CNA Explains: Can a repeat offender who violated bail conditions be granted bail again?

The decision for bail to be granted, and under what conditions, therefore depend on a wide range of factors.

What factors affect whether bail should be offered? 

In general, the first question that comes to mind is whether the offence is bailable or non-bailable, said lawyer Too Xing Ji, who runs his own legal practice. 

The Criminal Procedure Code lists which offences fall into each category. For example, cheating, criminal trespass and housebreaking are bailable offences, while theft, extortion and rape are non-bailable offences.  

Regardless of classification, bail is usually offered, said Mr Mark Yeo, director of Fortress Law Corporation.

“As a starting point, as an accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty, the norm is for bail to be issued, regardless of whether the offence is a bailable or non-bailable offence,” he said.

The difference is that an accused must be granted bail for a bailable offence unless the court believes there is a risk of him absconding, whereas for non-bailable offences, their release is at the discretion of the authorities or court. Accused persons who commit offences that only result in fines must also be released on bail. 

“The only time you statutorily cannot get bail (under the Criminal Procedure Code) is when you are charged with an offence that carries life imprisonment or death, or you are arrested pursuant to a warrant of arrest for extradition,” Mr Too said.

Law enforcement agencies such as the Singapore Police Force or the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau can release a person under investigation on agency or station bail.

Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam said in a parliamentary response in April that the police consider factors such as the gravity of the offence and the risk of it being repeated when deciding whether to offer bail.

“It is not possible to exhaustively describe the considerations, as each case will ultimately be assessed on its own unique facts and circumstances,” said Mr Shanmugam, who was also Law Minister then.

He was responding to a parliamentary question about the considerations for releasing an accused on bail even after he commits similar offences while on bail.

Lawyer Sanjiv Vaswani, managing director of Vaswani Law Chambers also pointed out that it was impractical to lock up each and every suspect. In addition to the factors mentioned by Mr Shanmugam, the authorities will also consider the accused’s flight risk and the likelihood of him interfering with witnesses or tampering with evidence among other things, he added.

“Taken altogether, these factors are used to deal with the issue of whether the accused can be released without compromising the public interest or the integrity of proceedings.”

Bail typically comes with conditions that the accused must obey. 

Common conditions include surrendering one’s passport, refraining from reoffending, attending all court hearings, and having a bailor pledge a sum of money. 

Depending on the case, electronic tagging or other measures may also be imposed.

Once an accused person is charged, bail falls under the jurisdiction of the court.