Singapore Designates Specialized Judges for Sexual Offences

Synopsis

In a bid to enhance the management of sexual offence cases, Singapore has announced the appointment of a specialist group of judges. This initiative aims to ensure better handling of cases, safeguarding the rights of complainants and the accused while improving overall legal processes.

Key Takeaways

Specialist judges will handle sexual offence cases.
Enhanced pre-trial checklists will be piloted.
Cases will be managed to protect complainants.
Youth crime rates show an increase.
Government promises to improve rehabilitative support.

Singapore, Jan 14 (NationPress) Singapore is set to implement initiatives aimed at enhancing the handling of sexual offence cases. This includes the appointment of a specialized team of judges dedicated to these matters, as stated by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon.

From now on, all sexual offence cases in the High Court and select trials in the State Courts will be overseen by a dedicated group of experienced judges and district judges who have received specialized training. This announcement was made on Monday during the commencement of the Legal Year 2025.

Chief Justice Menon noted, “These cases demand meticulous management due to the significant effects that the trial process can exert on both the complainants and the defendants.”

Additionally, Singapore will pilot enhanced pre-trial checklists aimed at safeguarding complainants while ensuring that the accused maintain their right to a fair trial, as reported by Xinhua news agency.

The checklists are designed to pinpoint contentious issues that may emerge during cross-examinations, allowing judges to eliminate lines of questioning that are irrelevant or could be deemed disrespectful to complainants.

According to the Supporting Youth Rehabilitation Trends Report released by the Ministry of Social and Family Development in November 2024, up to 422 young individuals were reported to have committed cheating offences in Singapore in 2023, a rise from 260 in 2019.

The offence rate among youths under 21 in Singapore stood at 4.9 per 1,000 individuals in 2023, compared to 4.6 per 1,000 in 2022.

The most prevalent crimes among young offenders included shop theft, cheating and related offences, as well as sexual offences.

Completion rates for rehabilitation programmes remained stable at approximately 90 percent in 2023. Moreover, the overall two-year recidivism rate was below 10 percent among young offenders who completed rehabilitation between 2019 and 2021, as per the report.

The Singapore government is committed to enhancing rehabilitative support for older youth offenders and collaborating with the families of youths and community partners to address the rehabilitative requirements of these young individuals.