Criminal Lawyer in Singapore

If the police have been in touch, the next 48 hours matter

A.W. Law LLC is a Singapore criminal defence firm at 133 New Bridge Road, Chinatown Point. We act for the accused at every stage: police investigation, charge and bail, plea or trial, sentencing, and appeal. The firm was founded in 2015 and is regulated by the Law Society of Singapore.

I’m Wahab, the managing director. I take every first meeting on a criminal matter myself. I’ve sat with people called in for a statement at 9pm on a Sunday, parents whose teenager was charged with a drug offence, and business owners facing CAD investigations. The common thread is that the first decisions in the first week shape the case more than anything that happens later.

If you’ve been called for a statement, charged, or bailed, the 10-min Criminal Matter Discovery Session is free. You’ll leave knowing whether you need a lawyer, what stage you’re at, and what’s worth doing right now.

What a criminal lawyer in Singapore actually does

A criminal matter in Singapore moves through three phases, and a defence lawyer’s job changes at each one.

Investigation. Before any charge is laid, the police, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), or the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) will ask you to give a statement under section 22 of the Criminal Procedure Code. What you say there shapes the case from then on. We brief you before you go in: the offence under investigation, what you must answer, what you can decline, and how to read your statement before you sign it.

Charge and trial. If the Attorney-General’s Chambers proceeds, you’ll be charged at the State Courts. Most offences are heard there. Serious offences (homicide, large drug quantities, kidnapping, certain sexual offences) are committed to the High Court. We file bail applications, run pre-trial discovery, negotiate with the prosecution where it makes sense, and run the trial when it doesn’t.

Sentencing and appeal. A guilty plea or a conviction is followed by sentencing. We prepare a written mitigation plea: family circumstances, remorse, character references, restitution. Where the sentence is wrong in law or manifestly excessive, we file a Magistrate’s Appeal at the High Court within 14 days. For convictions out of the High Court, the appeal goes to the Court of Appeal.

The same lawyer should run all three phases. Switching lawyers between investigation and trial is common in Singapore and rarely helpful, because the early statements made under the wrong advice are hard to fix later.

When to call a criminal lawyer, and when you can wait

Call us today if:

• The police have asked you to come in for a statement and you haven’t given one yet.
• You’ve been arrested or your phone or laptop has been seized.
• You’ve been charged in court, even if only at first mention.
• Bail has been refused, or the surety arrangement has fallen through.
• A family member has been called in and isn’t answering their phone.
• You’ve received a notice of appeal from the prosecution after an acquittal.

You can usually wait a few days if:

• You’ve already given your statement and the police have not been back in touch.
• You’ve received a Police Advisory Letter (PAL) or a stern warning, and no charge has followed.
• You’ve completed your sentence and want to discuss spent records or rehabilitation.

Either way, the Discovery Session is free, so when you’re not sure, call. We’d rather tell you nothing needs doing than have you act late.

What to expect from a criminal case in Singapore, honestly

I’d rather be straight now than have you surprised six months in.

How long it takes.

A simple plea of guilty and mitigation at the State Courts often resolves at the first or second mention, so 4 to 8 weeks from charge. A contested trial of 2 to 4 days is set down 6 to 12 months after charge, depending on State Courts’ diary. High Court matters run 9 to 18 months. Capital cases through to the Court of Appeal can take 2 to 3 years.

How much it costs.

For a plea-and-mitigation, we work to a flat fee of S$3,500 to S$7,000 depending on offence. Contested trials are quoted at a capped hourly with a written ceiling, usually S$15,000 to S$35,000 for State Courts trials of 2 to 4 days. High Court matters start at S$25,000. Magistrate’s Appeals add S$6,000 to S$12,000. We send the price cap in writing before any paid work begins, accept staged payments, and stop work and refund the unused portion if you change your mind. The Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (CLAS) covers many offences for clients on lower incomes; we’ll point you to it during the Discovery Session if you qualify.

What’s the hard part.

Two things, almost every time.

The first is the wait. Most of a criminal case is sitting between hearings while the prosecution finalises its papers. The court diary is the court’s, and it does not move for any of us. We keep you informed on WhatsApp between hearings so you’re not left guessing.

The second is showing up to court. Walking into the State Courts at Havelock Square the first time is unsettling for everyone. We meet you 30 minutes before each hearing, walk you through the layout, and tell you exactly when to stand and what to expect. By the third hearing it stops feeling foreign.

How we handle criminal matters at A.W. Law

A few things we do differently from the bigger firms:

• One lawyer, from statement to sentence to appeal. Whoever takes your first meeting handles your case end to end.
• Fees in writing before the work starts. Every quote is itemised. No bills land out of nowhere.
• WhatsApp until 10pm on weekdays. Statements and arrests rarely happen during office hours, and we don’t pretend otherwise.
• Plain-English letters. Every charge, every prosecution document, explained before you sign anything. Translations into Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, or Vietnamese on request.
• No retainer until you’ve seen the price. The 10-min Discovery Session is free, and nothing commits you.

We’re at 133 New Bridge Road, #20-03 Chinatown Point, two minutes from Chinatown MRT (NE4 / DT19), Exit E. The State Courts at Havelock Square are a 10-minute walk along Eu Tong Sen Street, and the Supreme Court at the Padang is a 12-minute taxi from our office. Walk in most weekday afternoons between 2pm and 5pm.

What happens next

Click the Book free 10 mins button on this page (or message us on WhatsApp using the green button anywhere on the screen). Tell us, in one or two sentences, what’s happened — “police called, statement on Tuesday”, or “charged with theft, mention next week”. We’ll come back within the hour during weekdays and arrange the Discovery Session, in person at Chinatown Point or by phone.

You’ll leave the call knowing what stage you’re at, what’s worth doing this week, what an honest timeline and cost range look like, and a short list of things to bring if you decide to engage us.