Source: www.ns.sg

Military Justice System in the SAF

1. Overview
The military justice system in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is expected to treat every service personnel fairly and equally, regardless of race, rank or vocation.

2. Multi-levelled Approach

The military justice system is based on the SAF Act, which was implemented in 1972. All servicemen are subjected to the SAF Act, SAF Regulations, and orders of whatever form issued pursuant to them.

While discipline is paramount in the military, not all offences committed by SAF servicemen are dealt with by formal investigations and charges. Essentially, offenders can be dealt with either by way of informal or formal punishment systems.

3. Informal Punishment System
Commanders are empowered to mete out informal punishments like push-ups and weekend confinement to servicemen who have committed disciplinary breaches, like being late, sluggish, or improperly dressed.

4. Formal Punishment System
If the offence that a serviceman committed is of a more serious nature, he may be formally dealt with by his disciplinary officer by way of a summary trial, or brought before a subordinate military court (more commonly known as the General Court Martial or GCM).

(a) Summary Trial

The offences that can be dealt with by summary trial are essentially military offences, such as absence without leave (AWOL), non-compliance with lawful orders or insubordination.

Depending on the rank of the serviceman in question, and the type of the disciplinary body hearing the case, the possible sentences that may be imposed can vary, and these can include fines or detention.

The summary trial is carried out in accordance with relevant SAF regulations, and the records of the summary trial are sent to the office of the Director, Legal Services of the SAF.

(b) General Court Martial

The General Court Martial exists as a separate forum from that of the summary trial. Unlike the summary trial, the GCM can deal with a wider range of offences, and can impose a wider range of punishments including imprisonment and discharge, on top of sentences like detention and fines. The GCM is also a more public and open forum, and its proceedings are conducted using similar legal rules and procedures as those used in a civil criminal court.

Generally, only serious offences investigated by the Military Police Command, and which are referred to the office of the Director of Legal Services, will result in the accused serviceman being charged in a GCM. In such a case, a military prosecutor will draw up a formal charge sheet and present it before the GCM.

General Courts Martial can be further sub-divided into two categories, namely the Panel Courts Martial - consisting of a President and usually two other members, and Judge Courts Martial - consisting of a single President only.

Currently, the practice is for military offences to be heard by Panel Courts Martial, while civil offences like misuse of drugs and penal code offences may be dealt with by a Judge Court Martial.

The current policy is also for an NSman, who is or was a District Judge in the Subordinate Courts, to preside in a GCM. There are currently 10 NSmen who have been appointed by the Armed Forces Council to perform duty as President of a court martial. They are rostered by the Registrar of the Subordinate Military Court to hear cases during their in-camp training. In the case of a Panel Court Martial, the other two members are rostered from among some 155 military officers appointed by the Chief of Defence Force.

5. Ways to Seek Redress

There are numerous safeguards and avenues set out in the military justice system for an SAF serviceman to seek redress if he is unhappy about the punishment imposed on him.

Generally, a serviceman who is dissatisfied with an informal punishment meted out to him may request a higher level commander to review the punishment, or request for formal disciplinary dealing.

In the case of a summary trial, a serviceman brought before the disciplinary officer may elect instead to be tried by a court martial. Alternatively, an aggrieved serviceman may request that his conviction or punishment imposed at the summary trial be reviewed by MINDEF's Director Manpower (a delegated authority of the Armed Forces Council).

In the case of a GCM, a serviceman may choose to be represented by a lawyer or an SAF defending officer if his case will be heard by a court martial. The SAF has about 200 trained defending officers. While an SAF defending officer comes free to the serviceman, he has to bear the cost of engaging a lawyer. At the end of the trial, a serviceman who is dissatisfied with the decision of the court martial may petition the Reviewing Authority (the AFC or a committee of its members) for a review of his case. The serviceman can also appeal to the Military Court of Appeal (MCA) for a reconsideration of his conviction, or his sentence, or both.

The MCA, when convened to hear an appeal, sits as a panel of five members. Heading the MCA is a President, who is appointed by the Chief Justice. By law, he must be a person qualified to be a Judge of the Supreme Court. The current President of the MCA is Justice Choo Han Teck. Four other members - two civilian members who are qualified legal practitioners with at least five years experience each, and two senior military officers - make up the rest of the MCA. The MCA is the highest court in the military justice system.

6. Impartial Hearings
It is important to recognise that the GCM and the MCA are tribunals headed by presidents who are outside the SAF chain of command.

Being an "outsider", the president of these forums will hear the case impartially like any other civil criminal case. The proceedings in the GCM and the MCA are also heard in a public forum, and these military courts adopt many of the same legal procedures and safeguards as that used in the civil criminal courts. All servicemen formally charged with an offence can bring their case to these forums.

Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command
(SAFMPC/ 新加坡武装部队宪兵司令部)

The formation is headed by the Command Headquarters which oversees its daily operations, and supported by four units specialising in the various specific operational responsibilities of the SAF MPC.

The four units are:

Military Police Enforcement Unit (MPEU): The unit consists of the Law Enforcement and Ceremonial Company (LECC), the Security Operation Unit (SOU) and the Special Security and Protection (SSP) Branch. It is the active wing of the SAF MPC and executes most of the operational and ceremonial duties and roles carried out by the SAF MPC.

The LECC was formed by combining the former Active Provost Company (APC) and the former Zone Provost Company (ZPC). Its duties include most of the important ceremonial duties required within the SAF as previously handled by the APC, and a traffic platoon which ensures the compliance of traffic regulations by military personnel on the road as well as performing escort duties. It also performs regular raids for contraband and/or miscreants on various camps of the SAF as was conducted by the ZPC. Enforcement Platoon (also known as Platoon 2) performs regular operations in residential areas, workplaces, and many public places such as shopping centres, clubs and eating outlets to apprehend deserters, AWOL offenders, drug addicts and other military criminals. They work closely with the Singapore Police Force and are often in very dangerous situations and are extremely well trained for handling the varied scenarios that they find themselves in. This is also the platoon that enforces the public image of the SAF by booking offenders who smoke in uniform and commit other offences in uniform while in the eye of the public. It is worth noting that they perform undercover security operations for high-key events like the National Day Parade and the Youth Olympic Games. The security of Mowbray Station is overseen by a platoon who is also in charge of registering and detaining suspects and offenders of military crimes in holding cells. The station is similar to a civilian police station and it is usually the first stop for detainees before their transfer to the detention barracks after conviction in military courts, or a temporary holding cell for servicemen placed under Closed Arrest. The investigative branch for the SAF, the Special Investigation Branch (SIB) investigates higher-order military crimes that requires specialised handling. Since 31 December 8, MPEU has heralded the inclusion of a new branch within its ranks. The Security Support and Protection (SSP) Branch is involved in sensitive operations so no further information is available.

SAF Detention Barracks (SAFDB): Headed by a commandant, DB consists of MPs in charge of supervision of detainees of the SAF who have been convicted in military courts.

Military Police Training School (MPTS): Formerly known as the School of Provost, MPTS is in charge of equipping trainees with necessary and fundamental military policing skills as well as instilling in them a high standard of discipline through the vocational courses and specialised courses such as the Silent Precision Drill Courses. MPTS also legislation courses for senior commanders all over the SAF. In addition, the SAF Military Working Dog Unit is a wing under MPTS and it is in charge of all dog training and doctrine matters of the SAF.

SAF MP Command Head Quarters (HQ): The Head Quarters of the Command comprises various branches, namely the Human Resource (HR), Intelligences and Security Branch (ISB), General Staff Branch (GS), the Special Investigation Branch (SIB) and Logistic Branch. Each branch is headed by a branch head who serves concurrently as the Command's Manpower, Intelligence, Ops and Training and Logistics Officer.

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