Salvador, Khriseanne Elizabeth O.

Forensic Science – 201

Philippine Criminal Justice System – 5133

SINGAPOREAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Singapore Police Force is their national police agency of uniformed
authorities’ organization. Much like the Philippines’, their aim is to detect and
deter criminal behavior and to ensure safety and security of their country. They
are also to maintain peace, law, and order.

Singapore’s legal system, just like the Philippines, is adversarial. Adversarial

systems are used in countries that use common law as their law basis. Adversarial
system is where there are two parties who try to present their case before a jury in
an attempt to reveal the truth and convict the offender (World Factbook of
Criminal Justice Systems: Singapore | Office of Justice Programs, n.d.).

Since Singapore is previously a colony of the British, their legal system is also
adopted from the British, thus, they have the English Common Law (Introduction
to Singapore’s Legal System, n.d.). The English Common Law system, also known
as the Anglo-American law, uses a pattern or court decisions made before to
determine a new decision or convict an accused.

However, since a lot of their citizens are also Muslim, they also have Muslim
law to govern Muslim communities. Muslim Law or Islamic Law is a group of laws
derived from their holy book, Koran, and from other sayings of their prophet,
Muhammad.

Their Law is stated in Code. Although, the most recent amendment was
done by the Penal Code Act of 1984. This amendment includes the minimum
penalties for some offenses. Although, the last big amendment was done in 1973
which enhanced the punishments for certain offenses.
 Their Criminal Procedure is based on the Code of 1902. This rule states that
the investigations are done by the Police and there are also custom officers,
immigration officers, and narcotic officers which investigates their fields
respectively. The Ministry of Home Affairs handles the police and basically
supervises them (Singapore’s Criminal Law And Justice System, n.d.).

The Attorney General represents the state in the performance of criminal

prosecution. His appointed by the President taking the advice of the Prime
Minister from the persons qualified as Supreme Court judges. He can initiate but
also terminate proceedings even during the pre-prosecution stage and during
trial if he thinks it is unnecessary to continue. He can also stop proceedings that
are not initiated by him (Singapore’s Criminal Law And Justice System, n.d.).

Singapore Prison Service runs Singapore’s correction pillar. It is a prison

where 23,000 inmates are incarcerated. It is called the Changi Prison Complex. It
is said that the prison complex is claustrophobic and inhumane. It violates many
international standards. The recidivism rate is up to 27.5% in 2012 (Prisons in
Singapore, n.d.).

Based on my opinion, the pillars of the criminal justice system of Singapore

are just like the ones in the Philippines. They work similarly to each other. The police
are the first ones to respond during a criminal activity and arrest the suspect. Then
the prosecution comes into play to investigate further and try to reveal the truth.
The courts then take over to sentence the offender and put him through
corrections.

Not much difference can be seen between the Singapore and the
Philippines’ Criminal Justice Systems based on what I have researched. They are
relatively similar on how they handle criminal behavior.
REFERENCES:

Introduction to Singapore’s Legal System. (n.d.). Hawksford. Retrieved

September 28, 2021, from https://www.guidemesingapore.com/business-
guides/immigration/get-to-know-singapore/introduction-to-singapores-
legal-system

Prisons in Singapore. (2017). Prison Insider. Retrieved September 28, 2021, from
https://www.prison-insider.com/countryprofile/prisons-singapore

Singapore’s Criminal Law And Justice System. (n.d.). UpCounsel. Retrieved

September 28, 2021, from https://www.upcounsel.com/lectl-singapores-
criminal-law-and-justice-system

World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems: Singapore | Office of Justice

Programs. (n.d.). Office of Justice Programs. Retrieved September 28,
2021, from https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/world-
factbook-criminal-justice-systems-singapore