New Bill defines contempt of court, sets out penalties

Singapore

A NEW Bill that seeks to consolidate existing law on contempt in statutory form and that sets out the maximum penalties has been introduced in parliament, in a move to provide greater clarity and certainty.

The new Administration of Justice (Protection) Bill was tabled on Monday by Senior Minister of State for Finance and Law Indranee Rajah. It aims to set out Singapore's contempt law - which is contained in judgements of various cases now - in statutory form.

Said Law Minister K Shanmugam on Monday: "If you look at criminal law, the general principle is that it should be set out in writing so that people know what the framework of the law is and what the punishments are. …