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57-729: The department was first established in 1984 as the Commercial Crime Department ( CCD ) with Glenn Knight as its first director. As the white-collar crimes unit of the police force, CAD conducts a variety of inquiries ranging from corporate irregularities such as LionGold and Data Register in 2014, as well as casino -related offences. It also has the right making arrests. High-profile probes conducted by CAD include City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee , former bank relationship manager Vyia Lee Yock Sim who had misappropriated more than US$ 400,000 from seven high net-worth clients by 2006, China tourist guide Yang Yin with

114-415: A fair trial . A judge may impose sanctions such as a fine , jail or social service for someone found guilty of contempt of court, which makes contempt of court a process crime . Judges in common law systems usually have more extensive power to declare someone in contempt than judges in civil law systems. Contempt of court is essentially seen as a form of disturbance that may impede the functioning of

171-459: A $ 17,000 fine and a day in prison. He served the jail sentence and paid the fine on the day it was announced. In deciding to reduce the sentence, High Court Judge L.P. Thean said that a "nominal custodial sentence" was sufficient given the mitigating circumstances in Knight's case. In April, all charges against his wife in relation to his case were also dropped. Although the sentence meted to him

228-517: A Divisional Court of the King's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales . In January 2012, for example, a juror who had researched information on the internet was jailed for contempt of court. Theodora Dallas, initially searching for the meaning of the term " grievous bodily harm ", added search criteria which localised her search and brought to light another charge against

285-548: A criticism of the judge or a prosecutor, amounts to an interference with his or her rights under article 10 of the ECHR" and that such limits must be "prescribed by law" and be " necessary in a democratic society ", citing Nikula v Finland. The Crown Court is a superior court according to the Senior Courts Act 1981 , and Crown Courts have the power to punish contempt. The Divisional Court as part of

342-497: A legislative body is termed contempt of Parliament or contempt of Congress . The verb for "to commit contempt" is contemn (as in "to contemn a court order") and a person guilty of this is a contemnor or contemner . There are broadly two categories of contempt: being disrespectful to legal authorities in the courtroom, or willfully failing to obey a court order. Contempt proceedings are especially used to enforce equitable remedies , such as injunctions . In some jurisdictions,

399-530: A much-publicised trial. In 1998, he was again tried and convicted for misappropriating money while in office. Knight was a student of Anglo-Chinese School . In the 1990s, he was the vice-chairman of its Old Boys' Association and a member of its board of governors. He obtained his bachelor of laws degree from the National University of Singapore in the 1960s, and played the guitar in a jazz band to raise money for his tuition fees. He joined

456-428: A person who is accused of Contempt needs to be first served with a contempt order and then appear in court to answer the charges. Convictions can only be made when proof beyond a reasonable doubt is achieved. If it is a matter of urgency or the contempt was done in front of a judge, that person can be punished immediately. Punishment can range from the person being imprisoned for a period of less than five years or until

513-536: A potential conflict of interest rising from a judge both accusing and sentencing the defendant. At least one Supreme Court justice has made calls for jury trials to replace judge trials on contempt cases. The United States Marshals Service is the agency component that first holds all federal prisoners. It uses the Prisoner Population Management System /Prisoner Tracking System. The only types of records that are disclosed as being in

570-410: A star prosecutor and his fall from grace, as well as the humility and acceptance of his actions. Contempt of court Contempt of court , often referred to simply as " contempt ", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the court. A similar attitude toward

627-479: A state court ordered in a civil trial. Chadwick had been imprisoned for nine years at that time and continued to be held in prison until 2009, when a state court set him free after 14 years, making his imprisonment the longest on a contempt charge to date. Civil contempt is only appropriate when the imposed party has the power to comply with the underlying order. Controversial contempt rulings have periodically arisen from cases involving asset protection trusts, where

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684-473: A widow's niece over a legal tussle assets believed to be worth $ 40 million. In September 2003, the CAD is also responsible for the capture of Chia Teck Leng , who was found to have misused his position as the finance manager of Asia Pacific Breweries to swindle over $ 117 million from four foreign banks to pay off his debts and feed his gambling addiction. Chia is currently serving a 42-year jail term since 2004 for

741-485: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This government -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Glenn Knight Glenn Jeyasingam Knight (born 1945) is a Singaporean lawyer. He was the first Director of the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) when it was founded in 1984. He lost his post in 1991 after being convicted of corruption in

798-489: Is associated with civil and constructive contempt and involves a failure to follow court orders. Criminal contempt includes anything that could be considered a disturbance, such as repeatedly talking out of turn, bringing forth previously banned evidence, or harassment of any other party in the courtroom, including committing an assault against the defendant in a criminal case. There have been instances during murder trials that grieving family members of murder victims have attacked

855-407: Is charged for contempt without first receiving at least one warning from the judge. Constructive contempt, also called consequential contempt , is when a person fails to fulfill the will of the court as it applies to outside obligations of the person. In most cases, constructive contempt is considered to be in the realm of civil contempt due to its passive nature. Indirect contempt is something that

912-475: Is distinctly different from indirect contempt, wherein another individual may file papers alleging contempt against a person who has willfully violated a lawful court order. There are limits to the powers of contempt created by rulings of European Court of Human Rights . Reporting on contempt of court, the Law Commission commented that "punishment of an advocate for what he or she says in court, whether

969-411: Is imposed unconditionally. The civil sanction for contempt (which is typically incarceration in the custody of the sheriff or similar court officer) is limited in its imposition for so long as the disobedience to the court's order continues: once the party complies with the court's order, the sanction is lifted. The imposed party is said to "hold the keys" to their own cell, thus conventional due process

1026-405: Is not required. In federal and most state courts, the burden of proof for civil contempt is clear and convincing evidence , a lower standard than in criminal cases. In civil contempt cases there is no principle of proportionality . In Chadwick v. Janecka (3d Cir. 2002), a U.S. court of appeals held that H. Beatty Chadwick could be held indefinitely for his failure to produce $ 2.5 million as

1083-399: Is the judge's strongest power to impose sanctions for acts that disrupt the court's normal process. A finding of being in contempt of court may result from a failure to obey a lawful order of a court, showing disrespect for the judge, disruption of the proceedings through poor behavior, or publication of material or non-disclosure of material, which in doing so is deemed likely to jeopardize

1140-551: The Attorney General has issued guidance as to when he believes this to be the case, and there is also statutory guidance. The clause prevents the newspapers and media from publishing material that is too extreme or sensationalist about a criminal case until the trial or linked trials are over and the juries have given their verdicts. Section 2 of the Act defines and limits the previous common law definition of contempt (which

1197-595: The Attorney-General requesting that the High Court cite five defendants for contempt of court over an editorial published in the Asian Wall Street Journal (AWSJ) on 17 October 1985. Titled " Jeyaretnam's Challenge", the editorial had questioned the "integrity and impartiality" of Singapore's judicial system . The affidavit led to an apology from the editor of the AWSJ. In 1986, he was

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1254-480: The High Court has ruled that this power can apply in these three circumstances: Where it is necessary to act quickly, a judge may act to impose committal (to prison) for contempt. Where it is not necessary to be so urgent, or where indirect contempt has taken place the Attorney General can intervene and the Crown Prosecution Service will institute criminal proceedings on his behalf before

1311-527: The Singapore Legal Service in 1970 and rose through the ranks "with the speed and power of an Exocet missile," as Queen's Counsel Roy Allaway later described it. Soon he acquired a reputation for being a law enforcer who prosecuted criminals without fear or favour. News of his ability and integrity impressed the late David Marshall , so much that when he retired he offered to give Knight a full partnership in his law firm; however, Knight

1368-432: The (invariably) District Judge (sitting as a magistrate ) may order committal to prison for a maximum of one month, impose a fine of up to £2,500, or both. It will be contempt to bring an audio recording device or picture-taking device of any sort into an English court without the consent of the court. It will not be contempt according to section 10 of the Act for a journalist to refuse to disclose his sources, unless

1425-465: The 13th floor of a HDB block in Stirling Road, Queenstown . Knight and the rest of the counsel argued that Tharema should not face the gallows for murder on the account of a delusional disorder that made Tharema believe he was under the influence of black magic that caused his marriage to end with a divorce and his relationship with Smaelmeeral to break down. Subsequently, the trial court rejected

1482-416: The 1981 Act is committal to prison for two years. Disorderly, contemptuous or insolent behaviour toward the judge or magistrates while holding the court, tending to interrupt the due course of a trial or other judicial proceeding, may be prosecuted as "direct" contempt. The term "direct" means that the court itself cites the person in contempt by describing the behaviour observed on the record. Direct contempt

1539-546: The Batam resort investments. In a district court on 29 September 1991, Knight pleaded guilty to cheating then managing director of Trans-Island Bus Services Ng Ser Miang to try to make him invest in the Batam resort project, which had been planned by Knight and his wife. In October, he was sentenced to three months in prison. Knight appealed against the sentence, and in March 1992 he managed to get his sentence reduced to

1596-600: The CPIB regarding vehicle purchases, an application for a car loan, and his corporate investments. The judge originally set Knight's trial to commence in October 1992, but changed his mind and brought it forward to September 1991 after the prosecution complained that its witnesses had been subject to intimidation , and investigating officers had received mysterious phone calls warning them to "watch out". In July that year, his wife and two others were also arrested and charged over

1653-532: The chairperson will certify the act of contempt to the Court of First Instance who will then proceed with a hearing and determine the punishment. In England and Wales (a common law jurisdiction), the law on contempt is partly set out in case law (common law), and partly codified by the Contempt of Court Act 1981 . Contempt may be classified as criminal or civil . The maximum penalty for criminal contempt under

1710-470: The court has considered the evidence available and determined that the information is "necessary in the interests of justice or national security or for the prevention of disorder or crime". Under the Contempt of Court Act it is criminal contempt to publish anything which creates a real risk that the course of justice in proceedings may be seriously impaired. It only applies where proceedings are active, and

1767-407: The court has ordered a settlor of an asset protection trust to repatriate assets so that the assets may be made available to a creditor. A court cannot maintain an order of contempt where the imposed party does not have the ability to comply with the underlying order. This claim when made by the imposed party is known as the "impossibility defense". Contempt of court is considered a prerogative of

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1824-506: The court, and "the requirement of a jury does not apply to 'contempts committed in disobedience of any lawful writ, process, order, rule, decree, or command entered in any suit or action brought or prosecuted in the name of, or on behalf of, the United States. ' " This stance is not universally agreed with by other areas of the legal world, and there have been many calls to have contempt cases to be tried by jury, rather than by judge, as

1881-647: The court, derived from legislation or through common law : The use of insulting or threatening language in the magistrates' courts or against a magistrate is in breach of section 99 of the Magistrates Ordinance (Cap 227) which states the magistrate can 'summarily sentence the offender to a fine at level 3 and to imprisonment for 6 months.' In addition, certain appeal boards are given the statutory authority for contempt by them (e.g., Residential Care Home, Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation, Air Pollution Control, etc.). For contempt in front of these boards,

1938-404: The court. The judge may impose fines and/or jail time upon any person committing contempt of court. The person is usually let out upon an agreement to fulfill the wishes of the court. Civil contempt can involve acts of omission. The judge will make use of warnings in most situations that may lead to a person being charged with contempt if the warnings are ignored. It is relatively rare that a person

1995-474: The crime, which was then the worst commercial crime Singapore has ever witnessed. In January 2000, the CAD acted upon a report to arrest SIA cabin crew supervisor Teo Cheng Kiat for embezzling an approximate sum of $ 35 million from his company. Teo was charged with 26 counts of criminal breach of trust and corruption, and he was sentenced to 24 years in jail after the courts convicted him of ten out of these charges. This Singaporean organisation article

2052-781: The defence's contention and therefore found Tharema guilty of murder, and sentenced him to death in May 2009. In 2012, Knight penned his memoir, titled The Prosecutor: Glenn Knight , which recorded his life, legal career, as well as his downfall and later return to legal practice. Several of his well-known cases, including the Adrian Lim murders , the Chew Liew Tea shooting case and the Tan Koon Swan trial, were recorded on his book. Knight also accepted an interview in 2017, agreeing to speak about his past illustrious career as

2109-415: The defendant. Because she then shared this information with the other jurors, the judge stated that she had compromised the defendant's right to a fair trial and the prosecution was abandoned. Magistrates' courts also have powers under the 1981 Act to order to detain any person who "insults the court" or otherwise disrupts its proceedings until the end of the sitting. Upon contempt being admitted or proved

2166-467: The defendants in courtrooms in plain view of judges, bailiffs, and jurors, leading to said family members to be charged with contempt. Direct contempt is an unacceptable act in the presence of the judge ( in facie curiae ), and generally begins with a warning; it may be accompanied by the immediate imposition of a punishment. In Australia , a judge may impose a fine or jail for contempt of court. A Belgian correctional or civil judge may immediately try

2223-542: The longest probes into the conduct of a public servant in Singapore—Knight was arrested on 27 May 1991 and charged with corruption the next day. He was the first Singapore legal officer to face such charges. Specifically, he was accused of cheating three businessmen into investing S$ 3,000,000 each into the former Batam Island Country Club on the Indonesian island of Batam , as well as giving false information to

2280-447: The media outlet is a party to the case, a media outlet cannot be found in contempt of court for reporting about a case because a court cannot order the media in general not to report on a case or forbid it from reporting facts discovered publicly. Newspapers cannot be closed because of their content. There have been criticisms over the practice of trying contempt from the bench. In particular, Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black wrote in

2337-434: The misappropriation of money only in 1997 by an unnamed informant. The court ruled that the proceedings could continue because the 1991 probe into Knight's dealings did not investigate his misappropriation of money. Eventually the court found him guilty of two charges of misappropriation and sentenced him to a $ 10,000 fine and another day in jail. The second conviction left Knight even worse off than before. The company he

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2394-430: The order. However, some cases of civil contempt have been perceived as intending to harm the reputation of the plaintiff, or to a lesser degree, the judge or the court. Sanctions for contempt may be criminal or civil. If a person is to be punished criminally, then the contempt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt , but once the charge is proven, then punishment (such as a fine or, in more serious cases, imprisonment)

2451-465: The peace can only issue a summons to an offender for contempt, which will be dealt with by a judge, even if the offence was done in the face of the justice. Judges from the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal , High Court of Hong Kong , District Court along with members from the various tribunals and Coroner's Court all have the power to impose immediate punishments for contempt in the face of

2508-525: The person complies with the order or fine. Under Tax Court of Canada Rules of Tax Court of Canada Act , a person who is found to be in contempt may be imprisoned for a period of less than two years or fined. Similar procedures for serving an order first is also used at the Tax Court. Different procedures exist for different provincial courts. For example, in British Columbia , a justice of

2565-557: The person for insulting the court. In Canada, contempt of court is an exception to the general principle that all criminal offences are set out in the federal Criminal Code . Contempt of court is the only remaining common law offence in Canada. Contempt of court includes the following behaviors: This section applies only to the Federal Court of Appeal and Federal Court . Under Federal Court Rules, Rules 466, and Rule 467

2622-412: The presence of a judge; civil contempt is "coercive and remedial" as opposed to punitive . In the United States, relevant statutes include 18 U.S.C.   §§ 401 – 403 and Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 42. Contempt of court in a civil suit is generally not considered to be a criminal offense, with the party benefiting from the order also holding responsibility for the enforcement of

2679-848: The public prosecutor for the Commercial Affairs Investigation Department who filed charges against key people in Pan Electric Industries ("Pan-El"), such as Tan Kok Liang , Tan Koon Swan , and Peter Tham , in the aftermath of the company's collapse. For his role in the Pan-El investigations, Knight was commended by then- Finance Minister Richard Hu in 1989. Knight also led the prosecution team in Singapore's first case of insider trading , that of former United Overseas Bank banker Allan Ng . On National Day 1990 (9 August 1990), he

2736-446: The refusal to respond to subpoena , to testify, to fulfill the obligations of a juror, or to provide certain information can constitute contempt of the court. When a court decides that an action constitutes contempt of court, it can issue an order in the context of a court trial or hearing that declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority, called "found" or "held" in contempt. That

2793-431: The roll of advocates and solicitors, meaning that he could no longer practise law. After being disbarred, Knight worked as a consultant in a public-listed company. In 1998, Knight was again charged in court—this time with criminal breach of trust by misappropriating money totalling $ 4,200 when still the CAD's Director on two occasions, in 1989 and 1990. This second charge caused Knight to resign from his job. During

2850-570: The system are those of "federal prisoners who are in custody pending criminal proceedings." The records of "alleged civil contempors" are not listed in the Federal Register as being in the system leading to a potential claim for damages under The Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C.   § 552a(e)(4)(I) . In the United States, because of the broad protections granted by the First Amendment , with extremely limited exceptions, unless

2907-442: The trial, the defence argued that the proceedings were invalid as Knight had been granted immunity by the Attorney-General's Chambers in 1991 from further charges arising from his corruption investigations, in exchange for him to plead guilty in the earlier trial. They argued that the latest set of charges stemmed from that investigation and thus were subject to the immunity clause. The CPIB revealed that it had been tipped off about

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2964-701: Was awarded the Public Administration Medal, Gold , for his work as Director of the Commercial Affairs Department. On 23 March 1991, Knight was suddenly replaced as CAD director by Senior State Counsel Lawrence Ang in a decision that shocked the local legal community. It turned out that Knight was under investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). After an investigation lasting more than two months—one of

3021-635: Was content to remain in the Legal Service and declined the offer. Knight is married to Pathmavali Rengayah. The couple have no children. In 1978, Knight was the deputy public prosecutor in the trial of former magistrate Khoo Hin Hiong. In 1983, he acted for the Prosecution again in the trial of Adrian Lim , who had murdered two children. In 1985, he was the senior state counsel and deputy public prosecutor who filed an affidavit on behalf of

3078-460: Was eventually reduced, the corruption case had left permanent damage on Knight's career as a civil servant. After investigations on him began in March 1991, he faced disciplinary hearings and his services were terminated on 26 March 1992. The President also revoked the prestigious Public Administration Medal, Gold, that had been awarded to Knight. In August 1994, the High Court struck Knight off

3135-601: Was granted on 22 May 2007, making him only the sixth lawyer to be reinstated in the Law Society of Singapore 's 35-year history. He later joined the law firm Bernard & Rada Law Corporation. One of Knight's cases in court after his reinstatement was the Stirling Road murder of 2007. Knight, together with three other lawyers, represented odd-job worker Tharema Vejayan Govindasamy, who was charged with murdering his ex-wife Smaelmeeral Abdul Aziz by flinging her off

3192-557: Was previously based upon a presumption that any conduct could be treated as contempt, regardless of intent), to only instances where there can be proved an intent to cause a substantial risk of serious prejudice to the administration of justice (i.e./e.g., the conduct of a trial). In civil proceedings there are two main ways in which contempt is committed: In India, contempt of court is of two types: In United States jurisprudence , acts of contempt are generally divided into direct or indirect, and civil or criminal. Direct contempt occurs in

3249-475: Was working for before his second trial refused to re-employ him. Jobless, he engaged himself in community work in his church, Covenant Community Methodist Church, and often visited a pub in Boat Quay of which his wife was a partner. He faded quietly from public life. On 25 April 2007, he re-appeared in the news when he filed an application seeking court approval to be reinstated as a lawyer. His application

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