What exactly is a Voluntary Surrender?
In essence, a voluntary surrender is going to the law enforcement to confess to a criminal offense you’ve committed, in contrast to awaiting the law enforcement to locate and arrest you.
What Transpires Whenever you Voluntarily Surrender into the Police?
The treatments you'll deal with whenever you voluntarily surrender to your police are similar to if you had been arrested.
The steps taken towards you rely largely on irrespective of whether you’ve dedicated an arrestable or non-arrestable offence.
Arrestable offences check with offences that allow the law enforcement to make an arrest with out a warrant, and involve offences like theft, robbery and rape. The general guideline is the fact that offences which might be punishable with at least 3 decades of imprisonment, or perhaps a Demise sentence, are categorised as arrestable.
However, a non-arrestable offence is just one where the police will require to obtain a warrant ahead of finishing up an arrest. Offences that drop underneath this category are voluntarily leading to damage and dishonest misappropriation of property, amid Some others.
When you have dedicated an arrestable offence
When you've got committed an arrestable offence, the police will observe an arrest procedure that starts with getting you into custody after your voluntary surrender.
The police will then start an investigation, which involves taking witness statements. Alternatively, you could have for making a notice statement In case the law enforcement decides to go ahead with pressing prices.
You may be required to take a polygraph (or lie detector) take a look at or participate in an identification parade, by which you happen to be lined up with Other individuals to allow victims and eyewitnesses to recognize you, at the same time.
Preferably, you should be comparatively properly-versed with all your rights in custody, including the right to produce a mobile phone simply call to your family or to consult a lawyer (presented that these functions will likely not inhibit the investigation). Nevertheless, it is vital to notice that the ideal to consult a lawyer normally occurs only immediately after interrogations have been conducted.
To find out more, you may want to seek advice from our posting on law enforcement custody in Singapore.
If you have committed a non-arrestable offence
On this circumstance, even Should you have turned you in to the police, you will not be taken into custody right away.
Alternatively, the law enforcement will Acquire witness experiences and history any parties involved. Any feasible target(s) of the offence is going to be recommended to file a Justice of the peace’s Criticism for further more motion to be taken.
Once the Complaint continues to be obtained, the Magistrate will then choose exactly what the best suited system of motion will be. It is only at this point that a warrant may be issued to consider you into police custody, In the event the Magistrate directs the police to carry out an investigation in to the Grievance.
Is Producing a Voluntary Surrender a Mitigating Element?
Voluntarily surrendering for the police demonstrates a willingness to cooperate and signifies probably remorse and repentance. Your surrender would also allow the police to invest their time and resources into other investigations.
This could play a part in the judge’s decision and you may be given a lighter sentence for your diploma of cooperation.
Circumstance analyze: No jail time period immediately after voluntary surrender
In 2018, then 24-12 months-outdated Ekawit Tangtrakarn, gained a $six,000 fantastic for defaulting on his Nationwide Support (NS) duties.
Even though Ekawit largely lived in Thailand, he was registered as a Singapore Citizen – making him liable for NS. In Oct 2015, he shed his Singaporean citizenship immediately after failing to go ahead and take Oath of Renunciation, Allegiance and Loyalty in 12 months of his 21st birthday.
Nevertheless, losing his Singaporean citizenship did not ease him of his NS obligations, and Ekawit afterwards voluntarily returned to Singapore to deal with his fees for defaulting on them. His voluntary return Hence held bodyweight as being a mitigating factor.
Hence, once the court docket took other mitigating variables into consideration, what might have been a highest 3-year imprisonment time period and also a $ten,000 fantastic, becoming the maximum penalties underneath the Enlistment Act, turned a attainable 9-week jail time period which was sooner or later lowered to some $six,000 high-quality.
Obtaining your expenses taken into consideration with the uses of sentencing
In regards to your conviction so you are dealing with multiple rates, voluntarily admitting on your offences also stops the situation of your prosecution continuing with Each and every charge versus you independently. This enables for the possibility of you owning these expenses taken into consideration for sentencing in its place.
Due to this fact, you could encounter much less fees or perhaps a reduced sentence as compared to in case you had been to deny or dispute the fees.
—
Voluntarily surrendering on the police may perhaps confirm to become helpful later on within your circumstance. Your admission Criminal Defence Lawyer Singapore to the crime can be properly-obtained and do the job with your favour, decreasing your punishment noticeably.
Should you be nonetheless Doubtful on how to carry on, it is possible to engage a prison defence attorney to hunt tips on your situation, along with explain your rights. A seasoned lawyer can very best get ready you on what to expect if you switch oneself in and the way to take care of any investigations carried out versus you.