Singapore legislation
Clause 30
Clause 30
Related amendment to Criminal Procedure Code
Section 240 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68, 2012 Ed.) is amended by inserting, immediately after subsection (5), the following subsection:“(6) If, in any trial before a Magistrate’s Court or District Court —
the accused is charged with an offence under the Protection from Harassment Act (Cap. 256A);
the accused, when charged, has refused to plead or has not pleaded or has claimed to be tried; and
no further step has been taken in the proceedings relating to the offence under the Protection from Harassment Act,the Magistrate’s Court or District Court (as the case may be) must stay the proceedings and transfer the case, relating to that offence, to a Protection from Harassment Court (unless there is sufficient reason not to do so), and must record its order on the proceedings. Explanation.—In determining whether there is sufficient reason not to stay the proceedings and transfer the case under section 240(6), the Magistrate’s Court or District Court may consider the following:
whether the accused is also charged with any offence under section 6 of the Protection from Harassment Act or any offence that is not an offence under that Act;
where the accused is charged with one or more other offences mentioned in paragraph (a), whether the maximum penalty for any of those offences is higher than the maximum penalty for any offence under the Protection from Harassment Act (other than under section 6 of that Act) that the accused is charged with; (c)whether any step has been taken against the accused, or a co‑accused, in any proceedings pending before a Magistrate’s Court or a District Court;
whether the pending proceedings mentioned in paragraph (c) relate to offences that arise from a series of acts that are so connected to the offence under the Protection from Harassment Act that the accused is charged with, as to form a single transaction;
whether the pending proceedings mentioned in paragraph (c) relate to offences that are of the same or a similar character as the offence under the Protection from Harassment Act that the accused is charged with;
whether no civil proceedings under the Protection from Harassment Act, for a contravention involving the same underlying conduct have been, or are likely to be, brought before the Protection from Harassment Court.”.