Criminal law of Singapore
Although the legal system of Singapore is a common law system, the criminal law of Singapore is largely statutory in nature and historically derives largely from the Indian penal code. The general principles of criminal law, as well as the elements and penalties of general criminal offences such as assault, criminal intimidation, mischief, grievous hurt, theft, extortion, sex crimes and cheating, are set out in the Singaporean Penal Code. Other serious offences are created by statutes such as the Arms Offences Act, Kidnapping Act, Misuse of Drugs Act and Vandalism Act. Singapore retains both corporal punishment (in the form of caning) and capital punishment (by hanging) as legal penalties. For certain offences, the imposition of these penalties is mandatory. More than 400 people were executed in Singapore, mostly for drug trafficking, between 1991 and 2004. Statistically, Singapore has one of the highest execution rates in the world relative to its population. Science fiction writer William Gibson famously described Singapore as "Disneyland with the death penalty". Some scholars have argued that that one of the results of robust regulations and interventions in Singapore is that the nation has one of the lowest incidences of violent crimes in the world. History The Penal Code For most of the 19th century, the criminal law which applied in the Straits Settlements (comprising the Prince of Wales' Island (Penang), Singapore and Malacca) was generally that of the United Kingdom. In 1871, the Straits Settlements Penal Code 1871, practically a re-enactment of the Indian Penal Code, was enacted. It came into operation on 16 September 1872. The code then held only two crimes punishable with the death penalty: murder and treason. Judges then had discretion on whether to impose the death sentence or instead sentence the convicted to life imprisonment. In 1883, the Penal Code (Amendment) Ordinance 1883 removed the discretion and imposed a mandatory death penalty on all convicted murderers. In 2012, the penal code was amended for judges to have some discretion in sentencing the death penalty in certain cases of murder. The penal code has since been amended several times. In 1973, punishments for certain offences were enhanced. The Penal Code (Amendment) Act 1984, which came into effect on 31 August 1984, imposed mandatory minimum penalties for certain offences. A major review of the Code was launched in 2006, which was updated in 2008. Criminal Procedure Code Prior to 1870, criminal procedure law in Singapore was found mainly in the Indian Criminal Procedure Act (ICPA) 1852, as the Indian government then had power to legislate for the Straits Settlements. After the passing of the Singaporean penal code, the ICPA was replaced by the Criminal Procedure Ordinance. Despite the penal code having done away with the division of crimes into felonies and misdemeanours, the criminal procedure system was still maintained the distinction, leading to the passing of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance 1873. The Ordinance also did away with the procedure for indictments and abolished the grand, special, and common juries. A replacement Code of