Probing the law on probation: Suggestions for reform

• Main Author: CHAN, Darius
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2015
• Subjects: Asian Studies; Criminal Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/3037; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/4995/viewcontent/Probing_the_Law_on_Probation__Suggestions_for_Reform_Mohamad_Fairuuz_bin_Saleh_v_PP__2014__SGHC_264_SLG_FEB_2015__1_.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

To any criminal law practitioner, the Court’s power to grant probation as a sentencing option is of significant importance. Probation represents, to their clients, the key out of incarceration.Section 5 of the Probation of Offenders Act (Cap 252, 1985 Rev Ed) (“POA”) sets out the power of the Singapore Courts to grant probation. Section 5 uses three peculiar terms to create three categories of offences, namely:1. Sentences which are “fixed by law”; 2. Sentences carrying “specified minimum sentences”; and 3. Sentences carrying “mandatory minimum sentences”.For the latter two categories of offences, the Court can only grant probation if the offender:1. is between 16 and 21 of age at the time of conviction; and2. was not previously convicted of an offence with a mandatory or specified minimum sentence.What do those three peculiar terms mean?