What is a Voluntary Surrender?
In essence, a voluntary surrender is visiting the police to confess to against the law you’ve committed, versus expecting the law enforcement to seek out and arrest you.
What Happens If you Voluntarily Surrender to the Law enforcement?
The procedures you'll deal with once you voluntarily surrender to your police are similar to if you 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 allow the police for making an arrest with no warrant, and include things like offences like theft, robbery and rape. The guideline is usually that offences which are punishable with no less than 3 several years of imprisonment, or simply a Loss of life sentence, are categorised as arrestable.
On the flip side, a non-arrestable offence is one particular where the police will require to obtain a warrant just before finishing up an arrest. Offences that fall beneath this classification are voluntarily creating harm and dishonest misappropriation of assets, amongst Other folks.
When you've got committed an arrestable offence
In case you have fully commited an arrestable offence, the police will comply with an arrest course of action that begins with using you into custody immediately 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 the event the law enforcement decides to go in advance with pressing expenses.
You could be needed to take a polygraph (or lie detector) examination or be involved in an identification parade, wherein you're lined up with Others to permit victims and eyewitnesses to detect you, also.
Ideally, you have to be rather nicely-versed along with your legal rights in custody, including the right to create a mobile phone simply call to All your family members or to consult a lawyer (presented that these functions will likely not inhibit the investigation). However, it is vital to note that the suitable to refer to a lawyer usually arises only soon after interrogations are done.
For more information, you may want to consult with our report on law enforcement custody in Singapore.
When you've got committed a non-arrestable offence
In this situation, even For those who have turned by yourself in to your law enforcement, you won't be taken into custody immediately.
Instead, the police will Collect witness studies and file any functions included. Any doable sufferer(s) within your offence will be advised to file a Magistrate’s Complaint for additional action for being taken.
After the Grievance has become gained, the Justice of the peace will then come to a decision just what the most fitted study course of motion are going to be. It is just at this stage that a warrant is usually issued to choose you into law enforcement custody, if the Justice of the peace directs the law enforcement to perform an investigation into your Criticism.
Is Earning a Voluntary Surrender a Mitigating Variable?
Voluntarily surrendering into the law enforcement demonstrates a willingness to cooperate and implies possible regret and repentance. Your surrender would also enable the law enforcement to speculate their time and methods into other investigations.
This could Engage in a component while in the decide’s determination and you could be presented a lighter sentence on your degree of cooperation.
Situation research: No jail phrase following voluntary surrender
In 2018, then 24-year-old Ekawit Tangtrakarn, received a $six,000 great for defaulting on his Countrywide Assistance (NS) duties.
Although Ekawit largely lived in Thailand, he was registered to be a Singapore Citizen – earning him answerable for NS. In Oct 2015, he missing his Singaporean citizenship soon after failing to take the Oath of Renunciation, Allegiance and Loyalty inside of 12 months of his 21st birthday.
However, getting rid of his Singaporean citizenship didn't decrease him of his NS obligations, and Ekawit later on voluntarily returned to Singapore to confront his expenses for defaulting on them. His voluntary return Therefore held weight as a Singapore Criminal Defence Lawyer mitigating variable.
For this reason, following the courtroom took other mitigating aspects into account, what could have been a most three-yr imprisonment phrase along with a $ten,000 great, staying the utmost penalties under the Enlistment Act, became a probable nine-week jail phrase that was inevitably minimized into a $6,000 fine.
Owning your prices taken into consideration for your purposes of sentencing
On the subject of your conviction therefore you are going through numerous charges, voluntarily admitting towards your offences also stops the specific situation from the prosecution continuing with Every single cost against you individually. This enables for the possibility of you owning these kinds of expenses taken into consideration for sentencing in its place.
Therefore, you could face much less expenses or perhaps a lessened sentence when compared to should you were to deny or dispute the fees.
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Voluntarily surrendering on the police may well confirm to become practical later on inside your circumstance. Your admission to the crime may very well be effectively-received and get the job done within your favour, reducing your punishment appreciably.
In case you are 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 get ready you on what to expect if you switch oneself in and the way to manage any investigations carried out in opposition to you.