Sharael Taha on Criminal Procedure (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill

The incidences of sexual and violent offences are “pressing” issues that demand urgent attention, said MP Sharael Taha. Speaking in Parliament on Monday (Feb 5), he said the Criminal Procedure (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill goes a long way in providing the legal measures that can help Singapore work towards creating safer communities and protecting the most vulnerable. He stressed the need to use a combination of prevention and rehabilitation programmes to tackle the root of the problem. He highlighted the Sentence for Enhanced Public Protection (SEPP) as seeking to better protect the public from dangerous repeat offenders and pointed out that it has the challenge of balancing the individual rights of those affected by the wide-ranging enhancements and protecting the public from such offenders. He wanted to know when the SEPP will take effect, whether it applies to those already in jail and whether there are court resources to assess them.