Forum: Time to rename our Penal Code

The term “penal” is generally understood to mean punishment for breaking the law.

Singapore’s Penal Code has been around since the 19th century, adopted largely from the Indian penal code introduced during British colonial times.

Admittedly, since Singapore became independent in 1965, appropriate changes have been made to the Penal Code to reflect the crime situation in the country, and new laws were also enacted to deal with drug abuse, vandalism, harassment and other new offences.

Singaporeans live in an advanced modern world where penal or trading colonies are a thing of the past. There is now, and has been for decades, the pressing issue of doing justice in each and every crime case; not only for the victim, but also for the criminal offender.

Terms like “punishment”, “probation”, “rehabilitation”, “victim impact statement” and “mitigation plea” are constantly floated in our criminal courts. “Criminal punishment” has for some time now taken on a broader meaning and dimension, showing that our criminal courts are not the “rubber stampers” of the distant past.

Respectfully, I suggest that we do away with “Penal Code” for criminal law in Singapore, and instead call it the “Criminal Justice Code” or “Criminal Law Code”.

Prem Singh