Once a person has been convicted of an offence, the Court in all criminal proceedings has to decide on the appropriate sentence. Leading up to this decision, the Court will hear from both the Prosecution and the Defence. The Prosecution will typically submit a...
Introduction Criminal proceedings seek to answer 2 questions – is the accused guilty of the offence, and what sentence does he or she deserve? We have covered the criminal trial process in respect of the first question (up to the point an accused person is convicted...
The key principles governing any sentence meted out in the criminal courts of Singapore are rehabilitation, proportionality, deterrence and prevention. For young offenders in general, and adults in certain specific circumstances, a rehabilitative sentence is often the...
Many of us have balked at the heavy sentences meted out in some cases involving offences which we consider minor. We also compare these sentences to similar cases where offenders were let off relatively lightly. We ask, ‘Why this sentence and not something lighter?’...
Sentencing in criminal cases have been the subject of some debate in the past few years. Offenders who have been convicted of offences raise many things to the attention of the court (whether in person or through their lawyers), in the hopes that the court would mete...
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