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

SINGAPORE: A man who raped a 61-year-old woman at an exercise corner had been out on bail when he committed the sexual assault.

Imran Syafiq Mohamed Rashid, 37, had a history of absconding and had been arrested several times for a string of offences. Each time, he was granted bail.

By the time of the sexual assault, Imran had accumulated 36 offences. He was remanded after he was charged with 41 offences over 16 occasions from 2020 to 2022.

He pleaded guilty to 10 charges, including rape, and was sentenced to 19-and-a-half years' jail, 12 strokes of the cane and driving bans on Tuesday. 

Another 31 charges for offences such as dishonest misappropriation, voluntarily causing hurt to his girlfriend and numerous traffic offences, were taken into consideration during sentencing.

The court case has sparked online comments asking why Imran had been repeatedly granted bail despite his history of reoffending and absconding. 

CNA has reached out to the Attorney-General's Chambers and the police on Imran's bail conditions and the reasons for bail.

Beyond Imran's case, it is not unheard of for bail to be granted to accused persons with a history of past crimes. 

At the heart of the issue is the legal principle that anyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. At the same time, there may be public safety reasons to hold the person in custody, even if he has not been found guilty.

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.

How might someone who violated bail conditions in the past be granted bail again?

There is no rule preventing an accused person from being released on bail again, even if he previously breached bail conditions, Mr Yeo said.

"If the police do not wish to issue bail, they would have to produce the suspect in court within 48 hours of his arrest, and the court would have to make a decision on whether to allow the accused to be released on bail," he said.

When an accused commits a new offence while on bail, that typically counts as a breach and his bail will be revoked, Mr Shanmugam said in his written reply to parliament.

"In deciding whether to release the accused on bail again, the police will take into account his breach of the bail condition, in addition to the factors I have mentioned earlier," he said.

If bail is denied, a person must show a "material change in circumstances" before making a new application, Mr Too said. 

For example, if a case is taking unusually long to conclude, that may justify a fresh bail review. The court will ultimately decide based on the facts of the case, said Mr Too.

"Some breaches are non-intentional and minor. The offences themselves may also be very light, hence bail is preferred to avoid a situation of time in remand outstripping sentence. Sometimes bail is restored but on stricter conditions. Bail is a very fact-specific exercise," he added.

Mr Vaswani said that lawyers routinely make submissions in support of bail. 

"Even in cases where bail is typically withheld, a lawyer may argue that imposing stricter conditions — such as electronic tagging, daily reporting, or curfews — can adequately mitigate any perceived risks. A persuasive defence submission may well influence the court’s assessment," he said. 

Mr Vaswani said that the court will have to be guided by evidence and submissions placed before it, which is where the prosecutor comes in. 

"If the prosecutor does not bring certain facts to the judge’s attention, for example that an accused has pending investigations for other police matters, the court will not have this information before it when undertaking such an assessment," pointed out Mr Vaswani.

There is no statutory limit on the number of times a person may breach bail before it is permanently revoked.