Singapore legislation
Section 12C
Section 12C
Forfeiture by court in criminal proceedings
(1)
A court may, in proceedings where a person is tried for an offence under this Act, order that a seized item in connection with the offence be forfeited to the Director‑General if —
where the seized item is a conveyance — the person is convicted of the offence and the conveyance is proved to have been used in the commission of the offence; or
where the seized item is not a conveyance — the court is satisfied that the offence has been committed and that the seized item was the subject matter, or used (or intended to have been used) in the commission, or constitutes evidence, of the offence.
(2)
Subsection (1)(a) does not apply to a conveyance which —
is of more than 200 tons net; or
is an aircraft or a train belonging to a person carrying on a regular passenger service to and from Singapore by means of that aircraft or train.
(3)
The court may consider the question of forfeiture under subsection (1) on its own motion if no party raises the question in the proceedings before the court.
(4)
A conveyance mentioned in subsection (1)(a) must not be forfeited under that provision if its owner establishes that the conveyance was unlawfully in the possession of another person without the owner’s consent.
(5)
The court may make an order under subsection (1)(b) for the forfeiture of any seized item despite that no person is convicted of the offence.
(6)
The court must order the release of a seized item to the owner of or the person entitled to the seized item if —
the court, having regard to the circumstances of the case, does not think it fit to order the forfeiture of the seized item under subsection (1);
the requirements of subsection (1)(a) or (b) (as the case may be) are not met; or
the seized item is a conveyance mentioned in subsection (2) or (4).