I have been summoned to court for a non-compoundable traffic offense of "tampering" with OPC license. I do not know if it will be good for me to hire a lawyer or not. This is my 1st offence and 1st court appearance, so I am really quite unsure what to do. Please help!
2007-03-09 02:55:57 · 6 answers · asked by WHO 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
I do not know if the evidence presented is considered straight forward. The Investigations officer conceded that it was possible for people to make mistake of tearing the wrong date. Sometimes they allow people to get away with a small fine if only 1 other date was torn out wrong.
Thats just what I am going to plea for. Should I go to court first, then engage a lawyer to appeal if the penalties are too harsh? Or should I hire a lawyer to begin with? Is it possible to appeal after the sentence?
Can I find previous court rulings on such offence? So that I know roughly what is the outcome.
2007-03-09 13:33:47 · update #1
Generally in a criminal case, when you are asked to plead, you may either plead guilty, plead not guilty or ask for an adjournment to engage a lawyer.
A point to note is that if you ask for an adjournment or plead not guilty, you may be asked to post bail, failing which, you will be remanded into Queenstown Remand Prison. Again, this is generally for criminal cases. Your case appears to fall into the grey area between 'criminal' and 'non-compoundable'.
Since you received a letter directing you to attend Court, have you been made aware of the penalties regarding your charge? Regardless, on the day of the hearing, you will be made aware of the charge and maximum penalty by the prosecuting officer. The only way to find out the current benchmark on the charge against you is either through a lawyer (who keeps track of it) or from an unofficial source e.g. court officer.
If you are unsure of what to do, I would advise you to seek professional legal assistance. Being summoned to Court is not a small matter and every cent you spend to defend yourself is worth it.
2007-03-11 10:04:23 · answer #1 · answered by Dimmy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Traffic Offence Singapore
2016-12-12 12:11:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No need lawyer. Make representation to the Traffic Police. Meaning, write to them the surrounding circumstances in which you have ended up committing the offence.
Listen to yourself: Did I have the INTENTION to tamper with the Off Peak Car licence? If yes, then forget it, plead guilty in your 1st court appearance as pleading guilty at the first available opportunity is a mitigating factor.
If you have NO intention of tampering the licence to start off with, then ask for an adjourn date. Make representation and if TP rejects your rep, go and claim trial. Before the trial date, there will be a series of meeting with the prosecutor and judge in chamber to discuss your case. This process is known as Pre Trial Conference (PTC). In PTC, you can state your case without fear of being prejudiced. If you are sharp, you can even sense what sort of evidence the TP has against you ! If you know that, you can sometimes wriggle your way out.
2007-03-11 05:48:05 · answer #3 · answered by Erm 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The maximun for this offence is S$10,000 with up to 6 months impriosonment for first timer. And most of the time, the fine is only S$1,000. If you engage a lawyer, probably you will have to spend more on lawyer fee than the fine. Plead for lenciency with the reason you gave should be sufficient.
2007-03-11 14:54:39 · answer #4 · answered by Tan D 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the case and evidence presented are so straight forward, it might not be neccessary to hire a lawyer. You might end up paying more.
Just hope the judge will be lenient and not fine you so much. You can defend yourself and state that you had always had a clean record.
2007-03-09 03:10:29 · answer #5 · answered by James S 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its cheating offense and penalties are not to trifle with. Get a lawyer to plea for you. No point ruining your life to save a few bucks which is what already happened in your case.
2007-03-09 07:59:30 · answer #6 · answered by unnga 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋