More protection for victims among proposed legal changes: Law Ministry
The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) is mooting video recordings of interviews by law enforcement agencies and stepping up protection for victims of sexual or child abuse offences as part of 50 proposed changes to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) and Evidence Act.
Details of the proposed amendments were announced on Monday (24 July) in MinLaw’s call for public feedback on the matter. The public consultation period will run from 24 July to 24 August.
Enhancing fairness, protecting victims
MinLaw said that video recordings of statements taken by law enforcement officers would enable the courts to determine how much weight ought to be given to such statements after taking into account an interviewee’s demeanour during the proceedings.
Recording video statements would also allow victims of certain crimes, such as sexual offences, to avoid having to keep recounting their ordeals, the ministry said. The amendment also proposes using the video statements of such “vulnerable victims” in place of having the victims appear in court.
In seeking to protect the victims of sexual crimes or child abuse, another proposed change to the CPC is to have such victims have their identities protected from publication from the moment they report the crime. Physical screens would also be used in court to shield victims from direct contact with the accused person.
The proposal also includes the automatic use of in camera – or closed-door – hearings for such victims and a general prohibition on asking victims questions about their sexual history and behaviour that is unrelated to the charge, which includes queries about their appearances.
These changes come after a lawyer was rapped in August last year over an inappropriate line of questioning he had used on the victim in a molest trial. Lawyer Edmund Wong Sin Yee had asked the victim to stand up so he could assess her attractiveness and focused on her breast size while defending his client.
Commenting on the case in a Facebook post, Law Minister K Shanmugam said that victims of sexual assault are “seen as fair game in court for cross-examination”.
Citing the high-profile case of Brock Turner, a Stanford university student who was convicted of rape in March last year, Shanmugam said that the hearing had put the victim through “unacceptable examination” and there had to be “a better way” than to subject victims through court processes which “are not sufficiently sensitive to what victims have gone through”.
Other proposed amendments
Also included in MinLaw’s announcement were proposals to establish a Criminal Procedure Rules Committee (CPRC), which will have the “power to prescribe court-related procedural rules”; an expansion of the community sentencing regime, aimed at giving “more offenders the opportunity for rehabilitation through community sentences”; and enhancements to the victim compensation order regime to “ease the process of victims obtaining compensation through the criminal courts”.
Another suggested change is to introduce new processes to “prevent abuse of court process in concluded criminal cases”. Referring to the growing number of applications for the re-opening of criminal cases in which all avenues of appeal have been exhausted, MinLaw said the Court of Appeal has observed a potential for the abuse of court processes in some of these cases.
The ministry cited the case of Kho Jabing, a Malaysian who was hanged in May 2016 over the murder of a Chinese construction worker. The drama-filled case saw Kho receiving a last-minute reprieve just hours before his execution when his lawyer made use of a legal loophole to file a challenge.
While the appeal was dismissed, with Kho being executed soon after, Court of Appeal Judge Chao Hick Tin warned that the application was an “abuse of the process of the court” and that such challenges threatened to throw the judicial system “into disrepute”.
Staying up to date
In explaining the basis for the proposed changes, MinLaw said that since the CPC was replaced in 2010, the government has been reviewing its efficacy and effectiveness to ensure that it meets the needs of law enforcement agencies and serves the public well.
“Feedback and suggestions from all those involved in the criminal justice system, including the judiciary, the Criminal Bar, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and victim support groups, was also obtained through regular dialogues. These have shaped our thinking and deliberations,” said the ministry.
“This process has culminated in wide-ranging legislative amendments being proposed to the CPC and Evidence Act… Taken together, (the proposed amendments) serve to enhance the fairness of existing procedures, and to ensure the accuracy and equity of outcomes in the criminal justice system.”
Members of the public looking to give their feedback on the proposed amendments can submit their views by mail or e-mail to the following addresses:
Legal Policy Division, Ministry of Law
100 High Street, #08-02, The Treasury
Singapore 179434
E-mail: MLAW_Consultation@mlaw.gov.sg
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