Ng Kok Wai v Public Prosecutor: Extraterritorial Application of Penal Code on High Seas

Ng Kok Wai, a Singapore citizen, appealed his conviction for theft and house-breaking, arguing that the Singapore Penal Code does not apply to acts committed on a foreign-flagged ship in international waters. The High Court of Singapore, comprising Sundaresh Menon CJ, Tay Yong Kwang JCA, and Steven Chong JCA, dismissed the appeal, holding that Section 3 of the Penal Code, read with Section 50(2)(c) of the State Courts Act, allows for the extraterritorial application of the Penal Code to Singapore citizens committing offenses on the high seas. The court amended the charges to reflect these provisions.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

General Division of the High Court

1.2 Outcome

Appeal Dismissed

1.3 Case Type

Criminal

1.4 Judgment Type

Judgment

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Singaporean Ng Kok Wai was convicted of theft and house-breaking on a cruise ship in international waters. The court upheld the conviction, clarifying the extraterritorial application of the Penal Code.

1.7 Decision Date

26 October 2023

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
Public Prosecutor	Respondent	Government Agency	Conviction Upheld	Won	Sapna Jhangiani KC of Attorney-General’s Chambers Sivakumar Ramasamy of Attorney-General’s Chambers
Ng Kok Wai	Appellant	Individual	Appeal Dismissed	Lost	Ashwin Ganapathy of I.R.B Law LLP Azri Imran Tan of I.R.B Law LLP Joshua Chow Shao Wei of I.R.B Law LLP

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Sundaresh Menon	Chief Justice	Yes
Tay Yong Kwang	Justice of the Court of Appeal	No
Steven Chong	Justice of the Court of Appeal	No

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Sapna Jhangiani KC	Attorney-General’s Chambers
Sivakumar Ramasamy	Attorney-General’s Chambers
Ashwin Ganapathy	I.R.B Law LLP
Azri Imran Tan	I.R.B Law LLP
Joshua Chow Shao Wei	I.R.B Law LLP

4. Facts

Ng Kok Wai, a Singapore citizen, was a passenger on a cruise to nowhere.
The victim, Chew Yee Mean, is a Singapore Permanent Resident.
Ng Kok Wai broke into Chew Yee Mean's cabin on the cruise ship.
Ng Kok Wai stole a brassiere and luggage from the victim's cabin.
The cruise ship was registered in the Bahamas.
The incidents occurred on the high seas.
Ng Kok Wai admitted to the acts but disputed Singapore's jurisdiction.

5. Formal Citations

Ng Kok Wai v Public Prosecutor, Magistrate’s Appeal No 9234 of 2022/01, [2023] SGHC 306
Public Prosecutor v Ng Kok Wai, , [2022] SGDC 231

6. Timeline

Date	Event
2021-12-12	Cruise to nowhere began
2021-12-13	Ng Kok Wai broke into Chew Yee Mean's cabin and stole her brassiere
2021-12-15	Cruise to nowhere ended; Ng Kok Wai was arrested after the ship returned to Singapore
2022-09-30	District Judge rendered decision holding that ss 380 and 451 of the Penal Code had extraterritorial effect
2023-08-24	Judgment reserved
2023-10-27	Judgment delivered

7. Legal Issues

Extraterritorial Application of Penal Code
- Outcome: The court held that Section 3 of the Penal Code, read with Section 50(2)(c) of the State Courts Act, allows for the extraterritorial application of the Penal Code to Singapore citizens committing offenses on the high seas.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Interpretation of Section 3 of the Penal Code
  - Interaction between Penal Code and Merchant Shipping Act
  - Application of State Courts Act
Jurisdiction over Offences on the High Seas
- Outcome: The court clarified the distinction between jurisdictional provisions and extraterritorial application provisions, holding that Section 50(2)(c) of the State Courts Act confers jurisdiction on Singapore courts to try offenses committed by Singapore citizens on the high seas.
- Category: Jurisdictional
- Sub-Issues:
  - Interpretation of Section 180 of the Merchant Shipping Act
  - Jurisdiction over passengers on foreign ships
  - Relationship between jurisdiction and extraterritoriality
Statutory Interpretation
- Outcome: The court applied the purposive approach to statutory interpretation, considering the text, context, and legislative purpose of the relevant provisions.
- Category: Procedural
- Sub-Issues:
  - Purposive approach to statutory interpretation
  - Use of extrinsic materials
  - Presumption of territoriality

8. Remedies Sought

Appeal against conviction

9. Cause of Actions

Theft
House-breaking

10. Practice Areas

Criminal Law
Appeals

11. Industries

Tourism
Shipping

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
Tan Cheng Bock v Attorney-General	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2017] 2 SLR 850	Singapore	Cited for the purposive approach to statutory interpretation.
Re Nalpon Zero Geraldo Mario	Unknown	Yes	[2013] 3 SLR 258	Singapore	Cited to define jurisdiction as the court's authority to hear and determine a matter.
Public Prosecutor v Taw Cheng Kong	Court of Appeal	Yes	[1998] 2 SLR(R) 489	Singapore	Cited for the principle that a statute generally operates within the territorial limits of the Parliament that enacted it.
Yong Vui Kong v Public Prosecutor	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2012] 2 SLR 872	Singapore	Cited for the principle that a domestic statute has no extra-territorial effect unless it is expressed to have such effect.
Libman v R	Canadian Supreme Court	Yes	(1985) 21 CCC (3d) 206	Canada	Cited for the rationale behind the presumption of territoriality in criminal law.
Public Prosecutor v Pong Tek Yin	High Court	Yes	[1990] 1 SLR(R) 543	Singapore	Cited for the application of the presumption of territoriality in a bigamy case.
Public Prosecutor v Lam Leng Hung and others	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2018] 1 SLR 659	Singapore	Cited for the relevance and importance of context in determining the intended meaning of a word or phrase.
R v Kelly	House of Lords	Yes	[1982] AC 665	United Kingdom	Discusses the interpretation of Section 686(1) of the UK Merchant Shipping Act 1894 as an extraterritorial application provision.
Kong Hoo (Pte) Ltd and another v Public Prosecutor	High Court	Yes	[2019] 1 SLR 1131	Singapore	Cited for the principle against doubtful penalisation.
Nam Hong Construction & Engineering Pte Ltd v Kori Construction (S) Pte Ltd	Unknown	Yes	[2016] 4 SLR 604	Singapore	Cited for the strict construction rule as a tool of last resort.
Zyfas Medical Co (sued as a firm) v Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2020] 2 SLR 1044	Singapore	Cited for the principle that local legislation is to be interpreted as far as possible to be consonant with Singapore’s treaty obligations.
Lee Chez Kee v Public Prosecutor	Unknown	Yes	[2008] 3 SLR(R) 447	Singapore	Cited to show that the Penal Code was enacted as law in Singapore on 16 September 1872.
Sharom bin Ahmad and another v Public Prosecutor	Unknown	Yes	[2000] 2 SLR(R) 541	Singapore	Cited regarding prejudice caused to the Appellant.
Public Prosecutor v Tan Khee Wan Iris	Unknown	Yes	[1994] 3 SLR(R) 168	Singapore	Cited regarding prejudice caused to the Appellant.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Penal Code (Cap 224, 2008 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Merchant Shipping Act (Cap 179, 1996 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Interpretation Act 1965 (2020 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1969 (2020 Rev Ed)	Singapore
State Courts Act 1970 (2020 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Criminal Procedure Code (Cap 68, 2012 Rev Ed)	Singapore
Tokyo Convention Act 1971 (2020 Rev Ed)	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Extraterritoriality
Jurisdiction
Penal Code
Merchant Shipping Act
High Seas
Statutory Interpretation
Presumption of Territoriality
Singapore Citizen
Cruise Ship
House-breaking
Theft

15.2 Keywords

Extraterritoriality
Singapore Penal Code
High Seas
Criminal Jurisdiction
Merchant Shipping Act
Theft
House-breaking

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Criminal Law	90
Theft	80
House-breaking	75
Statutory Interpretation	70
International Law	60
Criminal Procedure	50
Property Law	40
Evidence	20
Contract Law	10

16. Subjects

Criminal Law
International Law
Statutory Interpretation