Number of Magistrate's Complaints Filed and Proposal for Awareness Campaign on Use of Magistrate's Complaints

9 Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked the Minister for Law (a) over the past three years, what is the yearly number of Magistrate's Complaints filed; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider implementing a public awareness education programme or campaign on the use of Magistrate's Complaints which may be used to aid criminal investigations by the Singapore Police Force.

The Minister of State for Law (Mr Murali Pillai) (for the Minister for Law): Sir, around 1,300 Magistrate's Complaints were filed yearly from 2022 to 2024.

The Courts have informed us that there are educational resources available on the Judiciary's website, which members of the public may refer to for information on, amongst other things, when and how they may file a Magistrate's Complaint.

The hon Member also referred to the relationship between Magistrate's Complaints and Police investigations. I should clarify that the Magistrate's Complaint process provides a framework for private prosecutions by any person, subject to the assessment of the Magistrate of whether there is sufficient reason for the complaint to proceed. The process is distinct from criminal investigations conducted by the Police following the filing of a Police report, which do not require the filing of a Magistrate's Complaint.

Mr Speaker: Ms Yeo.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Thank you, Speaker. A number of constituents who believe that a criminal offence has been committed against them have approached me at various times, with some confusion on when they need to apply for a Magistrate's Complaint, or when a Police report will suffice for Police investigations to commence against the alleged perpetrator. These offences include being slapped in public, damages to property, being cheated of money and breaches to Protection Orders. Some constituents shared that the Singapore Police Force had advised them to lodge a Magistrate's Complaint, especially if they would like to commence private prosecution.

While some have shared that the $20 fee for lodging a Magistrate's Complaint and the need to turn up in Court have dissuaded them on pushing for further redress. How can the Ministry assist to provide more clarity to the members of public on the use of the Magistrate's Complaint and the process of getting one? And are there resources available to public who are unable to pay for the fee or have difficulty representing themselves perhaps due to language or disabilities during this session with the Magistrate?

Mr Speaker: Minister of State Murali.

Mr Murali Pillai: Sir, I know the guillotine time is up. May I seek your leave to just reply to her?

Mr Speaker: Go ahead. I took up one minute just now.

Mr Murali Pillai: Thank you. Very well, Sir. Sir, I agree with the hon Member that members of the public should be clear on when a Magistrate's Complaint can be filed and how to go about filing a Magistrate's Complaint. There are resources on the Judiciary's website that cover these. These include guides and templates. There are also resources to support persons who may need assistance in filing a Magistrate's Complaint. If there is a difficulty in filing online, the person can call the State Courts' call centre to seek guidance or go to the State Court's Service Hub, or use the terminals in the business centre to file the complaint.

If the person has difficulty understanding the filing process or instructions in English, he or she can seek help from the counter staff. A student under the University Court Friends programme may also be assigned and can also help the person navigate the filing process.

I would also add, Sir, that in relation to translation issues, the Court website states that when filing a Magistrate's Complaint, the person may indicate their preferred language in the Magistrate's Complaint form and arrangements will be made to assign an interpreter if required.

On the issue of the filing fee, we will convey the feedback to the Judiciary.

11.32 am

Mr Speaker: Order. End of Question Time. The Clerk will now proceed to read the Order of the day.

[Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), provided that Members had not asked for questions standing in their names to be postponed to a later Sitting day or withdrawn, written answers to questions not reached by the end of Question Time are reproduced in the Appendix.]