Statute Details
- Title: Criminal Procedure Code (Witnesses’ Allowances) Regulations 2010
- Act Code: CPC2010-S805-2010
- Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Enacting authority: Made by the Minister for Law under powers conferred by section 428(1) and (2)(a) and (e) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, read with section 46 of the Coroners Act 2010
- Commencement: 2 January 2011
- Current version: “Current version as at 27 Mar 2026” (per the legislation portal)
- Key subject matter: Allowances and reimbursements payable to witnesses (including expert witnesses) attending court or Coroners’ inquiries
- Authorising officer: Registrar of the Supreme Court, registrar of the Family Justice Courts, a District Judge, a Magistrate, or the Registrar of the State Courts (depending on the case)
- Core regulations: Regulations 3–8 (allowances and travel/subsistence), Regulations 9–12 (public officers and claims/discretion), Regulations 10–11 (timing and evidence)
What Is This Legislation About?
The Criminal Procedure Code (Witnesses’ Allowances) Regulations 2010 (“Witnesses’ Allowances Regulations”) set out a structured scheme for compensating witnesses who attend court or participate in Coroners’ inquiries in Singapore. In plain terms, the Regulations recognise that witnesses may lose time, incur expenses, or suffer inconvenience by having to travel and attend proceedings. They therefore provide for allowances (including daily attendance allowances), subsistence support for overnight stays, and reimbursement of certain travel costs.
The Regulations apply to both ordinary witnesses and expert witnesses. Expert witnesses are treated differently because their role often involves not only attendance in court but also preparation work (for example, reviewing materials and producing written opinions or reports). The Regulations therefore provide separate provisions for expert attendance allowances and for allowances for written opinions or reports, even where the resulting report is not ultimately admitted in evidence.
Finally, the Regulations establish procedural controls: claims must be submitted within a specified time, supported by evidence (including evidence of monthly earned income and travel expenses), and are subject to review by an “authorising officer” who may disallow unreasonable or unsupported claims. There are also special rules for public officers, reflecting the principle that public officers should not be paid allowances for matters within the scope of their official duties unless they suffer loss of earnings or pay.
What Are the Key Provisions?
1. Definitions and how “attendance in court” is measured (Regulation 2)
The Regulations define “attendance in court” to include not only the presence of a witness in court during inquiries or trials under the Criminal Procedure Code, but also attendance during an inquiry under the Coroners Act. Importantly, for expert witnesses, attendance includes assisting counsel when the corresponding expert witness of another party is giving evidence. This matters for calculating allowances because the Regulations tie payment to “half day” and “full day” attendance.
Regulation 2(2) provides a practical time-splitting rule: attendance in one day of up to 3 hours (excluding lunch) counts as half a day; more than 3 hours (excluding lunch) counts as a full day. This is a key operational detail for practitioners because it directly affects the number of allowance units a witness can claim.
2. Allowances for expert witnesses (Regulation 3)
An expert witness may be allowed an attendance allowance for each half day of attendance in court and for work done in connection with such attendance. The formula is one-fiftieth of the expert’s monthly earned income per half day, subject to a maximum allowance of $350 for each half day.
Two practitioner-facing points follow. First, the allowance is anchored to “monthly earned income” (defined by reference to the Income Tax Act meaning). Second, the maximum cap ($350 per half day) limits exposure for very high earners. In practice, counsel should ensure that the witness understands that the allowance is not purely a reimbursement of actual time costs; it is a statutory formula with a ceiling.
3. Allowances for expert written opinions or reports (Regulation 4)
Where an expert witness is requested by the court, the Coroner, the deputy public prosecutor, or defence counsel to prepare a written report or opinion, the expert may also be allowed an allowance for the work done and expenses properly incurred in connection with preparing the report or opinion. The amount is “fixed by the authorising officer at his discretion.”
Crucially, Regulation 4 applies “regardless of whether or not the report or opinion is subsequently admitted in evidence.” This is significant in litigation strategy and case management: it reduces the risk that an expert’s preparatory work goes uncompensated merely because the report is later excluded or not admitted. However, because the allowance is discretionary and tied to “work done and expenses properly incurred,” practitioners should ensure that the request and the expert’s documentation are clear and contemporaneous.
4. Allowances for other (non-expert) witnesses (Regulation 5) and subsistence (Regulation 6)
For witnesses other than expert witnesses, Regulation 5 provides an attendance allowance of one-fiftieth of monthly earned income per half day, but with both a minimum and a maximum: minimum $25 and maximum $350 for each half day. This minimum is particularly important for low-income witnesses, ensuring that the scheme remains meaningful even where monthly earned income is modest.
Subsistence allowance is addressed in Regulation 6. Where a witness resides outside Singapore and attendance causes the witness to be necessarily absent from his place of residence overnight, the witness may receive subsistence allowance in addition to the attendance allowance. The baseline rate is $230 for each 24-hour period of such absence. If the absence is more than 8 hours but does not exceed 24 hours, the subsistence allowance may be $115, unless otherwise approved by the authorising officer.
Regulation 6(3) limits subsistence to specific periods unless prior approval is obtained: (a) up to 24 hours before the time attendance is required, (b) the days on which attendance is required, and (c) up to 24 hours after attendance is no longer required. This prevents open-ended subsistence claims and encourages witnesses to align travel plans with the court’s schedule.
5. Travel and transport allowances (Regulations 7 and 8)
Regulation 7 governs travel expenses for witnesses who reside outside Singapore. For air travel, reimbursement is based on economy class fare charged by the airline used, unless prior approval is obtained to reimburse a higher class fare. For travel by other modes, reimbursement is based on normal economy charges for the relevant public ferry service or land transport used, unless prior approval otherwise has been granted. Port charges or port taxes may be reimbursed upon production of receipts or invoices.
Regulation 8 provides a transport allowance within Singapore. For each day’s attendance, a witness may be allowed a fixed sum not exceeding $20 as the authorising officer thinks fit, for travel between the place where attendance is required and the witness’s place of stay in Singapore. Notably, the allowance is “regardless of the mode of transport actually used,” distance, parking charges, or road user charges. This simplifies claims: witnesses do not need to justify actual taxi receipts or parking costs to obtain the allowance, though the authorising officer retains discretion within the $20 cap.
6. Special treatment for public officers (Regulation 9)
Regulation 9 draws a distinction between public officers required to attend as witnesses about matters they learned in the course of duty versus other matters. Unless otherwise approved by the authorising officer, no allowance or sum is payable under Regulations 3–8 for a public officer required to attend as a witness to a matter of which he acquired knowledge in the course of duty. Instead, the relevant Instruction Manual or government circulars on transport and travel apply.
Where a public officer is required to attend as a witness to any other matter, Regulation 8 applies (transport allowance), but allowances under Regulations 3–7 are payable only if the public officer suffers loss of earnings or pay that he would otherwise have received. This is a key safeguard against double compensation and aligns witness compensation with public service employment principles.
7. Claims process, evidence, and discretion (Regulations 10–12)
Regulation 10 requires that a witness submit his claim to the authorising officer in the form required, no later than 2 months after accrual of the claim. This is a strict timing rule; practitioners should treat it as a compliance deadline and advise witnesses accordingly.
Regulation 11 (as reflected in the extract) requires evidence for claims relating to monthly earned income and travel expenses under Regulation 7. While the extract truncates the remainder, the structure indicates that claims will not be considered unless the witness produces the relevant evidence together with the claim. This evidentiary requirement is central to the scheme: it ensures that allowances based on earned income and reimbursed travel costs are grounded in verifiable information.
Regulation 12 provides the authorising officer’s discretion to disallow any claim or part thereof that, in his view, is unreasonable or otherwise not properly supported. This discretion is a practical risk point: even where a witness has incurred expenses, the authorising officer may reduce or refuse claims that appear excessive, insufficiently evidenced, or inconsistent with the Regulations’ limits.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Regulations are structured as a short, self-contained set of provisions focused on (i) defining key terms and attendance measurement, (ii) specifying allowance categories and calculation methods, (iii) addressing travel and subsistence, and (iv) setting procedural requirements for claims and authorising officer discretion. The enacting formula and the list of regulations indicate a linear progression from definitions (Regulation 2) to expert allowances (Regulations 3–4), then to other witness allowances and subsistence (Regulations 5–6), followed by travel/transport (Regulations 7–8), public officer rules (Regulation 9), and finally claims administration and control (Regulations 10–12). The remaining regulations in the enacting formula (including certification and revocation) complete the administrative lifecycle of allowances.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Regulations apply to “witnesses” properly attending in court or at an inquiry under the Coroners Act 2010. This includes persons attending to give evidence (whether or not they ultimately give evidence) and persons attending to assist counsel in the case of an expert witness. The scheme therefore covers both participants who testify and those whose attendance is required for procedural reasons.
It also applies to expert witnesses and to public officers, but with important limitations for public officers whose knowledge is acquired in the course of duty. For public officers, the default position is that allowances under the Regulations are not payable for duty-related matters, and only transport allowances (and potentially loss-of-earnings-based allowances) may apply depending on the nature of the matter.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
For practitioners, the Regulations provide the legal basis for compensating witnesses and experts, which can directly affect case logistics, witness availability, and the willingness of professionals to accept court appointments. The allowance formulas and caps create predictability: counsel can estimate the likely range of attendance allowances based on monthly earned income, while also accounting for minimum and maximum limits.
The Regulations also reduce uncertainty around expert work. Regulation 4’s allowance for written opinions or reports—regardless of whether the report is admitted—supports the integrity of expert preparation and discourages “all-or-nothing” approaches to expert engagement. In practice, this can be particularly relevant where reports are prepared to assist cross-examination, clarify technical issues, or respond to another party’s expert evidence.
Finally, the procedural controls (timing, evidence, and authorising officer discretion) are critical for enforcement and risk management. Claims must be submitted within two months, and witnesses must provide evidence for income and travel expenses. Counsel and court administrators should therefore ensure that witnesses are informed early about documentation requirements and that claims are prepared promptly to avoid disallowance on procedural grounds.
Related Legislation
- Criminal Procedure Code 2010
- Coroners Act 2010
- Evidence Act (definition of “expert”)
- Income Tax Act (definition of “earned income”)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Criminal Procedure Code (Witnesses’ Allowances) Regulations 2010 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.