Question 1

Has one been charged with a crime in Singapore?

Accepted Answer

No. Extradition is not a Singapore prosecution. The proceedings here decide only whether one can lawfully be sent to the country asking for one.

Question 2

Will the Singapore court decide whether one is guilty?

Accepted Answer

No. The Magistrate asks whether there is enough evidence to justify putting one on trial in the requesting country. Guilt is for that country’s courts.

Question 3

Why do the papers call one a “fugitive”?

Accepted Answer

It is the word used in the Extradition Act. It is a label for anyone named in an extradition request, and carries no implication that one ran away or is guilty of anything.

Question 4

Who decides whether one is sent?

Accepted Answer

First a Magistrate, then the Minister. Both decisions can be challenged.

Question 5

Can one be extradited if one is a Singapore citizen?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Singapore law contains no bar on extraditing its own nationals.

Question 6

They have also asked for documents and bank records. Is that part of the extradition?

Accepted Answer

No. That is mutual legal assistance, which is a separate process. Requesting countries commonly run both at once.

Question 7

Could one simply be deported instead?

Accepted Answer

Deportation is an immigration measure with different safeguards. Where removal is used to deliver someone into another country’s hands rather than for immigration purposes, that is open to challenge. If immigration authorities are involved, tell us early.

Question 8

Will one get bail?

Accepted Answer

Usually not. The starting point in Singapore is that a person arrested under an extradition warrant must not be released on bail. There are three narrow exceptions.

Question 9

What are the exceptions?

Accepted Answer

Where one is a juvenile; where one is sick or infirm; or where the requesting country undertakes not to oppose bail and certain further conditions are met.

Question 10

One has serious health problems. Does that count as “sick or infirm”?

Accepted Answer

The test is narrower than it sounds. It refers to a sickness or infirmity that cannot reasonably be managed safely by the Singapore Prison Service. Medical evidence has to be prepared to answer that particular question.

Question 11

If an exception applies, is bail then granted?

Accepted Answer

Not automatically. The court retains a discretion, and bail will ordinarily be granted only if one poses no real risk of flight.

Question 12

How often will one go back to court?

Accepted Answer

Remand runs in cycles of not more than seven days at a time.

Question 13

Which countries can Singapore extradite to?

Accepted Answer

The United States, Germany, Hong Kong SAR and Indonesia by treaty or agreement; around 40 declared Commonwealth territories; certain countries for convention offences only; and Malaysia and Brunei under a separate arrangement.

Question 14

The country asking is not on that list. Can they still get one?

Accepted Answer

Not by extradition. If there is no treaty, declaration or applicable convention arrangement, that is a complete answer — and one of the first things we check.

Question 15

What makes an offence extraditable?

Accepted Answer

It must carry a maximum of at least two years’ imprisonment in the requesting country, the same conduct must carry at least two years if it had happened in Singapore, and it must not be on the excluded list.

Question 16

Is it enough that it is a crime in that country?

Accepted Answer

No. It must also be a crime in Singapore. The test looks at the conduct alleged, not at whether the two offences are worded the same way.

Question 17

It is a tax matter. Does that help?

Accepted Answer

No. An offence is not excluded merely because it is fiscal.

Question 18

The treaty is very old. Does it cover modern offences?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the treaty. Some list the offences they cover, and conduct outside that list is beyond reach. Others move with changes in domestic law. It is worth checking in every case.

Question 19

Can extradition be fought?

Accepted Answer

Yes, at four points: at the committal hearing, on review in the High Court, before the Minister, and in limited circumstances against the detention itself.

Question 20

What can the Magistrate consider?

Accepted Answer

Whether the foreign warrant is properly authenticated, whether the offence is an extradition offence, whether there is a case to answer, and whether any statutory restriction applies.

Question 21

Can we argue one will not get a fair trial there?

Accepted Answer

Not before the Magistrate. Singapore has no rights-based bar of the kind available in the United Kingdom. Arguments of that sort go to the Minister.

Question 22

What if the request is really about politics?

Accepted Answer

There can be no surrender for an offence of a political character, and the Minister must refuse where there are substantial grounds for believing the request is really made to prosecute or punish one on account of race, religion, sex, ethnic origin, nationality or political opinions.

Question 23

One was convicted in one's absence and never knew about the trial.

Accepted Answer

That may matter. There can be no surrender unless one deliberately absented one's self, or will be entitled to a retrial on return.

Question 24

The allegations are ten years old. Does the delay help?

Accepted Answer

Possibly. There can be no surrender where prosecution is already time-barred in the requesting country, and the passage of time is something the Minister may weigh.

Question 25

One has already been punished for this elsewhere.

Accepted Answer

There can be no surrender where one has been acquitted, pardoned or has served one's punishment for the same conduct in any country.

Question 26

One has a case pending in Singapore.

Accepted Answer

One cannot be surrendered while under charge, on remand or serving a sentence here.

Question 27

Can the Minister’s decision be taken to court?

Accepted Answer

Yes, by judicial review. There is a time limit of three months from the decision, which the court may extend, so it needs to be considered early.

Question 28

How long will this take?

Accepted Answer

There is no fixed answer. Some steps have statutory deadlines; the two that usually take longest have none.

Question 29

How soon must one be brought before a court after arrest?

Accepted Answer

As soon as practicable.

Question 30

They say the formal request has not arrived yet. How long can one be held?

Accepted Answer

One must be released if the Minister’s notice does not arrive within a reasonable time. Where a treaty sets a window — two months under the treaty applied to the United States, 45 days under the Indonesia treaty — that informs what is reasonable.

Question 31

If one is committed, how quickly can one be sent?

Accepted Answer

Not for at least 15 days, and not while a review is still being determined.

Question 32

What if they commit one but never collect one?

Accepted Answer

One may apply for discharge if one is not conveyed out of Singapore within two months, unless reasonable cause is shown.

Question 33

Can one simply agree to go?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Consent removes the committal hearing. A Magistrate must first be satisfied the consent is voluntary and must explain the consequences.

Question 34

Would that get one out of custody faster?

Accepted Answer

It usually shortens the process, and since bail is rarely available, the time saved is time in custody. But it does not oblige the Minister to surrender one.

Question 35

Can one change one's mind?

Accepted Answer

The Act provides no procedure for withdrawing consent once recorded, and there is no decided case. Treat it as final.

Question 36

Once one is sent, can they charge one with other things?

Accepted Answer

Generally no. One may be dealt with only for the offence one was surrendered for, or one provable on the same facts. That protection is a precondition of surrender.

Question 37

One already has a lawyer there. Do we need one here too?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The proceedings that decide whether one leaves Singapore happen in a Singapore court, and only Singapore counsel can appear in them.

Question 38

A Red Notice has been issued but one has not been arrested.

Accepted Answer

Speak to us now. A Red Notice is not an arrest warrant and gives no power of arrest in Singapore, but it is often the first sign that a request is coming — and this is the stage at which most can be done.

Question 39

Malaysia is asking for one. Is it the same process?

Accepted Answer

No. A different regime applies, with different steps and shorter time limits.

Question 40

What should we send you first?

Accepted Answer

Whatever you have: the warrant or charge documents, the country requesting one, the date and place of arrest, the next court date, and the details of any lawyer acting for one abroad.

Question 41

Can I instruct you on one's behalf?

Accepted Answer

You can make the arrangements and be our point of contact. One remains the person we act for, so we will need to see one and take instructions from one directly.

Questions families ask

Understanding what is happening

Arrest, custody and bail

The countries and the offence

Resisting the request

Timing

Instructing us

Speak with us in confidence today