Posted: 08 March 2012 1400 hrs
SINGAPORE: An internal inquiry is ongoing to examine
if there were lapses or negligence in the case of two foreigners
who absconded while on bail.
They were part of three who were being charged with assaulting a
Singaporean outside Suntec City Convention Centre in April
2010.
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said the inquiry will be
completed next month.
He also told Parliament on Thursday that warrants of arrest have
been issued against Robert Dahlberg and Robert James Springall who
left Singapore.
Police are now working closely with Interpol to locate the men, but
whether they can be extradited would depend on whether Singapore
has an extradition treaty with the country they have fled to.
Mr Teo, who is also the Home Affairs Minister, added that
regardless of nationality, all accused persons are asked to
surrender their passport as a condition for bail.
This bail is set higher for those who are likely to abscond and
this is assessed based on factors such as the gravity of the
offence and the extent of the person's roots in Singapore, the
behaviour of the accused person in the course of investigations and
whether the person had attempted to abscond previously.
But some felt more could be done to ensure accused foreigners do
not escape Singapore in the first place.
MP for Marine Parade GRC Tin Pei Ling said: "In foreigners'
instances, they definitely do not have deep ties with Singapore and
the likelihood of them fleeing Singapore is definitely high.
"So will the ministry consider putting in a standard operating
procedure or a law to ensure that regardless of the characteristics
or the risk of this person is, that the passport be impounded till
the court has made a decision whether to acquit the accused or to
charge the accused further because as shown in this instance, the
foreigners have fled and this have led the victims left in
Singapore feeling very unjust about what had happened to
them."
Mr Teo said: "This case illustrates the challenges of ensuring that
accused persons, whether they are Sinagporeans or foreigners facing
trial, do not abscond.
"As they have not yet been convicted of a crime, the presumption of
innocence limits how far we can restrict their movements. And
ultimately the discretion rests with the courts to decide whether
an accused person should be allowed to leave jurisdiction, taking
into account submissions by both the prosecution and the
defence.
"So the accused, as Ms Tin has pointed out, has not been convicted
yet. Of course if he has been convicted, then that's quite clear
cut. But if he has not been convicted yet, then we have to balance
the different requirements."
- CNA
