Date enacted 1973 | ||
 | ||
Enacted by Parliament of Singapore | ||
The Arms Offences Act is a statute of the Parliament of Singapore that criminalizes the illegal possession of arms and ammunition and the carrying, trafficking, and usage of arms. The law is designed specifically to make acts of ownership, knowingly receiving payment in connection with the trade of a trafficked armaments and ammunition, as well as the unlawful usage of arms and ammunition a criminal offence.
Contents
Overview
The Arms Offences Act is an Act to deter unlawful ownership, trafficking and usage of arms and ammunition. It was originally enacted in 1973.
The Arms Offences Act defines the punishment to be meted out for different scenarios of violations, and serves as an instrument for imprisoning and caning of offenders. Apart from unlawful possession of arms or ammunition, illegal usage of arms in particular the committing of a scheduled offence, the Act also prescribes punishment for accomplices and individuals that consort with offenders and traffickers.
Uses of the Act
Since November 2012, the death penalty laws in Singapore were revised such that for murder cases, the discretionary sentence applies to those who committed murder but did not intend to kill. As an example, Jabing Kho was given a life sentence after he beat a Chinese construction worker Cao Ruyin to death with a tree branch and robbing Cao of his mobile phone. Cao died from brain injuries six days later. Kho was eventually given the death penalty by a jury as he had acted in a way which exhibits viciousness or a blatant disregard for human life. Kho's appeal for clemency was rejected in October 2015 by President Tony Tan Keng Yam.
Muhammad Kadar was convicted of murder for stabbing an elderly woman more than 110 times. He was denied re-sentencing on 29 Sept 2014 and given the death sentence for intending to cause death.
Muhammad Iskandar Sa'at was also charged in June 2015 under the Arms Offences Act after discharging three rounds from a .38-calibre Taurus revolver at a policeman in a private room at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital during a struggle in the hospital room. He had allegedly also hit the police officer repeatedly with a T-baton and a metal pole used for securing an intravenous drip. Muhammad Iskandar Sa'at is pending the capital punishment as of 2016.