Overview
The Act abolished the common law tort of harassment, replaced by its statutory provisions. [4] It also replaced sections 13A to 13D of the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act, and expanded the scope to cover acts conducted online and increased the penalties to include imprisonment sentences. [1] The Act is intended to cover both intentional and unintentional harassment, and has extra-territorial jurisdiction for certain offences which include online acts by the defendant if the complainant was in Singapore at the time of the offence and the defendant knew or should have known of that fact. [5] The new law is also to be accessible for the public than previously: [6] for instance, provisions are now made for alleged complainants to apply a protection order against an accused, and in more extreme cases a separate expedited protection order can be applied for and issued immediately. [6] [7] In addition, anyone who abuses public servant and public service worker, including service staff from the public transport service, can be prosecuted under this Act and the maximum penalty of jail for up to a year and/or a fine. [8] Generally, for uncomplicated and minor cases private in nature, the offences may be compoundable by the alleged complainant for an out-of-court settlement, but subject to the consent of the DPP. [9] For civil law and relational cases, they may be referred for mediation at the State Courts Centre for Dispute Resolution (SCCDR), including Magistrate's Complaints or applications under the Protection from Harassment Act. Mediation is a way of resolving a dispute without going for a trial in court. It is known as an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) method. [10]
Cases
The Ministry of Manpower, National Trades Union Congress and Singapore National Employers Federation are at present the primary institutions in deterring workplace harassment. [13]
In August 2015, a former Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) senior officer was charged in court under a POHA complaint filed by a woman complainant. The maximum penalty for the offence is up to a S$5,000 fine and 12 months' jail. In December 2016, fortunately, the defendant engaged a defence counsel and managed to compound the court charge by making an open court apology and a monetary compensation to the alleged complainant as a composition. [14] The alleged complainant was agreeable to the composition after the consequences of accepting and rejecting the offer of composition were thoroughly explained to her. Having considered the facts and in the light of further developments arising after he was first charged, the deputy public prosecutor has consented to composition. Hence, he was granted a discharge amounting to an acquittal by the court judge.
In May 2015, the Ministry of Defence obtained a protection order against The Online Citizen. [15] It was later, after legal arguments made by lawyers Choo Zhengxi and Eugene Thuraisingam, overturned by the Court of Appeal in January 2017, which ruled in a 2-1 judgement that the Government of Singapore is ineligible as a 'person' to apply for a protection order against any individual. [16]
In July 2019, a senior policeman was interdicted from service, charged in court and fined for harassment to a female colleague. [17] Thereafter, a Singapore Police Force (SPF) spokesperson said that its officers are not only expected to uphold the law but maintain the highest standards of conduct and integrity. He added that SPF deals severely with officers who break the law, including charging them in court. Moreover, SPF has since commenced disciplinary proceedings against him after the court verdict. [18]
In 2019, a few people were charged in court for using foul language to vehemently abuse public servants and public service workers. [19] [20]
As at March 2019, there were more than 500 Protection Order applications made since November 2014. [21]
In December 2019, a freelance actress-model Melissa Faith Yeo was charged and fined under POHA for abusive language and hurling vulgarities towards public servants. [22] [23] [24]
In March 2020, 5 men were charged in court for abusing public servants. [25] [26] [27]
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the national and principal law enforcement agency responsible for the prevention of crime and law enforcement in the Republic of Singapore. It is the country's lead agency against organised crime; human and weapons trafficking; cyber crime; as well as economic crimes that goes across domestic and international borders, but can be tasked to investigate any crime under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and is accountable to the Parliament of Singapore.
The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) is a staff department of the Singapore Police Force (SPF). The department was first established in 1984 as the Commercial Crime Department (CCD), it is the white-collar crimes unit of the SPF.
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The Vandalism Act 1966 is a statute of the Parliament of Singapore that criminalizes a number of different acts done in relation to public and private property, namely, stealing, destroying or damaging public property; and, without the property owner's written consent, writing, drawing, painting, marking or inscribing on property; affixing posters, placards, etc., to the property; and suspending or displaying on or from the property any flag, banner, etc.
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Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan, better known as K. Shanmugam, is a Singaporean politician and lawyer who has been serving as Minister for Law since 2008 and Minister for Home Affairs since 2015. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Chong Pang division of Nee Soon GRC since 2011.
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Yes that is how they are defining it but it is not accurate. Revenge Porn is the distribution of sexually explicit images or videos of individuals without their consent when there is an excuse made by the perpetrator that it is percieved as an act of retribution. This is not the same as Stealth Porn which is the distribution and or production of sexually explicit images or videos of individuals without their consent and without any provocation by the victim and sometimes without their awareness. And it isn't the same as Coercion Porn whereby the distribution of the sexually explicit images or videos of individuals made under coercion and later lack of consent.
Corruption in Singapore is generally perceived as one of the lowest in the world. Cases are mostly handled by the Singapore Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), a government agency in Singapore that investigates and prosecutes corruption in the public and private sectors. According to a Transparency International survey, an overwhelming majority of people in Singapore do not hear cases of corruption by public officials or institutions through media in their lifetime. In 2020, Singapore's public sector was ranked by Transparency International as the fourth least corrupt in the world and the most transparent in Asia.
The Arms Offences Act 1973 is a statute of the Parliament of Singapore that criminalizes the illegal possession of arms and ammunition and the carrying, trafficking, and usage of arms. The law is designed specifically to make acts of ownership, knowingly receiving payment in connection with the trade of a trafficked armaments and ammunition, as well as the unlawful usage of arms and ammunition a criminal offence.
Public spaces protection orders (PSPOs) are orders under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 which ban specific acts in a designated geographical area in England and Wales as set out in the act. They replace the earlier designated public place orders, gating orders and dog control orders.
The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act 2019, commonly abbreviated as POFMA and known colloquially as Fake News Law, is a statute of the Parliament of Singapore that enables authorities to tackle the spread of fake news or false information.
Charles Yeo Yao Hui is a Singaporean lawyer and former politician who served as the chairman of the opposition Reform Party between 2020 and 2022.
