Does anyone know whether there is a need to sign an official
letter to indicate whether a person would like to accept or reject
a stern warning? Or would an oral answer suffice?
My concern is that after an oral answer was given to indicate
the refusal to accept the stern warning, a letter was served and in
that letter it mentioned something along the lines of "In lieu of
prosecution, ......... give you a stern warning".
Does this mean a stern warning is issued or not?
When the warning is administered to you, you will be made to
sign an official document. One copy of the slip will be given to
you. Basically, it means that you will be let off with a warning,
and that no charges will be filed against you. Since there are no
charges, let alone convictions, you will not end up with a criminal
record as well.
If you do not agree with the outcome of the case, you can file
an appeal. But how to go about doing this, it would be best to
liaise directly with the Investigator In-Charge of your case.
I do not think you are in a position to reject the warning in
lieu of prosecution. The fact that a mere warning has been
administered to you is enough reason to be grateful.
Basically, the fact that a decision to administer a warning has
been made means that:
i) investigation into the case has already been concluded
ii) there is more than enough evidence to find the defendant
guilty
iii) however, for certain reasons [e.g. first time offender,
prosecution's discretion, other mitigating factors etc], the state
has decided to not pursue the matter by charging you in court.
Hence the decision to administer the warning.