In essence, a voluntary surrender is visiting the law enforcement to confess to a criminal offense you’ve committed, rather than awaiting the law enforcement to locate and arrest you.

What Transpires Whenever you Voluntarily Surrender to your Police?
The treatments you will experience when you voluntarily surrender on the law enforcement are the same as when you had been arrested.

The steps taken against you rely mainly on regardless of whether you’ve fully commited an arrestable or non-arrestable offence.

Arrestable offences make reference to offences that enable the police to produce an arrest without having a warrant, and contain offences like theft, theft and rape. The rule of thumb is the fact offences that are punishable with at the least three many years of imprisonment, or maybe a death sentence, are categorised as arrestable.

Alternatively, a non-arrestable offence is a person exactly where the law enforcement will require to obtain a warrant ahead of 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 stick to an arrest technique that begins with using you into custody immediately after your voluntary surrender.

The law enforcement will then launch an investigation, which entails getting witness statements. Alternatively, you may have to produce a detect assertion When the police decides to go in advance with urgent costs.

You might be needed to have a polygraph (or lie detector) test or engage in an identification parade, where you are lined up with other people to permit victims and eyewitnesses to detect you, as well.

Ideally, you need to be somewhat perfectly-versed together with your rights in custody, like the ideal to make a telephone phone to All your family members or to refer to a lawyer (supplied that these acts will never inhibit the investigation). On the other hand, it is important to note that your proper to refer to an attorney ordinarily arises only following interrogations have already been carried out.

To learn more, you might want to refer to our article on police custody in Singapore.

For those who have dedicated a non-arrestable offence
With this state of affairs, even When you've got turned yourself in towards the police, you will not be taken into custody right away.

Alternatively, the law enforcement will Acquire witness experiences and history any parties involved. Any feasible victim(s) of one's offence will likely be suggested to file a Justice of the peace’s Grievance for even more motion being taken.

As soon as the Criticism has long been received, the Magistrate will then decide what the most suitable program of action will probably be. It is only at this point that a warrant may be issued to consider you into police custody, When the Magistrate directs the police to conduct an investigation in to the Complaint.

Is Creating a Voluntary Surrender a Mitigating Aspect?
Voluntarily surrendering towards the police demonstrates a willingness to cooperate and indicates likely remorse and repentance. Your surrender would also allow the law enforcement to speculate their time and means into other investigations.

This may Participate in an element from the choose’s final decision and you might be provided a lighter sentence to your diploma of cooperation.

Case examine: No jail term soon after voluntary surrender
In 2018, then Criminal defence lawyer 24-12 months-outdated Ekawit Tangtrakarn, gained a $6,000 fantastic for defaulting on his Nationwide Services (NS) duties.

Even though 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 12 months of his 21st birthday.

Having said that, getting rid of his Singaporean citizenship didn't minimize him of his NS obligations, and Ekawit later on voluntarily returned to Singapore to experience his expenses for defaulting on them. His voluntary return Hence held excess weight as a mitigating factor.

As a result, once the courtroom took other mitigating aspects into account, what could have been a most three-12 months imprisonment phrase along with a $ten,000 high-quality, staying the utmost penalties under the Enlistment Act, became a probable nine-week jail term which was finally diminished into a $6,000 great.

Acquiring your fees taken into consideration for the applications of sentencing

In regards to your conviction so you are dealing with multiple prices, voluntarily admitting in your offences also prevents your situation with the prosecution proceeding with Every demand from you individually. This allows for the opportunity of you obtaining this sort of charges taken into account for sentencing alternatively.

Consequently, you may deal with less charges or simply a diminished sentence in comparison with if you ended up to deny or dispute the costs.

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Voluntarily surrendering to the law enforcement could prove being beneficial later as part of your situation. Your admission to your criminal offense might be perfectly-acquired and function in the favour, minimizing your punishment considerably.

When you are nevertheless unsure regarding how to continue, you could interact a criminal defence law firm to seek information with your position, together with clarify your legal rights. A seasoned attorney should be able to ideal prepare you on What to anticipate if you turn on your own in and how to cope with any investigations completed versus you.