Opps, my bad. It should be the criminal registry.
Both registry are side by side at the sub court. I remembered
wrongly which one I went into.
But here's roughly how its done, when you are insulted, especially
on text.
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Step 1: Filing of a Magistrates' Complaint
A Magistrates Complaint can be filed by any person who wishes to
seek redress for an offence that they believe has been committed
against them. The person filing the Complaint is known as the
Complainant and the person against whom the application is made is
known as the Respondent.
The complaint should be made in the standard Complaint form (click
here for the form).
The completed form should be submitted to the Complaints Counter of
the Crime Registry, together with a copy of a Police report, if any
and a photocopy of the Comlplainants NRIC. The Complainant has to
affirm or swear to the truth and accuracy of the matters stated in
the application form before a Magistrate. If the Magistrate is
satisfied that the application is in order, he may do any of the
following:
Issue a Notice to both the Complainant and Respondent;
b) If the Respondents address or particulars are not available,
direct the police to ascertain the particulars and thereafter issue
a Notice to both the Complainant and Respondent;
c) Issue a Summons against the Respondent provided that the
Charge(s) are available;
d) Direct the police to investigate the Complaint;
e) Dismiss the Complaint
Step 2a : Issue of Notices
When the Judge directs that a Notice be issued to both the
Complainant and the Respondent, the Crime Registry will prepare the
Notices informing parties of the date and time they are required to
appear before a Magistrate in chambers for what is known as
Criminal Mediation. At this stage, no fee is payable by the
Complainant.
Step 2b: Service of Summons
Where a Summons is issued, the Complainant has to pay $1 for the
issuance of the summons. The Complainant must serve the Summons on
the Respondent. This is to give the Respondent notice that a
Complaint has been started against him. Service may be effected
by:
(1) personal service: an authorised person (usually the Court
Process Server if the Complainant does not have a lawyer) must hand
the Summons to the Respondent personally. The Complainant will have
to accompany the Court process server to serve the summons on the
respondent. Transport charges for the service of the summons are
borne by the Complainant.
If the above service fails, the process server may obtain the
court's approval to serve the summons by:
(2) leaving the summons with an adult member of the Respondent's
household; or
(3) posting the summons on the front door of the Respondent's place
of residence
It should be noted that a summons cannot be served on a Respondent
who is residing outside Singapore. Also, if the Complainant does
not know the current address of the Respondent, the court will try
to ascertain the address through available official records and
effect service there.
However, if it can be shown that the Respondent is no longer
residing at the address that is reflected in available official
records, the Complainant has a duty to find out the Respondent's
current address. If the address cannot be determined, the Complaint
cannot proceed.
Step 3: Criminal Mediation
When a Magistrate directs that a Notice be issued to both the
Complainant and the Respondent, it means that the matter is fixed
for criminal mediation before a Magistrate in Chambers.
The Complainant must be present on that date of the Criminal
Mediation as otherwise, it will be deemed that the Complainant is
no longer interested in pursuing the Complaint and the Magistrate
will strike out the Complaint.
When both parties appear before a Magistrate, any of the following
may occur:
a) The Magistrate may refer both parties to a Community Mediation
Centre(CMC). The CMC has a panel of trained mediators who are
respected members of society coming from all walks of life. If the
matter is settled, parties will sign a settlement Agreement. Where
there is no settlement, fresh Notices will be sent to the
Complainant and the Respondent to appear before the
Magistrate.
b) The Magistrate may mediate the matter . If a settlement is
reached, the Complaint will be withdrawn and no further action will
be taken.
If there is no settlement and the Complainant may wish to proceed
to trial by way of a private summons, a summons will be issued once
the Complainant has prepared the necessary charges against the
Respondent and a fee of $1 for each summons is paid.
c) The Magistrate may refer the Complaint and the Respondent to a
Court Mediator for mediation. If a settlement is reached, the
Mediator will inform the Magistrate and the steps taken would be as
b) above. Similarly, if no settlement is reached, the steps taken
would be as b) above.
If the Respondent is absent on the day of the Criminal Mediation,
the Court may either issue a fresh Notice or a Warrant of Arrest
against him. If a warrant of arrest is issued, it is handed over to
the Warrant Enforcement Unit (a division of the Singapore Police
Force) for them to execute. The police will arrest the Respondent
and produce him in Court. The court will offer the Respondent bail
and re-fix the case for mediation. The execution of the warrant of
arrest may not be immediate.
Enquiries on the status of execution of warrants of arrest can be
made to the Warrant Enforcement Unit which is located at 391 New
Bridge Road, D0308 Police Cantonment Complex, Singapore 088762, Tel
Nos: 6557 5316/6557 5310.
Step 4 : Hearing of Summons
At the hearing the Respondent will be asked to enter a plea of
guilty or not guilty. If the Respondent pleads guilty, he will be
sentenced by the Court immediately.
A trial will be conducted if the Respondent pleads not guilty. The
parties will each have to give evidence in open court, to prove
their respective cases. They will also have to call witnesses to
support their case. The parties and their respective witnesses will
be "cross-examined". "Cross-examination" is carried out by the
other party or the party's lawyer, who will ask questions on what
was said in evidence. The respective lawyers will also make
"submissions", i.e. present a summary of your case, and make
arguments supporting your case, to the Judge. The whole process may
take anything from one day to several days, depending on the number
of witnesses and the complexity of the case. At the end of the
hearing, the court will decide whether the Respondent is guilty of
the offences as charges.
In the event that the Respondent is absent on that day, the Court
will issue a Warrant of Arrest against him. The warrant of arrest
is passed to the Warrant Enforcement Unit (a division of the
Singapore Police Force) to execute. The police will arrest the
Respondent and produce him in Court. The court will offer the
Respondent bail and re-fix the case for mediation. The execution of
the warrant of arrest may not be immediate enquiries on the status
of execution of warrants of arrest can be made to the Warrant
Enforcement Unit which is located at 391 New Bridge Road, D0308
Police Cantonment Complex, Singapore 088762, Tel Nos: 6557
5316/6557 5310.
