Coroners Act 2010

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“body” means a dead person, and includes any part of a person (whether or not the identity of the person concerned is known when the part is discovered or is later determined) —

“cause of death” includes not only the apparent cause of death as ascertainable by inspection or examination of the body, but also all matters necessary to enable an opinion to be formed as to the manner in which the deceased came by his or her death;

“Coroner” means a Coroner appointed under section 3(1), and includes the State Coroner;

“forensic pathologist” means a pathologist appointed under section 4(1) as a forensic pathologist;

“Health Sciences Authority” means the Health Sciences Authority established under section 3 of the Health Sciences Authority Act 2001;

“healthcare practitioner” means a person providing any of the services specified in the First Schedule, but does not include a medical practitioner;

“hospital” means any premises used or intended to be used for the reception, lodging, treatment and care of persons who require medical treatment or care or who suffer from any disease, injury or disability of mind or body, and includes a maternity home and a nursing home;

“inquiry” means an inquiry into any death held by a Coroner under Part 6;

“investigation” means an investigation into a death conducted by a police officer, a Coroner or a forensic pathologist, and includes any post-mortem examination;

“medical clinic” means any premises used or intended to be used by a medical practitioner, a healthcare practitioner or any other person —

“medical practitioner” means a registered medical practitioner under the Medical Registration Act 1997 who has in force a practising certificate issued under that Act;

“medical treatment or care” includes any operation or any surgical, diagnostic or therapeutic procedure;

“pathologist” means a medical practitioner who is registered as a specialist in pathology under the Medical Registration Act 1997;

“place of custody” means any place in which any person may lawfully be held, confined, detained or committed;

“properly interested person” means —

“Registrar-General” means the Registrar-General of Births and Deaths appointed under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1937;

“reportable death” means any death the circumstances of which are set out in the Second Schedule;

“Singapore-registered aircraft” means an aircraft registered in Singapore under the Air Navigation Act 1966;

“Singapore-registered vessel” means a vessel registered in Singapore under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995;

“State Coroner” means the State Coroner appointed under section 3(1).

For the purposes of this Act, a person is in official custody while he or she is —

The President may, on the recommendation of the Chief Justice, appoint a State Coroner and such other Coroners as are necessary for the proper administration of this Act.

Only —

The State Coroner is charged with the general administration of this Act and the exercise of the functions and duties imposed upon the State Coroner by this Act.

The State Coroner may authorise or appoint any person to assist him or her in the exercise of his or her functions and duties under this Act whether generally or in any particular case.

Where the State Coroner is temporarily unable, whether by illness, absence or any other reason, to perform the State Coroner’s functions and duties for any period, the Presiding Judge of the State Courts appointed under the State Courts Act 1970 may appoint another Coroner to act as State Coroner for that period.

All appointments made under subsection (1) must be published in the Gazette.

The Chief Executive of the Health Sciences Authority may appoint any pathologist as a forensic pathologist for the purposes of this Act.

All appointments made under subsection (1) must be published in the Gazette.

Any person who becomes aware of a death which is, or appears to be, a reportable death must, as soon as reasonably practicable, make a report of the death to a police officer.

Any person who, without reasonable excuse, the burden of proving which is on the accused in a prosecution, contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to both.

Nothing in this section or section 6 derogates from any other obligation to report a death under any other written law.

Where a person dies —

A report under subsection (1) is not required where the death is the result of the lawful execution of a death sentence.

Any person who, without reasonable excuse, the burden of proving which is on the accused in a prosecution, contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

Where a person dies —

Any person who, without reasonable excuse, the burden of proving which is on the accused in a prosecution, fails to comply with subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

In the case of a reportable death, a person must not remove, or in any manner alter the position of, a body unless the removal or moving of the body is —

Any person who, without reasonable excuse, the burden of proving which is on the accused in a prosecution, contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

A police officer who comes across or receives any information about any death which is, or appears to be, a reportable death must —

If the police officer is unable to comply with subsection (1), the police officer must immediately inform his or her superior officer who must depute some other police officer who must comply with that subsection.

Any police officer who has seen the body may —

After a police officer has started investigations into a death, he or she must, as soon as reasonably practicable, inform a Coroner of the death and any particulars concerning the cause of death which have come to the police officer’s knowledge.

The police officer investigating into the cause of death must —

A Coroner is to, as soon as possible after a death is reported to the Coroner, view the body if practicable, and make a preliminary investigation —

If the Coroner considers, after viewing the body and making a preliminary investigation, that the death was due to natural causes and that it is unnecessary to hold an inquiry, the Coroner may issue an order under section 22 for the release of the body.

When a Coroner or the Public Prosecutor receives information about the death of any person, the Coroner or the Public Prosecutor may, if he or she considers it appropriate to do so, direct —

The forensic pathologist must regularly inform the police officer investigating the death, the Coroner and the Public Prosecutor about the progress of his or her investigations and findings.

A forensic pathologist making an investigation under section 16 may —

(ba)request the Registrar to furnish, within such time as the forensic pathologist may specify, any information pertaining to the medical history, treatment or care of the deceased in the possession of the Registry that the forensic pathologist considers necessary for the purposes of the investigation; and

Any medical practitioner or healthcare practitioner who is required by a forensic pathologist under subsection (1)(b) to provide any report, record, information, substance or thing and who —

The Registrar, or any Registry officer, agent of the Registry or other person who acts under the direction of the Registrar —

In this section, “agent of the Registry”, “Registrar”, “Registry” and “Registry officer” have the meanings given by the National Registry of Diseases Act 2007.

In a case of a death reported to a Coroner under section 11, the Coroner may, after consulting a pathologist, order a post-mortem examination to be conducted if the Coroner is of the opinion that a post-mortem examination is necessary in the circumstances to establish the manner and cause of death.

Despite subsection (1), a Coroner must order a post‑mortem examination to be conducted if the Coroner is directed to do so by the Public Prosecutor in any particular case.

A post-mortem examination may only be performed by —

A pathologist who conducts or supervises a post-mortem examination may —

The Coroner or the forensic pathologist investigating a case (if any) may direct the person performing a post-mortem examination to cause to be retained any part or contents of the body or any other substance or thing which appears to the Coroner or forensic pathologist to be relevant in establishing the manner or cause of death.

A pathologist who has conducted or supervised any post‑mortem examination must —

Where a person has been appointed under section 19(2)(b), he or she must draw up a report of the findings of his or her special examination, date and sign the report and send it to the Coroner who ordered the post-mortem examination.

The post-mortem examination report made under subsection (1) and any special examination report made under subsection (2) are admissible as evidence, and are prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein, at any inquiry held under this Act.

The pathologist who conducted or supervised the post‑mortem examination or any person appointed under section 19(2)(b), if summoned by the Coroner as a witness in an inquiry, may be asked to give evidence as to his or her opinion upon any matter arising out of the examination conducted or supervised by him or her and as to how in his or her opinion the deceased came by his or her death.

Where a death which is, or appears to be, a reportable death has been reported to a Coroner and the body is in Singapore, the Coroner has control of the body until such time as he or she issues an order to release the body under subsection (3).

If a post-mortem examination has been ordered on the body, the Coroner may issue the order under subsection (3) only after the post‑mortem examination has been concluded.

The Coroner may, whether or not he or she considers that an inquiry is necessary, order the release of a body —

Where a reportable death has occurred or is suspected to have occurred and the body is in Singapore, any person who, without reasonable excuse, the burden of proving which is on the accused in a prosecution —

A Coroner has the jurisdiction to hold an inquiry to determine the cause of death of any person where —

The Coroner has the jurisdiction under subsection (1)(b), (c) and (d) despite the absence of a body.

A Coroner must hold an inquiry into any death which occurred in Singapore where —

A Coroner may decide not to hold an inquiry, in any other case in which the Coroner has jurisdiction, if he or she is satisfied that —

In deciding whether to hold an inquiry, a Coroner may have regard to the following matters:

A Coroner who decides not to hold an inquiry into a death under subsection (2) must report the facts to the Public Prosecutor with the Coroner’s reasons for not holding an inquiry.

The Public Prosecutor may, in any case where a Coroner has jurisdiction and the Public Prosecutor is satisfied that an inquiry is necessary or desirable, require the Coroner to hold an inquiry into the death of any person.

The Public Prosecutor may direct that a body be exhumed if the Public Prosecutor is of the opinion that it is necessary to do so for the purposes of the inquiry.

Even though proceedings at any inquiry may have been concluded by a Coroner, where it appears to the Public Prosecutor that further investigations are necessary, the Public Prosecutor may direct the Coroner to re‑open the inquiry and make further investigations, and the Coroner must comply with those directions and then proceed in the same manner as if the proceedings at the inquiry had not been concluded.

The purpose of an inquiry into the death of any person is to inquire into the cause of and circumstances connected with the death and, for that purpose, the proceedings and evidence at the inquiry must be directed to ascertaining the following matters insofar as they may be ascertained:

A Coroner at an inquiry is not to frame a finding in such a way as to determine any question of criminal, civil or disciplinary liability but is not inhibited in the discharge of his or her functions by any likelihood of liability being inferred from facts that the Coroner determines or recommendations that the Coroner makes.

At the conclusion of the inquiry, the Coroner is to record his or her findings as to the matters referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1).

A pre-inquiry review may be held by a Coroner before the commencement of an inquiry.

The purpose of a pre-inquiry review is to settle the following matters with a view to expediting the inquiry:

A pre-inquiry review and any application made to the Coroner at the pre-inquiry review may be heard by live video link, or by any other means that the State Coroner may approve.

A Coroner who is to hold a pre-inquiry review or an inquiry may cause a notice to be served on any properly interested person.

Any such notice must state the date, time and place of the pre‑inquiry review or inquiry and must be served on any properly interested person within a reasonable period.

A Coroner has and may exercise all the powers of a Magistrate’s Court with regard to —

Every summons to appear, warrant of arrest or summons to produce must be in writing signed by the Coroner and must bear the seal of the court.

Such summons to appear or summons to produce must ordinarily be served by a police officer, but the Coroner may, if he or she sees fit, direct it to be served by some other person.

The provisions of section 38, Part 6 and section 235 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 apply, with the necessary modifications, in relation to summonses to appear, warrants of arrest and summonses to produce issued by a Coroner.

An inquiry is to be held in open court, unless a Coroner is of the opinion that it is in the interests of justice, propriety, public order or public security, or there is other sufficient reason, that the public be excluded from the inquiry or any part of the inquiry.

Whenever an inquiry or part of an inquiry is not held in open court, the Coroner must report his or her reasons for not so holding it to the Public Prosecutor.

A Coroner may, if he or she considers it appropriate to do so, appoint not more than 2 assessors with skill and experience in the matter to which the inquiry relates to assist him or her in the hearing of any inquiry.

Any assessor appointed under subsection (1) may sit with the Coroner in the hearing of the inquiry and has the power to advise but not to determine any matter relating to the inquiry.

The remuneration of any assessor sitting in an inquiry is payable out of moneys provided by Parliament, at such rate as may be prescribed.

Despite anything in any written law, a written statement made by any person summoned as a witness in any inquiry is admissible as evidence at the inquiry to the same extent and to the same effect as oral evidence by the person, if the following conditions are satisfied:

The following provisions also apply to any written statement given in evidence under this section:

Where a written statement made by any witness is admitted in evidence under this section in an inquiry (called in this Act a conditioned statement), the Coroner may call the person to give evidence.

The conditioned statement (if any) of a witness in an inquiry must be read over to him or her.

If the witness denies the correctness of any part of the conditioned statement, the Coroner may, instead of correcting the conditioned statement, make a memorandum on it of the objection made to it by the witness and must add any remarks that the Coroner thinks necessary.

If the witness does not understand English, the conditioned statement must be interpreted for him or her into the language in which it was given or in a language which the witness understands.

Any properly interested person, and any other person who has the permission of the Coroner to do so, may examine a witness in person or by counsel.

Where at any inquiry the report of the pathologist who has conducted or supervised a post-mortem examination of the body or the report of a person who has made a special examination under section 19(2)(b) is received in evidence, any person mentioned in subsection (1) who desires to examine the maker of that report may require the Coroner to summon that person as a witness, and the Coroner must do so.

The evidence given in any inquiry is to be recorded by the Coroner in writing or in any other suitable form of recording whereby the evidence can be reduced to a readable form.

Evidence recorded in writing or, if it is not recorded in writing, the transcript of the evidence recorded, must be in English and signed by the Coroner, and forms part of the record of the inquiry.

Evidence may be recorded in the form of question and answer or in the form of a narrative, as the Coroner thinks fit.

If, before the conclusion of an inquiry by a Coroner, any person is charged with any offence under —

Where a Coroner resumes an inquiry after the conclusion of the criminal proceedings mentioned in subsection (1), the Coroner is to continue with the inquiry from the stage at which it was adjourned, provided that at the resumed inquiry no finding is to be made which is inconsistent with the result of those criminal proceedings.

If, having regard to the result of the criminal proceedings mentioned in subsection (1), there has been a finding in those proceedings as to the cause of and circumstances connected with the death, and the Coroner decides not to resume the inquiry, the Coroner is to —

Where an inquiry is adjourned under subsection (1), it is the duty of —

In this section, “criminal proceedings” means the proceedings before —

If, before the conclusion of an inquiry by a Coroner, a commission of inquiry or committee of inquiry is appointed under the Inquiries Act 2007 to inquire into any matter relating to the cause of or circumstances connected with the death which is the subject of the Coroner’s inquiry, the Coroner is to adjourn his or her inquiry until after the conclusion of the inquiry by that commission or committee.

Where a Coroner resumes his or her inquiry after the conclusion of the inquiry by the commission or committee mentioned in subsection (1), the Coroner is to continue with his or her inquiry from the stage at which it was adjourned, and may have regard to any report or finding by the commission or committee which the Coroner considers relevant to his or her inquiry.

If, having regard to the report of the inquiry by the commission or committee mentioned in subsection (1), there has been a finding in that inquiry as to the cause of and circumstances connected with the death, and the Coroner decides not to resume his or her inquiry, the Coroner is to —

Where an inquiry is held into the death of any person, the Coroner must complete and sign a certificate setting out the cause of death as found at the inquiry and must, within 48 hours after the conclusion of the inquiry, forward a copy of the certificate to —

In any case where a reportable death has occurred in Singapore and the Coroner has decided not to hold an inquiry into the death under section 25(2), the Coroner must, after considering the results of the investigations into the death —

To avoid doubt, a Coroner may issue a certificate under this section in the absence of a body.

Any person who wilfully obstructs, resists or delays a Coroner or a forensic pathologist in the performance and execution of his or her duty or of anything which he or she is empowered or required to do under this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

In this section, “Coroner” includes any person authorised or appointed under section 3(4) and any person lawfully assisting a Coroner in the performance and execution of the Coroner’s duties or functions under this Act.

The Minister may, by order in the Gazette, amend, add to or vary the First, Second or Third Schedule.

The Minister may, in any order made under subsection (1), make such incidental, consequential or supplementary provision as may be necessary or expedient.

Any order made under subsection (1) must be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication in the Gazette.

The Minister may, from time to time, make regulations generally for carrying out or giving effect to the purposes and provisions of this Act.

Without limiting subsection (1), the Minister may make regulations for or with respect to all or any of the following matters:

A person who, immediately before 2 January 2011, was a Coroner appointed under section 10 of the Subordinate Courts Act (Cap. 321, 2007 Revised Edition) as in force immediately before 2 January 2011 is deemed to be a Coroner appointed under section 3(1) of this Act.

The provisions of this Act apply in relation to any investigation or inquiry into the death of any person conducted on or after 2 January 2011, whether the death of the person occurred before, on or after 2 January 2011.