What happens after the summons is issued?
As the purpose of the summons is to notify the Respondent
of the charge against him or her and the date and time for
appearing in Court to answer the charge, the summons must
be served on the Respondent.
The Court may access its official records, where possible,
to ascertain the registered address of the Respondent.
However, if the Respondent is no longer residing at his or
her registered address, the Complainant is required to
ascertain his or her current address. The summons can only
be served on the Respondent if he or she resides in
Singapore.
Once the current address of the Respondent is ascertained,
the summons must be personally served on him or her. This
can be done by the Court’s process server if the
Complainant is not represented by a lawyer. The
Complainant is required to accompany the Court’s process
server and bear all transportation charges of the process
server.
If personal service of the Summons is not possible, the
Complainant may apply for the Court’s approval to serve
the summons by (a) leaving the summons with an adult
member of the Respondent’s household; or (b) affixing the
summons on the front door of the Respondent’s place of
residence.
What happens after the summons is served
on the Respondent?
The Respondent will be required to attend Court on the date
and time stipulated on the summons. A warrant of arrest
will be issued against the Respondent if he or she does not
show up in Court. Bail may be offered by the Court at the
Magistrate’s discretion.
391 New Bridge Road, Police Cantonment Complex Block
C, Singapore 088762, to request for the Respondent’s past
criminal records, if any, to be presented to the Court for
consideration prior to sentencing.
If the Respondent does not plead guilty, a pre-trial
conference will be fixed on another date for trial date(s) to
be given.
During the trial, the Complainant will be allowed to call
witnesses and ask them questions to substantiate the charge
against the Respondent. The Respondent will also have the
opportunity to question each witness in support of his or her
defence. At the end of the hearing, the Court will decide
whether the Respondent is guilty.
If the Court finds that the Respondent is guilty, the Court
will sentence the Respondent after taking into consideration
his or her past criminal records, if any. If the Court finds
the Respondent not guilty, the Respondent will be acquitted
of the charge.
Disclaimer:
This publication is produced for
general information only and is
not intended as substitution for
legal advice. A lawyer should be
consulted should you require legal
advice on your case. The State Courts
disclaim any and all liabilities
arising from and in connection with
the contents of this publication.
What you need to know about
Magistrate’s
Complaints



The first time the Respondent appears in Court, he or she
will have the option to plead guilty or not guilty to the
charge against him or her.
If the Respondent elects to plead guilty, the Court will
adjourn the matter to another date and time for the plea to
be taken and for sentencing. During the adjournment, the
Complainant will need to write to the Criminal Records
Office of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), at
Criminal Justice Division
1 Havelock Square
Singapore 059724
Tel: 1800 - JUSTICE (1800 - 5878423)
www.statecourts.gov.sg
What is a Magistrate’s Complaint?
How is a Magistrate’s Complaint filed?
What do the different orders mean?
and other information
What is a Magistrate’s Complaint?
A Magistrate’s Complaint is a criminal complaint filed by a
person who has good reason to believe that a criminal
offence has been committed against him or her
(Complainant) by another person (Respondent).
How is a Magistrate’s Complaint filed?
The Complainant may attend in person at the Crime
Registry located at the ground floor of the State Courts with
his or her NRIC (for Singapore citizens or permanent
residents) or passport (for foreigners). The Complainant
should bring along any police report, case card or notice, if
available. At the Crime Registry, the Complainant will need
to complete a standard form setting out the brief facts of the
complaint (Complaint) and submit it to the Complaints
Counter together with a payment of S$20.00.
 Dismiss the Complaint; or
 Issue summons against the Respondent (see below).
What do the different orders mean?
Mediation
Dismiss Complaint
This is the usual order for most disputes, especially when
the Complainant and the Respondent are known to each
other or when the dispute is relatively minor. Disputes
between neighbours, colleagues and friends are generally
referred to the CMC for mediation. Most other disputes are
referred to the SCCDR where mediation may be conducted
by a Justice of Peace or a Magistrate.
Some of the circumstances under which the Magistrate may
dismiss the Complaint are as follows:
The role of the mediators is to encourage the parties to
engage in meaningful and purpose-based negotiations to
reach a settlement agreement. For mediation to be useful,
the Complainant and the Respondent should participate in
the mediation with open minds, as a wide range of issues
can be discussed with a view to an amicable settlement of
the differences between them.
Possible settlement terms that may be explored between the
Complainant and the Respondent include an apology,
compensation or undertaking not to repeat certain conduct.
When the Complainant and the Respondent reach a
settlement, the Complaint will be withdrawn and no further
action will be taken by the Magistrate.
Thereafter, the Complainant will need to appear before a
Magistrate to affirm or swear to the truth and accuracy of the
facts in the Complaint.
After reviewing the Complaint, the Magistrate may ask the
Complainant questions or request for further facts,
information or documents. Any response by the Complainant
will be made under affirmation or oath as to its truth.
Thereafter, the Magistrate may make, amongst others, one or
more of the following orders:
 Require both the Complainant and the Respondent to
attend mediation at the Community Mediation Centre
(CMC) or the State Courts Centre for Dispute
Resolution (SCCDR);
 Direct the police to ascertain the particulars of the
Respondent and/or to conduct an investigation into the
Complaint;
the Respondent, the Complaint will be subject to the State
prosecution process thereafter. However, if the police do
not wish to pursue prosecution against the Respondent, the
Complainant has an option to take up private prosecution
against the Respondent provided certain conditions are met.
Police to Ascertain Particulars or Conduct Investigations
In cases where the Magistrate wants to order mediation but
the Complainant does not have the Respondent’s
particulars, the Magistrate may order the police to ascertain
the particulars of the Respondent so that the relevant notice
for mediation may be sent to the Respondent. For reasons
of privacy and confidentiality, the particulars of the
Respondent will not be furnished to the Complainant under
any circumstances.
In other cases, the Magistrate may direct the police to
conduct investigations to ascertain whether an offence was
committed. The police will send the investigation report to
the Crime Registry which will require the Complainant to
attend before the Magistrate again. If the investigation
report states that State prosecution is commenced against
 The Complaint does not make out a criminal offence or
the criminal offence is not within the jurisdiction of the
Magistrate’s Court;
 The Complainant does not turn up for mediation;
 The criminal offence requires the consent of the
Attorney-General’s Chambers for private prosecution
but such consent is not obtained; or
 The charge prepared by the Complainant is not in order.
Issue Summons for Private Prosecution
If the police do not pursue State prosecution against the
Respondent, the Complainant may commence private
prosecution provided the offence is one for which the
maximum punishment is 3 years’ imprisonment or a fine
only, or if the offence is specified by law to be triable in the
Magistrate’s Court. Additionally, if the offence is one for
which the law specifies that the consent of the AttorneyGeneral’s Chambers is required for private prosecution, the
Complainant will need to obtain it first.
As a preliminary step, the Complainant is required to draft
the charge for the offence(s) against the Respondent. The
Complainant may engage a lawyer to assist him or her with
the drafting of the charge or refer to Form 40 in the Schedule
to the Criminal Procedure Code (Prescribed Forms)
Regulations 2010 for sample charges. (The Regulations can
be found at statutes.agc.gov.sg.)
If the charge is not in order, the Magistrate may allow the
Complainant more time to rectify the charge. Once the
Magistrate is satisfied that the charge is in order, the
Magistrate may proceed to issue summons against the
Respondent upon payment of a fee of S$20.00 for each
summons.