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Singapore Armed Forces Act

(CHAPTER 295, Section 205)

Singapore Armed Forces
(Detention and Imprisonment) Regulations

Rg 3

REVISED EDITION 2001

(31st January 2001)

[15th June 1972]

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Singapore Armed Forces (Detention and Imprisonment) Regulations.

Definitions

2. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —

“arrested person” means a person in close arrest under the Act;

“commandant” means —

(a)	in the case of a detention barrack or military prison, an officer appointed by the Director of Manpower; or
(b)	in the case of a guardroom, the unit commander;

“guard” means a person responsible for the guarding of arrested or detained persons in a detention barrack, guardroom or military prison;

“guardroom” means a place designated as a guardroom by a commanding officer with the approval of a medical officer;

“person serving detention” means a person under sentence of detention imposed by a subordinate military court or by a disciplinary officer;

“person serving imprisonment” means a person under sentence of imprisonment by a subordinate military court.

Place of custody of arrested persons

3.—(1) Subject to these Regulations —

(a)	arrested persons, excluding servicemen of or above the rank of sergeant, shall be kept in custody in guardrooms; and
(b)	arrested persons of or above the rank of sergeant shall be kept in custody in detention barracks.

(2) The Director of Manpower may however direct that —

(a)	persons referred to in paragraph (1)(a) shall be kept in custody in detention barracks; and
(b)	persons referred to in paragraph (1)(b) shall be kept in guardrooms.

Place of custody of person sentenced to imprisonment

4.—(1) A person sentenced to imprisonment by a subordinate military court shall serve such sentence in a military prison or a civil prison.

(2) A person serving sentence in a civil prison shall, unless otherwise provided for in these Regulations, be for all purposes subject to the Prisons Act (Cap. 247) and any regulations made thereunder.

Women to be kept in special places

5. Women under arrest and women serving detention or imprisonment shall be kept in such places and under such conditions as the Director of Manpower, may, with due regard to decency and the special position of such women, direct.

Temporary place of custody

6.—(1) When a person is put under close arrest, detention or imprisonment, during a period in which his unit is engaged in military operations, and he cannot be immediately delivered into a guardroom or detention barrack or military prison, he may be kept in custody in such place as his unit commander may direct.

(2) A person kept under paragraph (1) shall be kept under conditions which are not detrimental to his health and that as soon as possible he shall be delivered into a guardroom or detention barrack or military prison.

(3) This regulation shall also apply to —

(a)	arrested persons or persons serving detention or imprisonment in a vessel at sea; and
(b)	arrested persons or persons serving detention or imprisonment outside Singapore.

Separation of persons in custody

7. Whenever practicable arrested persons shall be kept separately from persons serving detention and persons above the rank of sergeant shall be kept separately from other persons in custody.

Premises for guardrooms

8. Premises for guardrooms shall be allocated by the commandant.

General orders

9. The commandant may, subject to the Act and these Regulations, issue general orders in respect of military prisons, detention barracks, guardrooms, arrested persons and persons serving detention or imprisonment.

Admission to military prisons and detention barracks

10. On admission of an arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment to a military prison, detention barrack or guardroom the following procedure shall apply:

(a)	the commandant or a person acting on his behalf shall examine whether there is lawful authority for keeping the person in custody;
(b)	an arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment shall, with due regard to decency, be searched and any article or document which he is not allowed to keep in his possession shall be taken from him and kept in safe custody; a list of these articles or documents authenticated by the signature of the person responsible for the taking of such articles or documents shall be kept and a copy thereof shall be delivered on demand to the person serving detention or imprisonment or arrested person; and
(c)	within 24 hours after admission he shall be examined by a medical officer and shall not undergo any form of work or training before a medical officer certifies in Form 1 set out in the First Schedule that he is fit for such work or training.

Accommodation in cell

11. Two persons shall not be kept in custody in one cell. There shall be either one person or at least 3 persons in one cell.

Permitted articles

12.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), an arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment shall be allowed to keep in his cell necessary clothing, boots, mess-tins, cleaning and toilet kits.

(2) Knives, razors, forks and spoons shall not be allowed to be kept in the cell of an arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment.

(3) Persons serving detention or imprisonment shall not be allowed to wear decorations, insignias or badges of rank.

(4) The commandant may permit to be kept in the cell of an arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment any article in addition to those provided in paragraph (1).

Searches

13. The commandant may order an arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment to be searched at any time.

Food

14. Subject to regulation 26(2)(b), arrested persons or persons serving detention or imprisonment shall be provided with food similar to that provided to servicemen not in custody.

Smoking privileges

15.—(1) Persons serving detention or imprisonment shall, subject to regulation 26(2)(b), be allowed to smoke 2 cigarettes a day. There shall be no restriction on the smoking privileges of arrested persons.

(2) No person serving detention or imprisonment shall smoke or have in his possession any matches or lighter, or any naked light for the purpose of lighting tobacco or cigarettes except at such times as are authorised in accordance with the general orders or other orders of the commandant.

Letters

16.—(1) A person serving detention or imprisonment shall be allowed to write one letter on admission to a military prison or detention barrack or guardroom and thereafter he shall be allowed to write a letter a week.

(2) A commandant may permit a person serving detention or imprisonment to write additional letters.

(3) There shall be no restriction on the number of letters an arrested person may write.

(4) There shall be no restriction on the length of a letter an arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment may write.

(5) Letters referred to in this regulation shall be sent by the commandant.

(6) The commandant may scrutinize letters written by or addressed to an arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment and may withhold any such letters or any part thereof provided he gives due notice thereof to the arrested person or person serving detention or imprisonment.

Parcels

17.—(1) A parcel addressed to an arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment shall be opened and examined by or under the authority of the commandant in the presence of the person to whom it is addressed.

(2) Any article which the person is prohibited from or not authorised to receive shall be retained in safe keeping by the commandant.

Visits from friends and relatives

18.—(1) A person serving detention or imprisonment shall be allowed a visit from friends and relatives once in every week.

(2) An arrested person shall be allowed such number of visits from friends and relatives as the commandant may consider consistent with security and discipline, except that an arrested person shall in any case be allowed a visit once a week.

(3) The commandant may allow visits in addition to those provided for in paragraph (1).

(4) Visits shall be made during official visiting hours.

Visits by counsel

19.—(1) Any written communication between an arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment and his counsel shall be confidential and exempt from censorship, except that when the commandant has reason to believe that any such communication may contain material unrelated to the purposes of an investigation, trial or appeal, it may be subject to censorship in accordance with these Regulations.

(2) The commandant shall provide reasonable facilities for an arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment to be visited by his counsel in connection with any investigation, trial or appeal.

(3) Any visit under paragraph (2) shall be within sight, but not within the hearing of the commandant or an official of the detention barrack, military prison or guardroom.

Mechanical restraint

20.—(1) A commandant may issue an order in writing for the mechanical restraint of an arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment to prevent him from inflicting injuries to himself or others, damaging property, creating disturbance or escaping.

(2) Mechanical restraint shall not be ordered for the purpose of punishment.

(3) An arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment shall not be handcuffed to any object.

(4) Arrested persons or persons serving detention or imprisonment may be handcuffed to one another in transit.

(5) An order made under paragraph (1) shall be in Form 2 set out in the First Schedule and shall state the type and manner of restraint that is to be applied and the period during which it shall be applied except that such period shall not exceed 12 hours in the case of any restraint, and except that the Director of Manpower, may order that the mechanical restraint shall continue for a period not exceeding 24 hours.

(6) Mechanical restraint shall only be by means of handcuffs of the figure of eight, swivel or curb chain type not exceeding 567 grammes in weight, except that the commandant may, when handcuffs cannot efficiently secure arrested persons or persons serving detention or imprisonment, order any other means or manner of restraint with the approval and subject to the condition laid down by a medical officer.

(7) Mechanical restraint may be applied to an arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment before the issue of an order under paragraph (1) only in a case of extreme urgency when an order in writing cannot be obtained.

(8) The commandant shall in such cases issue forthwith an order in writing.

Training and work of persons under sentence

21.—(1) Persons serving detention or imprisonment shall be engaged in such training or work commensurate with their rank as the commandant may prescribe from time to time in accordance with these Regulations and general orders.

(2) The training and work referred to in paragraph (1) shall be for the purpose of education, instruction, preservation of health or for the maintenance of military installations.

(3) No person shall be engaged in training or work for more than 9 hours a day.

(4) On Sundays and gazetted public holidays arrested persons or persons serving detention or imprisonment shall not be engaged in any training or work except work which is necessary for the service and maintenance of military prisons, detention barracks, guardrooms or military installations.

(5) No person shall be engaged in training or work when he is —

(a)	in close confinement;
(b)	undergoing restricted diet as a punishment; or
(c)	excused from training or work on medical grounds on the advice of a medical officer.

Unauthorised work

22. An arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment shall not be employed, directly or indirectly, for the private benefit or advantage of any person, nor in any way contrary to these Regulations or the orders of the commandant.

Escape from custody

23.—(1) Any person who discovers the escape from custody of another or who has any knowledge which may assist in the apprehension of such person shall immediately report to the commandant.

(2) A commandant shall forthwith inform the military police of any case of escape from custody.

(3) The military police shall immediately report any case of escape from custody to the police and to the Director of Manpower.

Temporary release

24.—(1) The commandant may, on the application of a person serving detention or imprisonment, grant him temporary release from the place of custody for a period not exceeding 48 hours on compassionate grounds.

(2) Such period shall be accountable for the purpose of calculating the period of sentence served.

(3) The certificate of release shall be in Form 3 set out in the First Schedule.

Remission of sentence

25.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), a person serving detention or imprisonment shall be entitled to have part of his sentence remitted in accordance with the following provisions:

(a)	if his sentence does not exceed 30 days — nil;
(b)	if his sentence exceeds 30 days but does not exceed 40 days — a period equal to the number of days by which the sentence exceeds 30 days;
(c)	if his sentence exceeds 40 days — one third of the period of his sentence except that in a case where this would result in the person serving detention or imprisonment serving less than 30 days when the period of remission shall be such period as will reduce the period of his sentence which he is required to serve to 30 days.

(2) For the purposes of calculating the remission, a portion of a day shall be ignored.

(3) The whole or any part of the remission may be withdrawn by the Director of Manpower, on the recommendation of a commandant by reason of misbehaviour of a person serving detention or imprisonment.

(4) Subject to paragraph (3), the power to withdraw any remission not exceeding 10 days shall be vested in the commandant.

Offences and punishments

26.—(1) An arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment who —

(a)	shows disrespect to a guard or an official of a detention barrack, military prison or guardroom or to a visitor thereto;
(b)	is idle, careless or negligent;
(c)	uses any abusive, insolent, threatening or other improper language;
(d)	communicates with any person without authority;
(e)	leaves his cell or place of work or other appointed place without permission;
(f)	commits any nuisance;
(g)	has in his cell or possession any unauthorised article; or
(h)	gives to or receives from any person any unauthorised article,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) Any person who commits an offence under paragraph (1) shall, after being given an opportunity to be heard, be liable to be punished by the commandant with any one or both of the following punishments:

(a)	close confinement for a period not exceeding 3 days;
(b)	restricted diet including deprivation of smoking privileges for a period not exceeding 2 weeks.

(3) A person under close confinement shall not be allowed to leave his cell or to communicate with any other person without the permission of the commandant and shall be allowed books of instruction only.

(4) Restricted diet shall be as set out in the Second Schedule.

Corporal punishment and use of force

27.—(1) Corporal punishment shall not be inflicted on persons under sentence.

(2) In the treatment of a person under sentence, force shall not be used unnecessarily, but if the use of force is necessary no more force shall be used than is necessary.

Medical observations

28. The commandant shall ensure that every person under sentence who is —

(a)	in close confinement;
(b)	undergoing restricted diet;
(c)	subject to any form of mechanical restraint; or
(d)	sick, or complains of sickness,

is under constant medical observation.

Complaints

29.—(1) An arrested person or a person serving detention or imprisonment who considers himself wronged in any matter may complain to the commandant.

(2) It is the duty of the commandant to investigate any complaint made to him and take such steps for redressing the matter complained of as appear to him to be necessary.

Detention in prison

30.—(1) A person on whom a military sentence of detention has been passed may be detained in a military or civil prison temporarily for any period not exceeding 7 days if —

(a)	it is impracticable for the person serving detention to be detained in a detention barrack; or
(b)	it is desirable for the person serving detention to be detained in a military or civil prison.

(2) The committal order shall be in Form 4 set out in the First Schedule.

(3) The authority committing a person serving detention to a military or civil prison shall order the return of the person to a detention barrack on the expiration of the authorised period.

(4) The order of return shall be in Form 5 set out in the First Schedule.

Forms of committals

31. Committals of persons to military or civil custody shall be in Forms 6, 7 and 8 set out in the First Schedule.

Person under death sentence to be detained in prison

32. A person under a sentence of death shall be detained in a military or civil prison.

Arrangement for carrying out sentence of death

33. Upon receiving the warrant to carry out the sentence of death into effect, the Director of Prisons or the commandant of the military prison, in whose custody the person under sentence is, shall immediately make arrangements for the sentence to be carried out.

Treatment of persons under death sentence in military prison

34.—(1) Where a person under a sentence of death is in a military prison the following provisions shall apply:

(a)	he shall be deprived of every article which it might be dangerous or inexpedient to leave in his possession;
(b)	he shall be confined in a separate cell and kept apart from all other persons under sentence of death or imprisonment or in custody;
(c)	he shall be kept by day and by night in the constant charge of 2 servicemen of or above the rank of lance corporal;
(d)	he shall not be required to perform duties other than to keep clean his person and cell;
(e)	he shall be allowed daily physical exercise;
(f)	he shall be granted facilities to correspond with his relatives, friends and counsel;
(g)	he shall be permitted to smoke;
(h)	he shall be visited once daily by the commandant and once daily by the medical officer;
(i)	he may be visited at any time by any person authorised to visit him by written order of the commandant;
(j)	he may be visited by such of his relatives, friends and counsel as he desires to see and as are authorised to visit him by written order of the commandant; and
(k)	he may be visited by a minister of religion.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (1)(h) to (k), a person under a sentence of death shall not be visited by any person other than a member of the prison staff.

(3) All visits shall take place within the sight of a member of the staff.

Detention in civil prison

35. Where a person under a sentence of death is detained in a civil prison, he shall while in that prison be confined and dealt with in the same manner as a person confined therein under a sentence of death passed by a civil court.

Procedure

36.—(1) There shall be present at the execution of the death sentence the officer in charge of the military prison and a medical officer of the prison.

(2) There may also be present any minister of religion in attendance at the prison and such other persons as the officer in charge of the military prison considers proper to admit.

(3) As soon as may be after the person sentenced to death has been executed, a medical officer of the prison shall examine the body of the person executed and shall ascertain the fact of death and shall sign a certificate thereof and deliver the same to the officer in charge.

(4) The certificate shall be in Form 9 set out in the First Schedule.

(5) A Coroner shall, within 24 hours after the execution, hold an inquiry as provided for in the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68) which shall apply to the execution of a death sentence under the Act as it applies to the execution of a death sentence passed in a civil court.

(6) A copy of the verdict of the Coroner shall be forwarded to and filed with the registrar of the Military Court of Appeal and another shall be forwarded to and filed in the office of the Armed Forces Council.

(7) When a sentence of death is avoided by the escape of the person sentenced to death, execution of such sentence shall be carried into effect at such other time after his re-capture as the president of a subordinate military court orders.

(8) No omission or errors as to time and place and no defect in form in any order or warrant and no omission to comply with this regulation shall be held to render illegal any execution carried into effect under such order or warrant or intended so to have been carried into effect or shall render any execution illegal which would otherwise have been legal.

Person responsible for execution

37. The commandant shall nominate a person, approved by the Director of Manpower, who shall be responsible for the due execution of any sentence of death passed under the Act.

Method of execution

38.—(1) A sentence of death passed under the Act shall be executed by hanging or by shooting and the method of execution shall be stated in the death warrant.

(2) In a civil prison a sentence of death shall not be carried out by shooting.

Publication

39. A copy of these Regulations or a sufficient abstract thereof, in a form approved by the Director of Manpower, shall be displayed conspicuously in all detention barracks, military prisons and guardrooms, and in such other places so that they can be seen by every arrested person or person serving detention or imprisonment.