In plain English
Not legal adviceFor some offences needing intention or knowledge, an accused person can be guilty even if the act concerned a different person or thing than intended, provided they were negligent towards that person or thing. With some exceptions, a court may give up to twice the maximum punishment if the offender knew or ought reasonably to have known the victim was below 14 years of age. If 2 or more of sections 73 to 74D could enhance a punishment, only one may apply, and the court may choose which.
Summary · Drafted with AI, checked against the official text on 30 Sep 2026.
Official textFrom Singapore Statutes Online, unchanged
s 1Short title
This Act is the Penal Code 1871.
s 2Punishment of offences committed within Singapore
Every person shall be liable to punishment under this Code and not otherwise for every act or omission contrary to the provisions thereof, of which he is guilty within Singapore.
s 3Punishment of offences committed beyond, but which by law may be tried within Singapore
Any person liable by law to be tried for an offence committed beyond the limits of Singapore, shall be dealt with according to the provisions of this Code for any act committed beyond Singapore, in the same manner as if such act had been committed within Singapore.
s 4Jurisdiction over public servants for offences committed outside Singapore
Every public servant who, being a citizen or a permanent resident of Singapore, when acting or purporting to act in the course of his employment, commits an act or omission outside Singapore that if committed in Singapore would constitute an offence under the law in force in Singapore, is deemed to have committed that act or omission in Singapore.
s 4AOffences against State and genocide committed outside Singapore by citizen or permanent resident
Every person who, being a citizen or permanent resident of Singapore, commits an act or omission outside Singapore that if committed in Singapore would constitute an offence under Chapter 6 (Offences against the State) or 6B (Genocide), is deemed to have committed that act or omission in Singapore.
A specified offence is deemed to have been committed in Singapore where —
a relevant act of the specified offence occurs in Singapore and any other relevant act of that specified offence occurs outside Singapore;
a relevant act of the specified offence occurs partly in Singapore and partly outside Singapore, whether or not other relevant acts of that specified offence occur in Singapore; or
the specified offence involved an intention to make a gain or cause a loss or exposure to a risk of loss or to cause harm to any person in body, mind, reputation or property, and that gain, loss or harm occurs in Singapore.
In this section —
“relevant act”, in relation to a specified offence, means an act or omission (whether occurring wholly or partly in or outside Singapore) which is a physical element of the specified offence;
“specified offence” means an offence specified in the Schedule and includes an attempt to commit the offence, an abetment of the offence and a criminal conspiracy to commit the offence.
The Minister may, by order in the Gazette, amend the Schedule.
s 5Certain laws not to be affected by this Code
Nothing in this Code is intended to repeal, vary, suspend, or affect any of the provisions of any Act for punishing mutiny and desertion of officers or servicemen in the Singapore Armed Forces, or of any other law for the time being in force.
s 6Definitions in this Code to be understood subject to exceptions
Throughout this Code every definition of an offence, every penal provision, and every illustration of every such definition or penal provision, shall be understood subject to the exceptions contained in the Chapters entitled “General Exceptions” and “Right of Private Defence”, though those exceptions are not repeated in such definition, penal provision or illustration.Illustrations (a) The sections in this Code which contain definitions of offences, do not express, that a child below 10 years of age cannot commit such offences, but the definitions are to be understood subject to the general exception which provides that “nothing shall be an offence which is done by a child below 10 years of age”. (b) A, a police officer, without warrant, apprehends Z, who has committed murder. Here A is not guilty of the offence of wrongful confinement, for he was bound by law to apprehend Z, and therefore the case falls within the general exception which provides that “nothing is an offence which is done by a person who is bound by law to do it”.
s 6ADefinitions to apply to this Code and other written law
Every definition of a word or expression which is explained in sections 22A to 26H (except the definitions of “dishonestly” and “fraudulently” in sections 24 and 25, respectively) applies to any offence in this Code or in any other written law unless that written law expressly provides for a definition or explanation of that same word or expression.
s 7Expression once explained is used in the same sense throughout this Code
Every expression which is explained in any part of this Code is used in every part of this Code in conformity with the explanation.
s 8“Gender”
The pronoun “he” and its derivatives are used of any person, whether male or female.
s 9“Number”
Unless the contrary appears from the context, words importing the singular number include the plural number, and words importing the plural number include the singular number.
s 10“Man” and “woman”
The word “man” denotes a male human being of any age; “woman” denotes a female human being of any age.
s 11“Person”
The word “person” includes any company or association or body of persons, whether incorporated or not.
s 12“Public”
The word “public” includes any class of the public or any community.
s 17“Government”
The word “Government” includes any person lawfully performing executive functions of the Government under any law.
s 19“Judge”
The word “judge” denotes not only every person who is officially designated as a judge, but also every person who is empowered by law to give, in any legal proceeding, civil or criminal, a definitive judgment, or a judgment which, if not appealed against, would be definitive, or a judgment which, if confirmed by some other authority, would be definitive, or who is one of a body of persons, which body of persons is empowered by law to give such a judgment.Illustrations (a) A Magistrate exercising jurisdiction in respect of a charge on which he has power to sentence to fine or imprisonment, with or without appeal, is a judge. (b) Officers holding an inquiry as to the loss of a ship under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 are judges. (c) A Magistrate exercising jurisdiction in respect of a charge on which he has power only to commit for trial to another court, is not a judge.
s 20“Court of justice”
The words “court of justice” denote a judge who is empowered by law to act judicially alone, or a body of judges which is empowered by law to act judicially as a body, when such judge or body of judges is acting judicially.
The words “public servant” denote a person falling under any of the following descriptions:
every officer in the Singapore Armed Forces;
every judge;
every officer of a court of justice whose duty it is, as such officer, to investigate or report on any matter of law or fact, or to make, authenticate, or keep any document, or to take charge or dispose of any property, or to execute any judicial process, or to administer any oath, or to interpret, or to preserve order in the court, or to conduct mediation or other alternative dispute resolution process under any written law, and every person specially authorised by a court of justice to perform any of such duties;
every assessor assisting a court of justice or public servant;
every arbitrator or other person to whom any cause or matter has been referred for decision or report by any court of justice, or by any other competent public authority;
every person who holds any office by virtue of which he is empowered to place or keep any person in confinement;
every officer of the Government and every officer or employee of a body corporate established by a public Act for the purposes of a public function whose duty, as such officer or employee, is any of the following:
maintaining law and order;
preserving the public peace;
preventing and detecting offences;
apprehending offenders or otherwise bringing offenders to justice;
executing summonses, subpoenas, orders to attend court, warrants, commitments and other legal processes issued by a court or Justice of the Peace;
maintaining order in the premises of the courts of justice;
escorting and guarding prisoners and accused persons in remand;
protecting the public health or safety or prevention of public inconvenience;
every officer whose duty it is, as such officer, to take, receive, keep or expend any property, on behalf of Government, or to make any survey, assessment, or contract on behalf of Government, or to execute any revenue process, or to investigate, or to report on any matter affecting the pecuniary interests of Government, or to make, authenticate or keep any document relating to the pecuniary interests of Government, or to prevent the infraction of any law for the protection of the pecuniary interests of Government, and every officer in the service or pay of Government, or remunerated by fees or commission for the performance of any public duty;
a member of the Public Service Commission, the Judicial Service Commission or the Legal Service Commission;
every person (other than a person mentioned in paragraph (g)) who is employed to carry out any of the duties, mentioned in paragraph (g)(i) to (vii), on behalf of the Government or a body corporate established by a public Act for the purposes of a public function, when that person is performing such duties.Explanation 1.—Persons falling under any of the above descriptions are public servants, whether appointed by the Government or not.Explanation 2.—Wherever the words “public servant” occur, they shall be understood of every person who is in actual possession of the situation of a public servant, whatever legal defect there may be in his right to hold that situation.
Despite subsection (1), the words “public servant” in sections 175, 178, 179, 180 and 228 does not include a judge as defined in the Administration of Justice (Protection) Act 2016.
s 22“Property”
In this Code —“immovable property” means land, benefits to arise out of land and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth;“movable property” includes property of every description, except immovable property;“property” means money and all other property, movable or immovable, including things in action, other intangible or incorporeal property and virtual currency;“virtual currency” means a digital representation of value in money or money’s worth that can be digitally traded and functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account or store of value, regardless of whether it is legal tender in any country or territory including Singapore.Illustration Writings, relating to real or personal property or rights, are movable property.
“immovable property” means land, benefits to arise out of land and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth;
“movable property” includes property of every description, except immovable property;
“property” means money and all other property, movable or immovable, including things in action, other intangible or incorporeal property and virtual currency;
“virtual currency” means a digital representation of value in money or money’s worth that can be digitally traded and functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account or store of value, regardless of whether it is legal tender in any country or territory including Singapore.Illustration Writings, relating to real or personal property or rights, are movable property.
A fault element of an offence refers to any state of mind, proof of which is needed to establish liability under that offence, including but not limited to intention, wilfulness, knowledge, rashness and negligence.
A physical element of an offence refers to any fact, proof of which is needed to establish liability under that offence, and that is not a fault element of that offence.
A “wrongful gain” is gain by unlawful means of property to which the person gaining it is not legally entitled or avoidance by unlawful means of a loss of property to which the person avoiding it is not legally entitled to avoid.
A “wrongful loss” is loss or exposure of risk to a loss by unlawful means of property to which the person losing it or exposed to the risk of losing it is legally entitled. Explanation 1.—A person is said to gain wrongfully when the person retains wrongfully, as well as when the person acquires wrongfully. A person is said to lose wrongfully when the person is wrongfully kept out of any property, as well as when the person is wrongfully deprived of property. Explanation 2.—The word “gain” includes a gain by keeping what one has, as well as a gain by getting what one does not have. Explanation 3.—The word “loss” includes a loss by not getting what one might get, as well as a loss by parting with what one has.
s 24“Dishonestly”
A person (A) is said to do an act dishonestly if —
A does that act with the intention of causing wrongful gain to A or another person, or wrongful loss to another person, regardless of whether such gain or loss is temporary or permanent; or
that act done by A is dishonest by the ordinary standards of reasonable and honest persons and A knows that that act is dishonest by such standards.
s 25“Fraudulently”
A person (A) is said to do an act fraudulently if A does that act with intent to deceive another person (B) and by means of such deception, that an advantage should accrue to A or another person or detriment should befall B or another person (other than A), regardless of whether such advantage or detriment is temporary or permanent. Explanation 1.—Where the advantage or the detriment A intended by means of the act done is so slight that no reasonable person of ordinary sense or temper would complain of it, the act is not done fraudulently. Explanation 2.—It is sufficient in any charge for an offence under this Code involving doing an act fraudulently to allege a general intent to act fraudulently without naming any particular person intended to be deceived.
s 26“Reason to believe”
A person is said to have “reason to believe” a thing, if he has sufficient cause to believe that thing, but not otherwise.
s 26A“Voluntarily”
A person is said to cause an effect “voluntarily” when he causes it by means whereby he intended to cause it, or by means which, at the time of employing those means, he knew or had reason to believe to be likely to cause it.Illustration A sets fire, by night, to an inhabited house in a large town, for the purpose of facilitating a robbery, and thus causes the death of a person. Here A may not have intended to cause death, and may even be sorry that death has been caused by this act; yet, if he knew that he was likely to cause death, he has caused death voluntarily.
s 26B“Good faith”
Nothing is said to be done or believed in good faith which is done or believed without due care and attention.
A person is said to do an act intentionally where that person does an act deliberately.
A person is said to cause an effect intentionally where that person does anything that causes an effect —
with the purpose of causing that effect; or
knowing that that effect would be virtually certain (barring an unforeseen intervention) to result.
To avoid doubt, a person does not intend or foresee a result of his acts by reason only of it being a natural and probable consequence of those acts.
To avoid doubt, nothing in this section prevents a court from relying on a person’s foresight that a certain effect was a probable consequence of his act as a basis to draw an inference that the person caused that effect intentionally. Explanation.—Intention is distinct from motive or desire, and a person may do an act or cause an effect intentionally even if doing so was not his motive or he had no desire to do so.
Whoever does an act with awareness that a circumstance exists, will exist, or is virtually certain (barring an unforeseen intervention) to exist, is said to do that act knowingly in respect of that circumstance.
Whoever does an act with awareness that an effect will be caused, or is virtually certain (barring an unforeseen intervention) to be caused, is said to do that act knowingly in respect of that effect.
Where doing an act knowingly is a fault element of an offence, that fault element is also established where that act is done intentionally or with wilful blindness.
Whoever does any act knowing that there is a real risk that a particular circumstance exists or will exist is said to do that act rashly in respect of that particular circumstance, if it would have been unreasonable to have taken that risk.
Whoever does any act knowing that there is a real risk that an effect will be caused is said to do that act rashly in respect of that effect, if it would have been unreasonable to have taken that risk.
Where doing an act rashly is a fault element of an offence, that fault element is also established where that act is done intentionally or knowingly.
Whoever omits to do an act which a reasonable person would do, or does any act which a reasonable person would not do, is said to do so negligently.
Where doing an act negligently is a fault element of an offence, that fault element is also established where that act is done intentionally, knowingly or rashly.