What exactly is a Voluntary Surrender?
In essence, a voluntary surrender is going to the law enforcement to confess to a criminal offense you’ve committed, in contrast to awaiting the law enforcement to locate and arrest you.
What Transpires Whenever you Voluntarily Surrender into the Police?
The treatments you'll deal with whenever you voluntarily surrender to your police are similar to for those who had been arrested.
The steps taken towards you count largely on no matter if you’ve committed an arrestable or non-arrestable offence.
Arrestable offences confer with offences that enable the police for making an arrest without a warrant, and incorporate offences like theft, theft and rape. The guideline is the fact offences which are punishable with at the least 3 a long time of imprisonment, or maybe a death sentence, are categorised as arrestable.
Then again, a non-arrestable offence is just one exactly where the law enforcement will require to obtain a warrant ahead of finishing up an arrest. Offences that drop underneath this classification are voluntarily leading to harm and dishonest misappropriation of property, amongst Some others.
If you have dedicated an arrestable offence
Should you have committed an arrestable offence, the police will observe an arrest course of action that begins with getting you into custody just after your voluntary surrender.
The police will then launch an investigation, which involves having witness statements. Alternatively, you might have to generate a see statement In case the law enforcement decides to go ahead with pressing fees.
You may well be required to take a polygraph (or lie detector) examination or get involved in an identification parade, in which you might be lined up with Others to permit victims and eyewitnesses to identify you, too.
Preferably, try to be relatively nicely-versed using your legal rights in custody, including the correct to generate a cell phone call to your family or to consult an attorney (furnished that these functions will not inhibit the investigation). Nonetheless, it is necessary to notice that the right to consult a lawyer generally occurs only just after interrogations have been performed.
To find out more, you might want to seek advice from our posting on law enforcement custody in Singapore.
If you have committed a non-arrestable offence
On this circumstance, even Should you have turned you in into the police, you will not be taken into custody instantly.
As an alternative, the police will Get witness stories and history any get-togethers associated. Any possible victim(s) of one's offence will likely be suggested to file a Magistrate’s Grievance for even more motion being taken.
As soon as the Criticism has long been been given, the Justice of the peace will then decide what the most suitable course of action will probably be. It is only at this point that a warrant could be issued to get you into police custody, In case the Magistrate directs the police to carry out an investigation to the Grievance.
Is Producing a Voluntary Surrender a Mitigating Issue?
Voluntarily surrendering on the police demonstrates a willingness to cooperate and signifies probably remorse and repentance. Your surrender would also allow the police to invest their time and sources into other investigations.
This could play a part in the judge’s decision and you may well be specified a lighter sentence for your personal diploma of cooperation.
Circumstance review: No jail expression immediately after voluntary surrender
In 2018, then 24-12 months-outdated Ekawit Tangtrakarn, acquired a $6,000 good for defaulting on his National Service (NS) duties.
Although Ekawit mainly lived in Thailand, he was registered to be a Singapore Citizen – building him chargeable for NS. In Oct 2015, he dropped his Singaporean citizenship right after failing to take the Oath of Renunciation, Allegiance and Loyalty inside 12 months of his twenty first birthday.
On the other hand, shedding his Singaporean citizenship didn't reduce him of his NS obligations, and Singapore criminal lawyer Ekawit later on voluntarily returned to Singapore to confront his costs for defaulting on them. His voluntary return Therefore held weight to be a mitigating variable.
For this reason, following the courtroom took other mitigating elements into account, what might have been a utmost three-yr imprisonment term along with a $10,000 great, staying the utmost penalties beneath the Enlistment Act, became a probable nine-7 days jail phrase that was inevitably minimized into a $6,000 fine.
Owning your prices taken into account for your purposes of sentencing
On the subject of your conviction therefore you are going through several charges, voluntarily admitting towards your offences also stops the specific situation from the prosecution continuing with Just about every cost against you independently. This enables for the potential of you having these types of fees taken into consideration for sentencing instead.
Due to this fact, you could possibly encounter fewer prices or even a reduced sentence as compared to in case you had been to deny or dispute the fees.
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Voluntarily surrendering on the police may perhaps confirm for being helpful afterwards inside your circumstance. Your admission to the crime can be properly-obtained and do the job with your favour, decreasing your punishment noticeably.
Should you be still Not sure on how to carry on, it is possible to engage a felony defence lawyer to hunt suggestions on your situation, in addition to explain your rights. A seasoned law firm can best put together you on what to expect if you switch your self in and the way to manage any investigations performed in opposition to you.