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Singapore Armed Forces Act

(Chapter 295, Section 205)

Singapore Armed Forces
(Arrests, Searches and Investigation of Offences) Regulations

Rg 4

G.N. No. S 155/1972

REVISED EDITION 2001

(31st January 2001)

[15th June 1972]

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Singapore Armed Forces (Arrests, Searches and Investigation of Offences) Regulations.

Reasons for arrest

2.—(1) A person shall not be placed or detained under arrest where the offence he has committed or is reasonably suspected of having committed is not of a serious nature.

(2) A person shall be placed under close arrest, when —

(a)	the offence he is found committing or reasonably suspected of having committed and in respect of which he is arrested is punishable with death;
(b)	he is deliberately trying to undermine discipline by acts of misconduct;
(c)	he is likely to injure himself or others;
(d)	he is likely to suborn witnesses;
(e)	he has been apprehended (and has not surrendered himself) as being absent without leave or is habitually absent without leave;
(f)	having regard to the nature or prevalence of the offence with which he is charged or which is under investigation, it is undesirable in the interests of discipline that he should be at large or in a position to consort with his comrades;
(g)	it is suspected that he will not attend the investigation of the case or the trial; or
(h)	in any other case where the person making or authorising the arrest under Part VIII of the Act, as the case may be, deems it desirable that the person shall be placed under close arrest.

Reconsideration of arrest and investigation

3.—(1) Subject to regulation 2, the person responsible for deciding whether a person should be kept under arrest and what the form of arrest should be, shall use his discretion from time to time, as circumstances may require, to change the form of arrest, to re-arrest or to release him without prejudice to re-arrest.

(2) The allegations against a person who is under arrest shall be duly investigated into without unnecessary delay and as soon as possible proceedings shall be instituted against him or he shall be duly released.

Delay reports

4.—(1) The report required by section 171(2) and (3) of the Act with regard to the necessity for further delay in bringing an accused to trial shall be in Form 1 set out in the Schedule.

(2) The report shall be in quadruplicate and sent direct to —

(a)	in the case of the first copy — the officer responsible for convening the subordinate military court for the trial of the accused;
(b)	in the case of the second copy — the person appointed under section 82(5)(a) of the Act;
(c)	in the case of the third copy — the Regimentation and Discipline Branch of the Ministry of Defence; and
(d)	in the case of the fourth copy — be retained by the unit.

(3) A person shall not be held under arrest for more than 72 days without being brought to trial unless a convening authority directs in writing that he shall not be released from arrest.

(4) The direction that the person shall not be released from arrest is only to be given with the prior approval of the Director of Manpower.

Arrest during and after trial

5.—(1) During his trial by a subordinate military court the accused shall be held under close arrest, except where the convening authority directs that for the period of any adjournment of the court he shall be held under open arrest or released from arrest.

(2) Where the sentence announced in court is lower in the scale of punishments than detention, the accused shall be released from arrest immediately after the trial without prejudice to re-arrest.

Use of force

6.—(1) Force may be used for the purpose of arrest only when absolutely necessary and in no case shall it extend to the inflicting of more harm than it is necessary to inflict for the purpose of making the arrest.

(2) The use of force shall not include the use of fire-arms except under the following circumstances:

(a)	where the offence is of a very serious nature; and
(b)	the person being arrested is behaving in such a violent manner that damage to life or limb may result or the use of fire-arms is the only possible way of making the arrest.

(3) Before fire-arms are used, the person who makes an arrest, shall comply with the following procedure:

(a)	he shall warn the person being arrested that unless he ceases his violent behaviour fire-arms may be used;
(b)	he shall ascertain that the person being arrested understands the warning and still refuses to submit to arrest;
(c)	he shall fire a shot vertically into the air;
(d)	if the person being arrested still does not submit to arrest, he may fire at his knees but only so as to wound him; and
(e)	when an arrest is being made under the orders of a person superior in rank and in his presence, no fire-arms shall be used without his permission.

Duties of person making arrest

7.—(1) A person who makes an arrest shall —

(a)	inform the arrested person whether he is under close or open arrest;
(b)	inform the arrested person of the reason for which he is under arrest;
(c)	immediately deliver the arrested person to a place of custody; and
(d)	deliver to the person into whose custody the arrested person is committed at the time of arrest or within 24 hours thereafter a copy of a charge report.

(2) If no charge report is produced under paragraph (1)(d), the person into whose custody the arrested person is committed will report the circumstances to the commanding officer or other competent authority, who will, if continued arrest does not appear to be justified, order the release of the arrested person without prejudice to his re-arrest.

Form of warrant of arrest

8.—(1) A warrant of arrest issued by a superior commander or a senior disciplinary officer shall be in Form 2 set out in the Schedule.

(2) The offence in respect of which the warrant is issued shall be stated.

(3) A warrant of arrest may contain —

(a)	the names of more than one person in respect of the same offence; and
(b)	several offences.

Delivery of warrant

9.—(1) Where a person commits an arrested person into a place of custody under a warrant of arrest, he shall deliver to the custodian a copy of the warrant of arrest in Form 2 set out in the Schedule.

(2) Where the warrant of arrest which has been issued is not in the immediate possession of the person referred to in paragraph (1), he shall deliver it as soon as possible and not later than 24 hours after the committal into custody.

Power to issue search warrants

10. Where —

(a)	there is reason to believe that a person to whom a summons or an order under section 179 of the Act or any regulations made thereunder might be addressed would not produce the document or other material as required by such summons or order; or
(b)	the interests of justice or of any investigation, inquiry, trial or other proceedings under the Act will be served by a general search,

the president of a subordinate military court, a superior commander, or a senior disciplinary officer, may issue a search warrant and the person to whom such warrant is directed may search or inspect in accordance therewith.

Person executing search warrants

11.—(1) A search warrant may be directed to —

(a)	military policemen in general or to any one or more military policemen;
(b)	any one or more servicemen not being military policemen;
(c)	the Commissioner of Police and all other police officers in Singapore.

(2) When a search warrant is directed to more than one person, it may be executed by all or any one or more of them.

(3) The president of a subordinate military court, a superior commander or a senior disciplinary officer may specify in the search warrant the particular place or part thereof to which only the search shall extend and the person charged with the execution of such warrant shall then search only the place or part so specified.

Form and validity of search warrant

12.—(1) Every search warrant issued under the Act shall be in Form 3 set out in Schedule and signed by the president of a subordinate military court, a superior commander or a senior disciplinary officer.

(2) Every such warrant shall remain in force for a reasonable number of days to be specified therein.

Entry into premises

13.—(1) Whenever a place liable to search is closed, any person residing in or being in charge of such place shall, on demand of a person executing a search warrant and on production of the warrant, allow him free ingress thereto and afford all reasonable facilities for a search therein.

(2) If ingress to such place cannot be so obtained, the person executing a search warrant may enter such place and search therein, and in order to effect an entrance into such place may break open any outer or inner door or window of the place to be searched if after notification of his authority and purpose and demand of admittance duly made he cannot otherwise obtain admittance.

(3) A person who has entered a place under this regulation may break open any outer or inner door or window of such place in order to liberate himself or any other person who having lawfully entered under this regulation for the purpose of making a search is detained therein if after notification of his authority to any person residing in or being in charge of such place and demand of exit duly made he or such other person cannot otherwise obtain exit.

Persons present during search

14.—(1) Except in extremely urgent cases a search shall only be carried out in the presence of 2 witnesses, in addition to the person making the search.

(2) The occupant of the place searched or another person on his behalf shall in every instance be permitted to attend during the search.

List of things seized

15.—(1) A list of all things seized in the course of a search made under the Act and of the places in which they are respectively found shall be prepared by the person making such search and signed by him and by the persons who witnessed the search.

(2) A copy of the list prepared and signed under this regulation shall be delivered to the possessor of such property or to the occupant of the place searched, at his request.

Persons found in searched premises

16. Whenever a person makes a search under the Act, he may detain and search any person found in the place searched whom he reasonably suspects of possessing any document or material sought except that no such person may be detained after the completion of the search of the place.

Seizure of things

17. Any person authorised by a search warrant may seize any document or material specified therein and any other material which is found under circumstances which create suspicion of the commission of any offence.

Disposal of things seized

18.—(1) A person seizing any document or material under regulation 17 shall produce the same forthwith before the person who issued the search warrant.

(2) Any document or material seized under paragraph (1) shall be disposed of in accordance with the order of the person who issued the search warrant.

(3) A person making an arrest under a warrant of arrest shall forthwith produce anything seized before the person who issued the warrant of arrest.

(4) Any document or material seized under paragraph (3) shall be disposed of in accordance with the order of the person who issued the warrant of arrest.

(5) A person making an arrest without a warrant of arrest shall forthwith produce anything seized before a superior commander or a senior disciplinary officer.

(6) A person authorised to search without a search warrant shall forthwith produce anything seized before a superior commander or a senior disciplinary officer.

(7) Any document or material seized under paragraph (5) shall be disposed of in accordance with the order of the superior commander or a senior disciplinary officer to whom the document or material was delivered.

(8) Any document or material seized under paragraph (6) shall be disposed of in accordance with the order of the superior commander or a senior disciplinary officer.

(9) The power conferred under paragraphs (2), (4), (7) and (8) shall include the power to make the following orders:

(a)	the delivery of the document or material seized to the person entitled to possession thereof;
(b)	the forfeiture or confiscation of the document or material seized when the possession of such thing is unlawful or where it served as an instrument for the commission of an offence;
(c)	the destruction of the document or material seized; and
(d)	the sale of the document or material seized and the disposal of the proceeds of the sale in any manner provided for above.

Interrogation

19.—(1) When an investigating officer is trying to discover whether, or by whom, an offence has been committed he is entitled to question any person, whether suspected or not, from whom he thinks that useful information may be obtained.

(2) This is so whether or not the person in question has been taken into custody so long as he has not been charged with the offence or informed that he may be prosecuted for it.

Interpreter

20. The investigating officer may appoint an interpreter or interpret himself whenever necessary.

Diary

21.—(1) The investigating officer shall keep a diary recording every act done by him in the course of the investigation.

(2) The investigating officer shall include in the record the following:

(a)	the time at which the order for investigation reached him;
(b)	the times at which he commenced and completed his investigation;
(c)	the places visited by him; and
(d)	a statement of the facts and circumstances ascertained through his investigation.

(3) An accused person shall not be entitled either before or in the course of trial to call for or to inspect any such diary.