No. S 32
Prisons Act
(Chapter 247)
Prisons (Amendment) Regulations 1998
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 65(1) and (2)(f) of the Prisons Act, the Minister for Home Affairs hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation and commencement
1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Prisons (Amendment) Regulations 1998 and shall come into operation on 16th January 1998.
New regulation 111A
2.  The Prisons Regulations (Rg 2) are amended by inserting, immediately above regulation 112 under the heading “REMISSIONS OF SENTENCES”, the following regulation:
Application of regulations 112 to 119
111A.  Regulations 112 to 119 shall apply to remissions of all sentences of imprisonment other than sentences of imprisonment for life.”.
New regulations 119A and 119B
3.  The Prisons Regulations are amended by inserting, immediately after regulation 119, the following regulations:
REVIEW OF CASES OF LIFE IMPRISONMENT
Remission where prisoner sentenced to imprisonment for life
119A.—(1)  Where a prisoner sentenced to imprisonment for life has served 20 years of his sentence, the Director shall as soon as practicable after that date, and, unless the prisoner is released from imprisonment, at intervals not exceeding 12 months thereafter, refer his case to a Life Imprisonment Review Board appointed under regulation 119B to examine his suitability for release from imprisonment.
(2)  The Life Imprisonment Review Board shall —
(a)review the case referred to it under paragraph (1) to examine the prisoner’s suitability for release from imprisonment; and
(b)prepare a written report to the Minister on each case after the review giving its opinion as to the prisoner’s suitability for release from imprisonment and making therein such recommendations as the Board thinks fit.
(3)  The Life Imprisonment Review Board shall forward the report referred to in paragraph (2)(b) to the Minister who may, in his discretion, remit, with or without conditions, any part of the sentence of imprisonment to which the prisoner has been sentenced.
(4)  If the Minister remits, with or without conditions, any part of the sentence of imprisonment of the prisoner referred to in paragraph (3), he shall send a copy of his order under his hand to the Director, setting out the date on which the prisoner is to be released, and the conditions, if any, on which the remission is made.
(5)  On receipt of the Minister’s order under paragraph (4), the Director shall release the prisoner on the date specified in the order and inform him of the conditions, if any, on which the remission was made.
(6)  Where a prisoner’s sentence of imprisonment is remitted under this regulation subject to conditions, the remission of sentence shall be revoked if the prisoner breaches any of the conditions on which the remission was made.
(7)  The report of the Life Imprisonment Review Board referred to in paragraph (2)(b) shall be secret and shall not be disclosed to any person other than an officer or a member of the Government who has the express or implied authority of the Government to prepare, see or comment on the report of the Board.
(8)  The Minister may give to any Life Imprisonment Review Board directions as to the matters to be taken into account by it in discharging its functions under this regulation.
(9)  Nothing in this regulation shall require the Minister to agree with the opinion or recommendations of any Life Imprisonment Review Board.
Life Imprisonment Review Board
119B.—(1)  For the purposes of regulation 119A, the Minister may, from time to time, appoint one or more Life Imprisonment Review Boards each consisting not less than 3 and not more than 7 persons.
(2)  The Minister may appoint one or more public officers, either by name or by office, to be the secretary of a Life Imprisonment Review Board appointed under these Regulations, and the secretary shall attend all meetings of that Board.
(3)  The Chairman and members of each Life Imprisonment Review Board shall be appointed by the Minister for a term not exceeding 3 years, but may from time to time be re‑appointed, or may at any time be removed from office by the Minister, or may at any time, resign from their office in writing addressed to the Minister.
(4)  Three members of a Life Imprisonment Review Board shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Board.
(5)  The Chairman shall preside at every meeting of the Life Imprisonment Review Board at which he is present and in his absence the members present shall elect one of their number to preside at the meeting.
(6)  Every question before a Life Imprisonment Review Board shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting thereon, and in the event of an equality of votes, the Chairman or the member presiding shall have a casting vote in addition to his original vote.
(7)  Each Life Imprisonment Review Board shall sit in private and shall not be required to personally interview the prisoner or any person on behalf of the prisoner.
(8)  Subject to the provisions of the Act and any regulations made thereunder, each Life Imprisonment Review Board may determine its own procedure.”.
[G.N. No. S 510/95]
Made this 10th day of January 1998.
PETER CHAN JER HING
Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Home Affairs,
Singapore.
[MHA 112/2/004 V 6; AG/LEG/SL/247/97/1 Vol. 1]
(To be presented to Parliament under section 65(3) of the Prisons Act).