Penal Code 1871 - Singapore Statutes Online

Short title

1. This Act is the Penal Code 1871.

“Fraudulently”

25. A person (A) is said to do an act fraudulently if A does that act with intent to deceive another person (B) and by means of such deception, that an advantage should accrue to A or another person or detriment should befall B or another person (other than A), regardless of whether such advantage or detriment is temporary or permanent.

Explanation 1.—Where the advantage or the detriment A intended by means of the act done is so slight that no reasonable person of ordinary sense or temper would complain of it, the act is not done fraudulently.

Explanation 2.—It is sufficient in any charge for an offence under this Code involving doing an act fraudulently to allege a general intent to act fraudulently without naming any particular person intended to be deceived.

[15/2019]

“Voluntarily”

26A. A person is said to cause an effect “voluntarily” when he causes it by means whereby he intended to cause it, or by means which, at the time of employing those means, he knew or had reason to believe to be likely to cause it.

Illustration

A sets fire, by night, to an inhabited house in a large town, for the purpose of facilitating a robbery, and thus causes the death of a person. Here A may not have intended to cause death, and may even be sorry that death has been caused by this act; yet, if he knew that he was likely to cause death, he has caused death voluntarily.

[15/2019]

“Intentionally”

26C.—(1) A person is said to do an act intentionally where that person does an act deliberately.

[15/2019]

(2) A person is said to cause an effect intentionally where that person does anything that causes an effect —

(a)	with the purpose of causing that effect; or
(b)	knowing that that effect would be virtually certain (barring an unforeseen intervention) to result. [15/2019]

(3) To avoid doubt, a person does not intend or foresee a result of his acts by reason only of it being a natural and probable consequence of those acts.

[15/2019]

(4) To avoid doubt, nothing in this section prevents a court from relying on a person’s foresight that a certain effect was a probable consequence of his act as a basis to draw an inference that the person caused that effect intentionally.

Explanation.—Intention is distinct from motive or desire, and a person may do an act or cause an effect intentionally even if doing so was not his motive or he had no desire to do so.

[15/2019]

“Knowingly”

26D.—(1) Whoever does an act with awareness that a circumstance exists, will exist, or is virtually certain (barring an unforeseen intervention) to exist, is said to do that act knowingly in respect of that circumstance.

[15/2019]

(2) Whoever does an act with awareness that an effect will be caused, or is virtually certain (barring an unforeseen intervention) to be caused, is said to do that act knowingly in respect of that effect.

[15/2019]

(3) Where doing an act knowingly is a fault element of an offence, that fault element is also established where that act is done intentionally or with wilful blindness.

[15/2019; 2/2020]

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