53. The punishments to which offenders are liable under the provisions of this Code are —| (a) | death; | | (b) | imprisonment; | | (c) | forfeiture of property; | | (d) | fine; | | (e) | caning.| Explanation.—Caning shall be with a rattan. |
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| 54. “Imprisonment for life”, in relation to any prescribed punishment under this Code or any other written law, means imprisonment for the duration of a person’s natural life. |
| [There are no sections 55 and 56.] |
| 57. [Repealed by Act 51 of 2007] |
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| [There are no sections 58 to 70.] |
| 71. [Repealed by Act 15 of 2010] |
| Punishment of a person found guilty of one of several offences, the judgment stating that it is doubtful of which |
| 72. In all cases in which judgment is given that a person is guilty of one of several offences specified in the judgment, but that it is doubtful of which of these offences he is guilty, the offender shall be punished for the offence for which the lowest punishment is provided, if the same punishment is not provided for all. |
| Enhanced penalties for offences against domestic workers |
| 73.—(1) Where an employer of a domestic worker, a member of the employer’s household or an employment agent of a domestic worker is convicted of an offence under this Code (other than an excluded offence) that is committed against that domestic worker, the court may sentence the person convicted to twice the maximum punishment that the court could, but for this section, impose for that offence. [15/2019] | (2) This section does not apply where the offender (A) proves that, despite A being an employer of the domestic worker (B), a member of B’s employer’s household or an employment agent of B, the relationship between A and B did not adversely affect B’s ability to protect herself from A in respect of the harm caused by the offence. [15/2019] |
(3) Despite anything to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 —| (a) | a Magistrate’s Court has jurisdiction to try the offences in subsection (1), where no imprisonment is prescribed or where twice the maximum term of imprisonment prescribed for the offence does not exceed 5 years, and has power to impose the full punishment provided under that subsection in respect of those offences; and | | (b) | a District Court has jurisdiction to try the offences in subsection (1) and has power to impose the full punishment provided under that subsection in respect of those offences. [15/2019] |
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(4) In this section —| “domestic worker” means any female house servant employed in, or in connection with, the domestic services of her employer’s private dwelling house and who is required to reside in her employer’s private dwelling house; |
| “dwelling house” means a place of residence and includes a building or tenement wholly or principally used, constructed or adapted for use for human habitation; |
| “employer”, in relation to a domestic worker, includes a person who has the same fundamental qualities as an employer of the domestic worker and whose orders the domestic worker has reasonable grounds for believing she is expected to obey; |
| “employment agency personnel” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Employment Agencies Act 1958; |
| “employment agent”, in relation to a domestic worker, means an employment agency personnel or a person who performs work similar to an employment agency personnel, and whose orders the domestic worker has reasonable grounds for believing she is expected to obey; |
“excluded offence” means an offence —| (a) | under section 304B, 304C or 335A; or [Act 23 of 2021 wef 01/03/2022] | | (b) | under this Code which is punishable with death or imprisonment for life; |
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| “member of the employer’s household”, in relation to a domestic worker, means a person residing in the private dwelling house of the domestic worker’s employer at the time the offence was committed, and whose orders the domestic worker has reasonable grounds for believing she is expected to obey. [15/2019] |
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| Enhanced penalties for racially or religiously aggravated offences |
| 74.—(1) Where a person is convicted of an offence specified in subsection (2) which is racially or religiously aggravated, the court may sentence the person to 2 times the amount of punishment to which he would otherwise have been liable for that offence. [Act 31 of 2019 wef 01/11/2022] (2) The offence referred to in subsection (1) is as follows:| (a) | an offence under this Code except sections 298 and 298A, and an offence which is punishable with death or imprisonment for life; | | (b) | an offence of attempting to commit, abetting the commission of, or being a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit, any offence under paragraph (a). [15/2019] [Act 31 of 2019 wef 01/11/2022] |
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(3) Despite anything to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code 2010† —| (a) | a Magistrate’s Court —| (i) | has jurisdiction to try any offence specified in subsection (2), where no imprisonment is prescribed or where twice the maximum term of imprisonment prescribed for the offence does not exceed 5 years; and | | (ii) | has power to impose the full punishment provided under subsection (1) in respect of the offence; and |
| | (b) | a District Court —| (i) | has jurisdiction to try any offence specified in subsection (2); and | | (ii) | has power to impose the full punishment provided under subsection (1) in respect of the offence. [Act 23 of 2021 wef 01/11/2022] [†Updated to be consistent with the 2020 Revised Edition] |
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(4) For the purposes of this section, an offence is racially or religiously aggravated if —| (a) | at the time of committing the offence, or immediately before or after committing such offence, the offender demonstrates towards the victim of the offence hostility based on the victim’s membership (or presumed membership) of a racial or religious group; or | | (b) | the offence is motivated (wholly or partly) by hostility towards members of a racial or religious group based on their membership of that group. |
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| (5) It is immaterial for the purposes of paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (4) whether or not the offender’s hostility is also based, to any extent, on any other factor not mentioned in that paragraph. |
(6) In this section —| “membership”, in relation to a racial or religious group, includes association with members of that group; |
| “presumed” means presumed by the offender. |
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| Enhanced penalties for offences against vulnerable persons |
| 74A.—(1) This section applies where a person is convicted of an offence specified in subsection (3) (called in this section the offender) against a vulnerable person. [27/2018; 15/2019] [Act 23 of 2021 wef 01/03/2022] [S 759/2022] | (2) The court may sentence the offender to punishment not exceeding twice the maximum punishment that the court could, but for this section, impose for the offence, if at the time of committing the offence the offender knew or ought reasonably to have known that the victim was a vulnerable person. [27/2018; 15/2019] |
| (2A) This section does not apply where the offender proves that despite being a vulnerable person the victim was capable of protecting himself from the offender in respect of the harm caused by the offence in the same manner as an ordinary person who is not a vulnerable person. [15/2019] |
(3) The offence to which this section applies is any offence under this Code which may be committed against a vulnerable person except an offence —| (a) | under section 304B, 304C, 335A or 376F; or | | (b) | punishable with death or imprisonment for life. [15/2019] |
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(4) Despite anything to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 —| (a) | a Magistrate’s Court has jurisdiction to try the offences specified in subsection (3), where no imprisonment is prescribed or where twice the maximum term of imprisonment prescribed for the offence does not exceed 5 years, and has power to impose the full punishment provided under subsection (2) in respect of those offences; and | | (b) | a District Court has jurisdiction to try the offences specified in subsection (3) and has power to impose the full punishment provided under subsection (2) in respect of those offences. [15/2019] |
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(5) In this section —| “abuse” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Vulnerable Adults Act 2018; |
| “self-neglect” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Vulnerable Adults Act 2018; |
| “vulnerable person” means an individual who is, by reason of mental or physical infirmity, disability or incapacity, substantially unable to protect himself from abuse, neglect or self-neglect. [15/2019] |
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| Enhanced penalties for offences against person below 14 years of age |
74B.—(1) Subsection (2) applies to any offence under this Code which may be committed against a person below 14 years of age except where —| (a) | it is expressly provided that an enhanced or mandatory minimum sentence will apply to the offence when it is committed against a person below 14 years of age; | | (b) | the offence is under section 304B, 304C, 377BG, 377BH, 377BI, 377BJ or 377BK; or | | (c) | the offence is punishable with death or imprisonment for life. [15/2019] |
| (2) Where any person commits an offence under this Code against a person below 14 years of age, the court may sentence the person convicted of the offence to punishment not exceeding twice the maximum punishment that the court could, but for this section, impose for the offence if at the time of committing the offence the offender knew or ought reasonably to have known that the victim was a person below 14 years of age. [15/2019] |
| (3) This section does not apply where the offender proves that the victim despite being a person below 14 years of age, was capable of protecting himself from the offender in respect of the harm caused by the offence in the same manner as a person of or above 14 years of age. [15/2019] |
(4) Despite anything to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 —| (a) | a Magistrate’s Court has jurisdiction to try the offences to which subsection (2) applies, where no imprisonment is prescribed or where twice the maximum term of imprisonment prescribed for the offence does not exceed 5 years, and has power to impose the full punishment provided under subsection (2) in respect of those offences; and | | (b) | a District Court has jurisdiction to try the offences to which subsection (2) applies and has power to impose the full punishment provided under subsection (2) in respect of those offences. [15/2019] |
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| Enhanced penalties for offences against victims in intimate relationships |
| 74C.—(1) Subsection (2) applies where an offender (A) is convicted of any offence under Chapter 16 (except an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life) committed against a person (B) who was or is in an intimate relationship with A. [15/2019] | (2) When the offender (A) commits an offence against B, the court may sentence the person convicted of the offence to punishment not exceeding twice the maximum punishment that the court could, but for this section, impose for the offence if at the time of committing the offence A knew or ought reasonably to have known that B was or is in an intimate relationship with A. [15/2019] |
| (3) This section does not apply where the offender (A) proves that, despite A having been or being in an intimate relationship with B, the relationship between A and B did not adversely affect B’s ability to protect B from A in respect of the harm caused by the offence. [15/2019] |
(4) Despite anything to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 —| (a) | a Magistrate’s Court has jurisdiction to try the offences to which subsection (2) applies, where no imprisonment is prescribed or where twice the maximum term of imprisonment prescribed for the offence does not exceed 5 years, and has power to impose the full punishment provided under subsection (2) in respect of those offences; and | | (b) | a District Court has jurisdiction to try the offences to which subsection (2) applies and has power to impose the full punishment provided under subsection (2) in respect of those offences. [15/2019] |
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(5) For the purpose of this section, the court may determine whether the offender (A) was or is in an intimate relationship with the victim (B) having regard to all the circumstances of the case, including the following:| (a) | whether A and B are living in the same household, although it is not necessary that they live in the same household; | | (b) | whether A and B share the tasks and duties of their daily lives; | | (c) | whether A and B have made arrangements to share expenses or financial support and the degree of financial dependence or interdependence between A and B; | | (d) | whether there is a sexual relationship between A and B, although it is not necessary that there be a sexual relationship between them; | | (e) | whether A and B share the care and support of a specific person below 21 years of age; | | (f) | whether A and B conduct themselves toward their friends, relatives or other persons as parties to an intimate relationship, and whether A and B are so treated by their friends, relatives or other persons. [15/2019] |
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| Enhanced penalties for offences against victims in close relationships |
| 74D.—(1) Subsection (2) applies where an offender (A) is convicted of any offence under Chapter 16 (except an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life) committed against a person (B) who was or is in a close relationship with A. [15/2019] | (2) When the offender (A) commits an offence against B, the court may sentence the person convicted of the offence to punishment not exceeding twice the maximum punishment that the court could, but for this section, impose for the offence if at the time of committing the offence A knew or ought reasonably to have known that B was or is in a close relationship with A. [15/2019] |
| (3) This section does not apply where the offender (A) proves that, despite A having been or being in a close relationship with B, the relationship between A and B did not adversely affect B’s ability to protect B from A in respect of the harm caused by the offence. [15/2019] |
(4) Despite anything to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 —| (a) | a Magistrate’s Court has jurisdiction to try the offences to which subsection (2) applies, where no imprisonment is prescribed or where twice the maximum term of imprisonment prescribed for the offence does not exceed 5 years, and has power to impose the full punishment provided under subsection (2) in respect of those offences; and | | (b) | a District Court has jurisdiction to try the offences to which subsection (2) applies and has power to impose the full punishment provided under subsection (2) in respect of those offences. [15/2019] |
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(5) In this section, the offender (A) was or is in a close relationship with the victim (B) where —| (a) | A is a member of the same household as B; and | | (b) | A and B had frequent contact with each other. [15/2019] |
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(6) For the purposes of subsection (5), A and B are to be treated as members of the same household if —| (a) | they live in the same household; or | | (b) | they do not live in the same household, but A or B visits the household to which the other belongs so often and for such periods of time that it is reasonable to regard A and B as being members of the same household. [15/2019] |
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| Application of enhanced penalties |
74E.—(1) Where 2 or more of the sections from amongst sections 73 to 74D are applicable to enhance the punishment for an offence from that which the offender would otherwise have been liable for —| (a) | the punishment for the same offence shall not be enhanced by the application of more than one of those sections; and | | (b) | the court may determine which section should apply to enhance the punishment. [15/2019] |
(2) Where any punishment prescribed for an offence is —| (a) | a specified minimum sentence or a mandatory minimum sentence of imprisonment or caning, section 73, 74, 74A, 74B, 74C or 74D does not apply to enhance such punishment; and | | (b) | a sentence of caning, section 73, 74, 74A, 74B, 74C or 74D does not apply to enhance the maximum number of strokes of the cane that may be imposed. [15/2019] |
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| 75. [Repealed by Act 15 of 2019] |
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