The Expanding Limits of Prosecutorial Discretion: Ramalingam Ravinthran v Attorney-General [2012] SGCA 2

• Main Author: CHEN, Siyuan
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2012
• Subjects: Courts; Criminal Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/1985; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/3937/viewcontent/ExpandingLimitsProsecutorialDiscretion_2012_SLW.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The applicant was convicted of drug trafficking under the Misuse of Drugs Act and sentenced to hang. His appeal to the Court of Appeal was unsuccessful, but he filed a Criminal Motion to reopen judgment. He alleged a violation of his right to equality guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore; the alleged violation occurred when another accused who was involved in the same criminal enterprise (both had trafficked the same bag containing the drugs) was charged with trafficking in an amount of drugs quantified just below the threshold for the mandatory death penalty, while the accused was charged with trafficking in an amount that would lead to the mandatory death penalty if convicted. The Criminal Motion was dismissed.