Evidence Act 1893 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 1 · Relevancy of Facts
45A. Relevance of convictions and acquittals
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Without affecting sections 42, 43, 44 and 45, the fact that a person has been convicted or acquitted of an offence by or before any court in Singapore is admissible in evidence for the purpose of proving, where relevant to any issue in the proceedings, that the person committed (or, as the case may be, did not commit) that offence, whether or not the person is a party to the proceedings; and where the person was convicted, whether the person was so convicted upon a plea of guilty or otherwise.
fact
“fact” includes —(a)any thing, state of things, or relation of things, capable of being received by the senses; and(b)any mental condition of which any person is conscious;Illustrations(a) That there are certain objects arranged in a certain order in a certain place is a fact.(b) That a man heard or saw something is a fact.(c) That a man said certain words is a fact.(d) That a man holds a certain opinion, has a certain intention, acts in good faith or fraudulently, or uses a particular word in a particular sense, or is or was at a specified time conscious of a particular sensation, is a fact.(e) That a man has a certain reputation is a fact.
A conviction referred to in subsection (1) is relevant and admissible unless —
it is subject to review or appeal that has not yet been determined;
it has been quashed or set aside; or
a pardon has been given in respect of it.
A person proved to have been convicted of an offence under this section is, unless the contrary is proved, taken to have committed the acts and to have possessed the state of mind (if any) which at law constitute that offence.
Any conviction or acquittal admissible under this section may be proved by a certificate of conviction or acquittal, signed by the Registrar of the Supreme Court, the registrar of the State Courts or the registrar of the Family Justice Courts (as the case may be), giving the substance and effect of the charge and of the conviction or acquittal.
court
“court” includes all Judges and Magistrates and, except arbitrators, all persons legally authorised to take evidence;
Where relevant, any document containing details of the information, complaint, charge, agreed statement of facts or record of proceedings on which the person in question is convicted is admissible in evidence.
document
“document” includes, in addition to a document in writing —(a)any map, plan, graph or drawing;(b)any photograph;(c)any label, marking or other writing which identifies or describes anything of which it forms a part, or to which it is attached by any means whatsoever;(d)any disc, tape, soundtrack or other device in which sounds or other data (not being visual images) are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced therefrom;(e)any film (including microfilm), negative, tape, disc or other device in which one or more visual images are embodied so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced therefrom; and(f)any paper or other material on which there are marks, impressions, figures, letters, symbols or perforations having a meaning for persons qualified to interpret them;
The method of proving a conviction or acquittal under this section is in addition to any other authorised manner of proving a conviction or acquittal.
In any criminal proceedings, this section is subject to any written law or any other rule of law to the effect that a conviction is not admissible to prove a tendency or disposition on the part of the accused to commit the kind of offence with which the accused has been charged.
In this section —
“registrar of the Family Justice Courts” includes the deputy registrar or an assistant registrar of the Family Justice Courts;
“registrar of the State Courts” includes a deputy registrar of the State Courts;
“Registrar of the Supreme Court” includes the Deputy Registrar or an Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court.