Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Act 1996

Status:

Published in Acts Supplement
on 04 Oct 1996

Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Act 1996 (No. 31 of 1996)

REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

GOVERNMENT GAZETTE

ACTS SUPPLEMENT

Published by Authority

NO. 30]

Friday, October 4

[1996

The following Act was passed by Parliament on 27th August 1996 and assented to by the President on 27th September 1996:—

Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Act 1996

(No. 31 of 1996)

I assent.

ONG TENG CHEONG

President

27th September 1996.

Date of Commencement: 1st November 1996

An Act to amend the Criminal Procedure Code (Chapter 68 of the 1985 Revised Edition).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Act 1996 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Amendment of section 137

2. Section 137(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code is amended by deleting the words “only or by imprisonment not exceeding 3 months” in the second line and substituting the words “or by imprisonment not exceeding 3 months or by both”.

New section 137A

3. The Criminal Procedure Code is amended by inserting, immediately after section 137, the following section:

“Pleading guilty by electronic means

137A.—(1) An accused who is alleged to have committed a prescribed offence may plead guilty to the prescribed offence without appearing before a Magistrate in the manner provided in subsection (2) if he is eligible to do so by regulations made under subsection (6) and if he pays the prescribed fee.

(2) An accused who wishes to plead guilty to a prescribed offence without appearing before a Magistrate must —

(a)	enter a plea of guilty at a computer terminal designated by the Registrar for that purpose within the prescribed time; and
(b)	pay in advance the fine fixed by the supervising Magistrate as the sentence to be imposed on an accused who pleads guilty to that offence in the manner provided in this subsection.

(3) The Registrar shall thereafter cause a record of the plea of guilty to the prescribed offence and of the fine paid in advance by the accused to be transmitted to the supervising Magistrate.

(4) The supervising Magistrate shall, upon satisfying himself that the fine fixed under subsection (2)(b) has been paid by the accused, convict the accused in absentia of the prescribed offence to which he pleaded guilty and record the fine paid as the sentence passed for that prescribed offence.

(5) The supervising Magistrate may, in his discretion, at any stage of the proceedings direct the personal attendance of the accused, and if necessary enforce the attendance in the manner provided in section 136.

(6) The Minister may make regulations to prescribe —

(a)	any offence punishable by fine or by imprisonment not exceeding 3 months or by both as an offence to which this section applies;
(b)	the class of persons who are qualified to plead guilty under this section;
(c)	the fee to be paid for the use of the computer terminal referred to in subsection (2)(a);
(d)	the mode of payment of fines and fees payable under this section;
(e)	the time within which an accused may plead guilty under this section; and
(f)	all matters which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this section.

(7) For the purposes of this section —

“prescribed offence” means an offence to which this section applies and which is specified in regulations made under subsection (6);

“Registrar” means the Registrar of the Subordinate Courts;

“supervising Magistrate” means the Magistrate who is for the time being responsible for the operation of the computer terminal referred to in subsection (2)(a).”.

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