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Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Magistrate’s Complaints and non-seizable offences
Senior executive A. Jaafar reported to the police on Jan 10 that he was assaulted, but was told by the police that he should make a Magistrate’s Complaint instead.
Senior executive A. Jaafar reported to the police on Jan 10 that he was assaulted, but was told by the police that he should make a Magistrate’s Complaint instead.
Typically, a simple case of assault, such as the one brought up in Mr. Jaafar’s allegations, would be classified as an offence of voluntarily causing hurt, lawyers said.
It is considered a non-seizable offence because there is a wide range of behaviour which can constitute the offence of causing hurt, with varying degrees of severity.
Instances of such an offence include those when a parent disciplines his child by slapping him, or family disputes, and bullying cases arising from road rage or a staring incident, police said.
The offence carries a punishment ranging from a fine of up to $2,500 or a jail term of up to three months, or both.
When contacted yesterday, police spokesman Paul Tay said: ‘No two cases are totally alike, as the nature and circumstances differ from case to case. Many of (such) cases... arose between adults in situations of dispute which got out of hand in the heat of the moment.’
Usually, when someone makes a police report about a non-seizable offence where there are no aggravating factors, he is advised to lodge a Magistrate’s Complaint instead.
The magistrate would then decide how serious the offence is, based on the circumstances.
Among other things, he can then either direct police to investigate further, or refer the case for mediation.
The magistrate can also throw out the complaint if he rules that there is no evidence of a criminal offence or it does not merit any further attention.
Deputy Superintendent Tay said that the police will take non-seizable offences seriously, especially when they involve aggravating factors.
These include cases where there is ‘a clear harm to public interest’ or when vulnerable victims such as children and elderly people are involved.
‘The police will not hesitate to take action against the perpetrator in such cases,’ he added.
Police action has to be in accordance with the law, he said.
‘When the act committed is a seizable offence, police have powers to arrest the culprit on the spot,’ he said.
My friend got punched, police came, say go file Magistrate’s Complaint. Magistrate say go Mediation Session. Person who punched my friend blatantly don’t show up for Mediation, Judge and my friend wait for one hour for the attacker. In the end the Judge tell my friend “Just drop the case. Not worth it to hire lawyer and pursue the matter right? Anyway he go around hitting people, one day sure to get hit back.”
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Magistrate’s Complaints and non-seizable offences
03 March 2010
Senior executive A. Jaafar reported to the police on Jan 10 that he was assaulted, but was told by the police that he should make a Magistrate’s Complaint instead.
Typically, a simple case of assault, such as the one brought up in Mr. Jaafar’s allegations, would be classified as an offence of voluntarily causing hurt, lawyers said.
It is considered a non-seizable offence because there is a wide range of behaviour which can constitute the offence of causing hurt, with varying degrees of severity.
Instances of such an offence include those when a parent disciplines his child by slapping him, or family disputes, and bullying cases arising from road rage or a staring incident, police said.
The offence carries a punishment ranging from a fine of up to $2,500 or a jail term of up to three months, or both.
When contacted yesterday, police spokesman Paul Tay said: ‘No two cases are totally alike, as the nature and circumstances differ from case to case. Many of (such) cases... arose between adults in situations of dispute which got out of hand in the heat of the moment.’
Usually, when someone makes a police report about a non-seizable offence where there are no aggravating factors, he is advised to lodge a Magistrate’s Complaint instead.
The magistrate would then decide how serious the offence is, based on the circumstances.
Among other things, he can then either direct police to investigate further, or refer the case for mediation.
The magistrate can also throw out the complaint if he rules that there is no evidence of a criminal offence or it does not merit any further attention.
Deputy Superintendent Tay said that the police will take non-seizable offences seriously, especially when they involve aggravating factors.
These include cases where there is ‘a clear harm to public interest’ or when vulnerable victims such as children and elderly people are involved.
‘The police will not hesitate to take action against the perpetrator in such cases,’ he added.
Police action has to be in accordance with the law, he said.
‘When the act committed is a seizable offence, police have powers to arrest the culprit on the spot,’ he said.
My friend got punched, police came, say go file Magistrate’s Complaint. Magistrate say go Mediation Session.
Person who punched my friend blatantly don’t show up for Mediation, Judge and my friend wait for one hour for the attacker.
In the end the Judge tell my friend “Just drop the case. Not worth it to hire lawyer and pursue the matter right? Anyway he go around hitting people, one day sure to get hit back.”
WHAT KIND OF LEGAL SYSTEM IS THIS?
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