People who abuse court processes could be liable for contempt under new Bill

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In: South-East Asia

CASES THAT ABUSED COURT PROCESS

Current actions that violate the court process have been condemned by Singapore’s courts.

One of the lawsuits filed by a man who filed two claims against a woman who had rejected him sexually was thrown out by the Magistrate’s Court’s assistant secretary in January 2023. &nbsp,

In a judgment, the deputy secretary called K Kawshigan’s legal coat an abuse of procedure, finding that the person had initiated the activity with the “ulterior motive of vexing or hurting” the woman. &nbsp,

In another case, two lawyers who acted for a Malaysian drug trafficker in an eleventh-hour attempt to stop his execution were ordered to pay S$ 20, 000 ( S$ 15, 309 ) in costs to the Attorney-General’s Chambers ( AGC ) in May 2022. &nbsp,

The Court of Appeal determined that the way the case was handled by professionals M. Ravi and Violet Netto had been a flagrant and outrageous misuse of the court system.

A medicine trafficker’s request for a court order to start a judicial review against the AGC was rejected by a High Court judge in 2022, claiming that Mohammad Farid Batra had been trying to deceive the method by postponing the execution of his sentence until he was 50. If he is 50, he may get caned.

In deciding on the modifications, MinLaw said it had consulted those involved, including the court. &nbsp,

The proposed adjustments may include all Singapore court trials and those that: &nbsp,

  • Conduct&nbsp, or commence&nbsp, a courtroom proceeding, while knowing that the program involves a fraud on the jury, or uses the jury operation for an hidden motive&nbsp,
  • Conduct&nbsp, or commence&nbsp, various or subsequent judge trials, which they know are without basis&nbsp,

Additionally, the revisions may impose penalties for contempt of court on parties who engage in such behavior. For instance, those who encourage events to record court applications for covert reasons. &nbsp,

MinLaw said, nevertheless, that people or attorneys who act with the real conviction that their cases have significance, will not be penalised. &nbsp,

Before deciding whether a particular action qualifies as contempt, the court will examine the situation surrounding the case. &nbsp,