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Source: www.mha.gov.sg |
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Oral Answer to Parliamentary
Question on whether MHA will review or refine the classification of
voluntarily causing hurt as a non-seizable crime, especially in
cases where the victim has suffered injuries requiring medical
treatment |
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Ms Sylvia Lim: |
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To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister for Home Affairs whether his Ministry will review or refine the
classification of voluntarily causing hurt as a non-seizable crime,
especially in cases where the victim has suffered injuries requiring
medical treatment. |
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Senior Minister of State, Assoc Prof Ho
Peng Kee: |
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It is not necessary to review the
classification of the offence of voluntarily causing hurt (VCH) as a
non-seizable offence at this time. |
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Last year, 8288 cases of alleged
voluntarily causing hurt were reported to Police. Making the offence
a seizable one will tie down Police’s resources considerably and
hamper its delivery of service in more critical areas. But more than
just the numbers, these are cases where the facts may not be easily
established. |
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However, it does not mean that an
aggrieved party has no recourse. He has. Let me explain. The offence
of VCH covers a wide range of behaviour, involving differing
severity of hurt and encompassing entirely different factual
matrices: some involve disputes between neighbours, family members
and even friends; others involve domestic workers or public
transport employees. |
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Currently, Police takes a calibrated
approach which gives it the latitude to deal with each case on its
particular circumstances to derive a positive outcome. |
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Even though a non-seizable offence is
one where Police may not ordinarily arrest without warrant, this
does not, however, mean that Police does not take any action in
relation to such cases. This is because when a VCH case is reported,
Police will respond to the scene to gather preliminary evidence.
Based on this, they will make an assessment as to the proper course
of action to take. |
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Cases where the hurt is not serious are
best resolved without extensive police involvement. For example, in
the common scenario involving a dispute between neighbours or
friends in the heat of the moment, Police will usually try to
persuade the parties to reach an amicable resolution without
escalating the matter. |
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When the dispute is not amicably settled
and the aggrieved party wishes to pursue the case, Police will
advise him to make a Magistrate’s complaint in the Subordinate
Courts as provided for under the law, furnishing him with the
requisite form to do so. |
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There have been instances where, once
the heat of the moment has passed, the aggrieved party calms down
and decides not to pursue the matter further. |
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If a complaint is lodged, the Magistrate
may decide to send the disputing parties for mediation, for example,
under the auspices of the Community Mediation Centre. It is
appropriate that other stakeholders such as Justices of the Peace
and community mediators are involved in these relation disputes. The
Magistrate may also direct Police to further investigate the case,
which was done for about 10% of the reported VCH cases last year. |
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Over the past 3 years, for about 10% of
the reported cases, as there was clear harm to the public interest
and safety, particularly in a situation where the perpetrator takes
advantage of someone weak or vulnerable or performing a public
service, Police initiated action on behalf of the victim and applied
for an order from the Public Prosecutor to investigate the matter. |
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In some cases, the victim may suffer
injuries which though falling short of being grievous as defined by
the law, may still require hospitalisation for medical treatment. In
such instances, Police will consider initiating action. |
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Source: www.mha.gov.sg
News 22 Jan 2008 |
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FrontPage Edition: Tue 22 January 2008
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