More criminal cases going for mediation

SINGAPORE - When one of Mr Selva Naidu's clients was charged with negligent driving leading to a pedestrian's death, the case did not go to trial first.

Instead, the lawyer and the prosecution took it to mediation.

Both sides agreed on the facts, which said the driver knocked down the pedestrian as she dashed across a no-crossing zone at South Bridge Road.

What was in dispute was "whether the driver's acts constituted negligence under the law", said Mr Naidu.

After the mediating judge said the acts were at the lowest end of negligence, the driver agreed to plead guilty and accept a fine.

Not only did mediation - part of the Criminal Case Resolution (CCR) process - save the court's time and costs, it also avoided "more trauma", Mr Naidu said, as it did away with the need for a reconstruction of the accident, and calling up of other witnesses.

He said: "CCR pre-empted all this." While far less visible than mediation in family and civil law cases, CCR is seeing a rise in the the Subordinate Courts.

In the 12 months up to August, 72 cases have been successfully resolved, leading to a saving of 207 hearing days - up from 152 hearing days saved through 98 CCR cases in the three years from the end of 2009 to August last year.

"We have seen a steady increase in the use of CCR. For instance, in September last year, there were six such cases. But the figure more than doubled to 15 this August," said a Subordinate Courts spokesman.

"Predominantly, cases involving Penal Code offences such as property-related offences or voluntarily causing hurt have been referred for CCR," she added.

Other cases include corruption, moneylending, drugs and immigration offences, as well as regulatory offences under the Building Control Act and Workplace Safety and Health Act.

Typically, a senior judge will facilitate a discussion between prosecutors and the defence to see if the case can be resolved early.

Not only does this streamline court processes and spare witnesses from having to attend a trial, CCR also helps reduce the number of "cracked" trials - a point made by the Subordinate Courts' Chief District Judge See Kee Oon in the latest issue of the Asian Journal on Mediation published by the Singapore Academy of Law.

A cracked trial occurs when the accused, after seeking trial, opts to plead guilty during the hearing.

Another instance is when prosecutors withdraw the charges.

Mr See also made it clear that the CCR is a voluntary process and the mediating judge will not continue to preside over the case should it go to trial.

According to the Subordinate Courts' annual report, 75.7 per cent of the cases referred to the CCR last year were successfully resolved.

But some were not. Mr Naidu recalled such a case last year where three meat suppliers were charged with bribing the manager of a client firm by taking him out for karaoke and paying the bills.

He said: "The issue was whether the payment for the bills was made corruptly. We went to CCR but it could not be resolved."

During the trial, two were acquitted by two different judges and prosecutors dropped the case against the third. Still, the lawyer is not discouraged with CCR.

He said: "I think its very good as it helps both parties, with the presence of the judge, to focus their minds on the matters which are really in dispute in the trial."

Even if the CCR fails, it will lead to a more focused and shorter trial as both sides are clearer about the issues, he added.

Fellow lawyers, while acknowledging that not all criminal cases are suitable for CCR, urged more to turn to mediation first.

Said Association of Criminal Lawyers spokesman Sunil Sudheesan: "We have not seen enough of this."

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