission order made under section 50I or 50J (called in this section the first remission order) is subsequently sentenced to one or more terms of imprisonment;
(b)a second remission order is made in respect of that term or those terms of imprisonment; and
(c)the first remission order is still in effect when the person is released on the second remission order.
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(2)  Where this section applies —
(a)the first and second remission orders are merged and deemed to be a single remission order made under section 50I; and
(b)the merged remission order expires on the day on which the first remission order would have expired, or the day on which the second remission order would have expired, whichever is the later.
Illustration
     A prisoner is sentenced to 6 years’ imprisonment for offence A. The sentence takes effect from 1 January 2013. The Commissioner makes a remission order for the sentence on 1 January 2017. Under section 50L(b), the remission order will expire at the end of the day on 31 December 2018. On the prisoner’s release, the prisoner commits offence B and is sentenced to 2 years’ imprisonment for offence B. No enhanced sentence is imposed under section 50T. The sentence for offence B takes effect from 1 June 2017. The Commissioner makes a remission order for the sentence for offence B on 1 October 2018. Under section 50L(b) the remission order for the sentence for offence B will expire at the end of the day on 31 May 2019. Both remission orders will be merged and deemed to be one remission order, and the merged remission order will expire at the end of the day on 31 May 2019.
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Extension of section 50I or 50J remission order when person released is unlawfully at large, etc.
50N.—(1)  Where a person who is released under a remission order made under section 50I or 50J is recalled to prison by the Commissioner under section 50X but fails to report at such prison and on such date specified in the notice of recall, that person’s remission order is extended by a period equivalent to the period the person remains unlawfully at large after the date so specified.
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(2)  Where the court issues a warrant of arrest against a person released under a remission order made under section 50I or 50J while the person’s remission order is still in effect, and the person remains at large after the warrant is issued, the person’s remission order is extended by a period equivalent to the period between the date the warrant is issued and the date of his or her arrest.
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(3)  Where a person released under a remission order made under section 50I or 50J is otherwise unlawfully at large while the person’s remission order is still in effect, the person’s remission order is extended by a period equivalent to the period the person is unlawfully at large.
Illustration
     The Commissioner makes a remission order in respect of a prisoner on 1 January 2013. The remission order expires at the end of the day on 31 December 2013. After the prisoner is released, the Commissioner issues a notice of recall to the prisoner under section 50X, requiring the prisoner to report at a specified prison on 15 December 2013. The prisoner remains unlawfully at large and only reports at the specified prison on 14 January 2014, i.e. 30 days later. The duration of the remission order will be extended by 30 days and it will now expire at the end of the day on 30 January 2014.
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