Singapore legislation
Section 403
Section 403
Provisions as to money payable as costs or compensation
(1)
Subject to the provisions of this Code, where any person is, under this Code, for any reason whatsoever, ordered to pay any sum of money by way of costs or compensation, the court making the order may at any time before that sum has been paid in full, in its discretion, do all or any of the following things:
allow time for the payment of that sum and grant extension of the time so allowed;
direct payment to be made of that sum by instalments: Provided that before allowing time for payment of that sum or directing payment of it to be made by instalments the court may require that person to execute a bond with or without sureties conditioned upon payment of that sum or of the instalments, as the case may be, on the day or days directed and in the event of that sum or any instalments not being paid as ordered the whole of that sum remaining unpaid shall become due and payable and the court may issue a warrant for the arrest of that person;
issue warrant for the levy of the amount by distress and sale of any property belonging to that person;
direct that in default of payment or of a sufficient distress to satisfy any such sum, that person shall suffer imprisonment for a certain term, which imprisonment shall be in excess of any other imprisonment to which he may be sentenced or to which he may be liable under a commutation of sentence;[Form 32.](e)direct that that person be searched, and that any money found on him when so searched or which, in the event of his being committed to prison, may be found on him when taken to prison, shall be applied towards the payment of that sum; the surplus, if any, being returned to him:Provided that such money shall not be so applied if the court is satisfied that the money does not belong to the person on whom it was found.
(2)
The term for which the court directs that person to be imprisoned in default of payment or of a sufficient distress to satisfy any such sum shall not exceed the following scale:
when the money to be paid does not exceed $50, the imprisonment may be for any term not exceeding 2 months;
when the money to be paid exceeds $50 but does not exceed $100 for any term not exceeding 4 months;
in any other case for a term not exceeding 6 months.
(3)
The imprisonment which the court imposes under this section shall terminate whenever the money is paid or levied by process of law.
(4)
If before the expiration of the time of such imprisonment, such a proportion of the money is paid or levied that the time of imprisonment suffered is not less than proportional to the part of the money still unpaid, the imprisonment shall terminate.[402