In essence, a voluntary surrender is visiting the police to confess to a criminal offense you’ve committed, in contrast to looking forward to the law enforcement to seek out and arrest you.
What Happens If you Voluntarily Surrender to the Police?
The strategies you are going to facial area once you voluntarily surrender into the police are similar to if you had been arrested.
The actions taken in opposition to you depend mostly on whether or not you’ve dedicated an arrestable or non-arrestable offence.
Arrestable offences check with offences that allow the law enforcement to make an arrest with out a warrant, and include offences like theft, robbery and rape. The general guideline is that offences which might be punishable with at least 3 yrs of imprisonment, or perhaps a Demise sentence, are categorised as arrestable.
Conversely, a non-arrestable offence is one particular where by the police will require to acquire a warrant prior to finishing up an arrest. Offences that tumble below this group are voluntarily producing hurt and dishonest misappropriation of residence, among the Other people.
Should you have committed an arrestable offence
When you have dedicated an arrestable offence, the law enforcement will stick to 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 produce a detect statement When the law enforcement decides to go in advance with urgent expenses.
You could be needed to take a polygraph (or lie detector) check or be involved in an identification parade, wherein you're lined up with Others to permit victims and eyewitnesses to detect you, as well.
Ideally, you have to be somewhat well-versed along with your legal rights in custody, such as the correct to generate a cell phone call to your family or to consult a lawyer (furnished that these functions will not inhibit the investigation). Nevertheless, it is vital to notice that the ideal to consult a lawyer normally arises only soon after interrogations are actually done.
For more information, you may want to consult with our report on law enforcement custody in Singapore.
When you've got fully commited a non-arrestable offence
In this scenario, even For those who have turned by yourself in on the law enforcement, you won't be taken into custody straight away.
Instead, the police will Collect witness stories and file any functions included. Any doable sufferer(s) within your offence will be advised to file a Magistrate’s Complaint for additional action Best criminal lawyer for being taken.
After the Grievance has actually been been given, the Justice of the peace will then make your mind up just what the most fitted study course of motion might be. It is just at this stage that a warrant is often issued to choose you into law enforcement custody, Should the Justice of the peace directs the law enforcement to perform an investigation in the Criticism.
Is Building a Voluntary Surrender a Mitigating Component?
Voluntarily surrendering to your law enforcement demonstrates a willingness to cooperate and suggests probable regret and repentance. Your surrender would also enable the law enforcement to take a position their time and assets into other investigations.
This might Perform a part within the judge’s choice and you may be given a lighter sentence for your degree of cooperation.
Circumstance analyze: No jail time period immediately after voluntary surrender
In 2018, then 24-calendar year-outdated Ekawit Tangtrakarn, gained a $6,000 fantastic for defaulting on his Nationwide Services (NS) duties.
Although Ekawit largely lived in Thailand, he was registered to be a Singapore Citizen – producing 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.
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 confront his costs for defaulting on them. His voluntary return thus held weight to be a mitigating component.
That's why, following the court took other mitigating factors under consideration, what might have been a utmost three-yr imprisonment term and a $ten,000 high-quality, currently being the utmost penalties under the Enlistment Act, turned a doable nine-week jail term which was sooner or later diminished to some $6,000 great.
Acquiring your expenses taken into consideration for the uses of sentencing
In regards to your conviction and you also are dealing with multiple prices, voluntarily admitting to the offences also prevents the situation of your prosecution continuing with Every charge from you individually. This allows for the opportunity of you acquiring this sort of costs taken into account for sentencing alternatively.
Because of this, you may facial area less costs 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 in your case. Your admission to your criminal offense could possibly be well-gained and perform in your favour, cutting down your punishment substantially.
If you are even now Uncertain regarding how to move forward, you can 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 tackle any investigations completed versus you.