Outcome of Cases Filed with Protection from Harassment Court Since Its Operationalisation
Ministry of LawSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the outcomes of cases filed with the Protection from Harassment Court (PHC) since June 2021, as raised by Ms He Ting Ru. Minister for Law K Shanmugam stated that 650 civil remedy applications were filed, resulting in 173 protection orders and nine awards of damages. He clarified that 626 criminal complaints were filed through the Magistrate’s Court, as the PHC handles civil remedies rather than criminal complaints. Minister for Law K Shanmugam noted that while Magistrates may direct police investigations, specific data on subsequent referrals to the Public Prosecutor is not readily available. The response highlights the volume of applications and the procedural distinctions between seeking civil remedies and pursuing criminal complaints for harassment.
Transcript
2 Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Law since the operationalisation of the Protection from Harassment Court (PHC) on 1 June 2021 (a) how many cases are filed with the PHC, broken down into criminal complaints and civil remedies respectively; (b) of the civil cases filed with PHC, how many are successful in obtaining (i) protection orders (ii) mandatory treatment orders and (iii) monetary compensation/damages; and (c) out of the cases filed with criminal complaints, how many are referred to the Public Prosecutor for further action.
Mr K Shanmugam: From the operationalisation of the Protection from Harassment Court (PHC) on 1 June 2021 to 30 June 2022, there have been 650 applications for civil remedies (that is, protection orders, orders relating to false statements and damages) filed with the PHC. Of these 650 applications, the PHC has granted 173 protection orders and awarded damages in nine cases, as at 30 June 2022.
Complaints for alleged Protection from Harassment Act (POHA) offences are filed by way of a Magistrate's Complaint in the Magistrate's Court, not the PHC. There have been 626 Magistrate's Complaints filed for alleged POHA offences from 1 June 2021 to 30 June 2022.
The Magistrate does not refer Magistrate's Complaints to the Public Prosecutor, but may direct the Police to conduct investigations into the complaint, who may thereafter refer the matter to the Public Prosecutor. Information on the number of Magistrate's Complaints filed for alleged POHA offences which were subsequently referred to the Public Prosecutor for further action is not readily available.