Goh Chin Soon v Public Prosecutor: Leave to Refer Questions of Law on Amended Charges

Goh Chin Soon, the applicant, sought leave to refer questions of law to the Court of Appeal after being convicted of possessing a false foreign travel document under section 47(6) of the Passports Act and making false statements in disembarkation forms under section 57(1)(k) of the Immigration Act. The District Judge amended the original charges under section 47(3) of the Passports Act after the close of the defense's case. The High Court judge amended the charges to a single charge. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and ordered a retrial.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

Court of Appeal of the Republic of Singapore

1.2 Outcome

Applicant's conviction on the amended Passports Act charge is set aside and the case is remitted to the State Courts for a re-trial.

1.3 Case Type

Criminal

1.4 Judgment Type

Judgment

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

The Court of Appeal considered whether an accused person should be allowed to call additional witnesses after an amended charge. The court allowed the appeal and ordered a retrial.

1.7 Decision Date

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party NameRoleTypeOutcomeOutcome TypeCounsels
Public ProsecutorRespondentGovernment AgencyRetrial orderedRemanded
Chong Kee En of Attorney-General’s Chambers
Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Abdul Kadir of Attorney-General’s Chambers
Rebecca Wong Pei Xian of Attorney-General’s Chambers
Jane Lim Ern Hui of Attorney-General’s Chambers
Goh Chin SoonApplicant, AppellantIndividualConviction on amended Passports Act charge set asidePartial

3. Judges

Judge NameTitleDelivered Judgment
Sundaresh MenonChief JusticeNo
Andrew Phang Boon LeongJustice of the Court of AppealNo
Tay Yong KwangJustice of the Court of AppealYes

4. Counsels

Counsel NameOrganization
Chong Kee EnAttorney-General’s Chambers
Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Abdul KadirAttorney-General’s Chambers
Rebecca Wong Pei XianAttorney-General’s Chambers
Jane Lim Ern HuiAttorney-General’s Chambers
Quek Mong HuaLee & Lee
Tan Zhengxian JordanAudent Chambers LLC
Leong Hoi Seng VictorAudent Chambers LLC
Nehal Harpreet SinghAudent Chambers LLC
Chan Xiaohui DariusBreakpoint LLC
Yik Shu YingLee & Lee

4. Facts

  1. The applicant was charged with 46 charges under s 47(3) of the Passports Act and 23 charges under s 57(1)(k) of the Immigration Act.
  2. The District Judge convicted the applicant on the Immigration Act charges but amended the s 47(3) Passports Act charges to charges under s 47(6) of the Passports Act.
  3. The High Court judge held that the DJ ought to have consolidated the s 47(3) Passports Act charges into a single charge under s 47(6) of the Passports Act.
  4. The applicant sought leave to refer four questions of law to the Court of Appeal.
  5. The applicant was the chairman of the Huashin Group, a Taiwanese property development conglomerate.
  6. The applicant used a Passport to travel into and out of Singapore on 46 occasions from 20 March 2011 to 7 September 2012.
  7. The applicant applied for a Singapore passport at the Xiamen consulate on 28 April 2010.

5. Formal Citations

  1. Goh Chin Soon v Public Prosecutor, Criminal Motion No 21 of 2020, [2021] SGCA 49
  2. Public Prosecutor v Goh Chin Soon, , [2018] SGDC 129
  3. Goh Chin Soon v Public Prosecutor, HC/MA 9055/2018, [2020] SGHC 162

6. Timeline

DateEvent
Applicant made bankrupt
Applicant last travelled out of Singapore using his Singapore passport
Applicant arrested in China
Applicant released by Chinese authorities
Applicant received request to travel to Taiwan
Applicant applied for a Singapore passport at the Xiamen consulate
Applicant’s Singapore passport expired
Applicant received the Passport along with the relevant supporting documents
Applicant used the Passport to travel into and out of Singapore
Applicant applied for a new Singapore passport
Applicant collected new Singapore passport
Applicant arrested at Changi Airport
DJ delivered her oral grounds of decision
Applicant commenced this Criminal Motion
Hearing on Criminal Motion
Parties exchanged written submissions
Parties exchanged written submissions
Judgment reserved

7. Legal Issues

  1. Amendment of Charges
    • Outcome: The Court of Appeal held that the applicant should have been allowed to call Mr Tsai and Mr Huang as his witnesses after the s 47(3) Passports Act charges were amended to allege a different offence after the close of the case for the Defence.
    • Category: Procedural
    • Sub-Issues:
      • Calling of Defence witnesses after amendment
      • Exercise of discretion under Section 283(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code
  2. Leave to Refer Questions of Law
    • Outcome: The Court of Appeal granted the applicant leave to refer the new Question 4.
    • Category: Procedural
    • Sub-Issues:
      • Question of law of public interest
      • Effect on outcome of the case

8. Remedies Sought

  1. Leave to refer questions of law to the Court of Appeal
  2. Setting aside conviction

9. Cause of Actions

  • Possession of a false foreign travel document
  • Making false statements in disembarkation forms

10. Practice Areas

  • Criminal Appeals

11. Industries

  • No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case NameCourtAffirmedCitationJurisdictionSignificance
Public Prosecutor v Lam Leng Hung and othersCourt of AppealYes[2018] 1 SLR 659SingaporeCited for the cumulative conditions for granting leave under s 397 of the CPC.
Mohammad Faizal bin Sabtu and another v Public Prosecutor and another matterHigh CourtYes[2013] 2 SLR 141SingaporeCited for the test for determining whether a question of law is one of public interest.
A Ragunathan v Pendakwa RayaMalaysian Federal CourtYes[1982] 1 MLJ 139MalaysiaCited for the test for determining whether a question of law is one of public interest.
Yuen Ye Ming v Public ProsecutorCourt of AppealYes[2020] 2 SLR 970SingaporeCited for the principle that a question of law is not an open question where its determination is a straightforward matter of statutory interpretation.
Basil Anthony Herman v Premier Security Co-operative Ltd and othersHigh CourtYes[2010] 3 SLR 110SingaporeCited for the principle that every litigant has a general right to bring all evidence relevant to his or her case to the attention of the court.
AOF v Public ProsecutorCourt of AppealYes[2012] 3 SLR 34SingaporeCited for the framework to determine whether a retrial or an acquittal should be ordered.
Public Prosecutor v Bong Sim Swan SuzannaCourt of AppealYes[2020] 2 SLR 1217SingaporeCited to show that the potential impact of wrongly excluded evidence was a factual question.
Public Prosecutor v Goh Chin SoonDistrict CourtYes[2018] SGDC 129SingaporeReference to the District Judge's Grounds of Decision.
Goh Chin Soon v Public ProsecutorHigh CourtYes[2020] SGHC 162SingaporeReference to the High Court's Grounds of Decision.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute NameJurisdiction
Criminal Procedure Code (Cap 68, 2012 Rev Ed)Singapore
Passports Act (Cap 220, 2008 Rev Ed)Singapore
s 47(3) of the Passports Act (Cap 220, 2008 Rev Ed)Singapore
s 47(6) of the Passports Act (Cap 220, 2008 Rev Ed)Singapore
s 57(1)(k) of the Immigration Act (Cap 133, 2008 Rev Ed)Singapore
Evidence Act (Cap 97, 1997 Rev Ed)Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

  • Amended charge
  • Leave to refer
  • Criminal Procedure Code
  • Passports Act
  • Immigration Act
  • False foreign travel document
  • Public interest
  • Retrial

15.2 Keywords

  • Criminal Law
  • Criminal Procedure
  • Passports Act
  • Immigration Act
  • Amendment of Charges
  • Retrial

17. Areas of Law

Area NameRelevance Score
Criminal Procedure80
Criminal Law75
Evidence Law60
Statutory Interpretation40
Administrative Law20

16. Subjects

  • Criminal Law
  • Criminal Procedure