If your sentence was handed down this week, the clock is already running
If you or a family member has just been convicted or sentenced in a Singapore court, you have very little time to decide what to do. A Notice of Appeal must be filed within 14 days. That is not 14 working days. It is 14 calendar days, including weekends and public holidays.
I’m Hasif, Associate Director at A.W. Law LLC. I’ve argued matters in the State Courts, the General Division of the High Court, and the Court of Appeal. This page is for you if a conviction or sentence has just been handed down, or if you are thinking about a criminal revision or a post-conviction motion.
The first 10 minutes are free. Nothing commits you.
What a criminal appeal in Singapore actually is
A criminal appeal is a challenge to a conviction, a sentence, or both. It is not a re-trial. A higher court reviews the record of what happened below and asks whether the first court got the law, the facts, or the sentence wrong enough to correct.
The rules live in the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 (often called the CPC). The CPC sets the 14-day deadline, the content of the Notice of Appeal, and what documents have to be filed after.
There are three main routes.
- Appeal against conviction. You say the court should not have found you guilty. Available as of right if you were convicted after a trial.
- Appeal against sentence. You accept the conviction but say the sentence is wrong in principle or manifestly excessive, meaning clearly too heavy.
- Criminal revision or criminal motion. A discretionary power of the General Division of the High Court. Used where an appeal is not available, for example after a late guilty plea or where the 14-day window has passed. The High Court only steps in if there has been a serious injustice or a clear error on the record.
Where the appeal is heard depends on where the case started.
- Matters from the State Courts (Magistrate’s Courts and District Courts) are heard by a single judge of the High Court. This is called a Magistrate’s Appeal.
- Matters from the High Court itself, including capital cases, are heard by the Court of Appeal, which sits with three or five judges.
The Prosecution can also appeal. If the court passed a sentence the Attorney-General’s Chambers thinks is too low, the Prosecution can appeal to raise it. The High Court can, on appeal, increase a sentence. That happens. You should know the risk before you file.
When a criminal appeal is the right answer
Most people who call us in the days after sentencing fall into one of three situations.
- The conviction feels wrong on the evidence. A witness was not believed who should have been. A key document was not put in. The trial lawyer did not cross-examine on a point that mattered. These are grounds an appellate court will consider, if they are real and on the record.
- The conviction is accepted, but the sentence is a shock. A first-time offender expecting a fine, who got a short jail term. A driver expecting a short disqualification, who got years. These are sentence appeals. The court looks at whether the sentence falls outside the accepted range for similar cases.
- You pleaded guilty and regret it. This is the hardest route. An appeal against conviction after a guilty plea only works in narrow cases, such as where the plea was not voluntary or where the agreed facts do not actually amount to the offence. A criminal revision may be the only door left.
Before I take an appeal on, I ask a few honest questions. What did the trial judge’s grounds actually say? Is there a real legal or factual error, or is this disappointment with a fair result? Has the 14-day window already passed, and if so, why?
If the grounds are thin, I will tell you. A lost appeal can leave you worse off than you started. Our blog post on what to do if you get arrested in Singapore also covers the basics of the criminal process, which is useful context for any appeal.
Timeline, cost, and the hard part
How long it takes. The Notice of Appeal is a one-page document, filed within 14 days. After that, the court releases the judge’s grounds of decision and the official transcript. Those can take weeks. Written submissions follow. The appeal hearing itself is usually listed 4 to 9 months after conviction, sometimes longer for Court of Appeal matters.
How much it costs. A focused Magistrate’s Appeal against sentence runs about S$8,000 to S$20,000. A full appeal against conviction after a trial, or a Court of Appeal matter, is commonly S$20,000 to S$60,000 or more. Capital appeals run higher. We give you a written cap before any paid work. The 10-min Criminal Appeals Discovery Session is free. If the Notice of Appeal deadline is within days, we will file that first, before the full fee letter, so your right to appeal is preserved.
What’s the hard part. Two things.
One, the realism. Most appeals are dismissed. A good lawyer tells you that on day one, not after you have paid for the submissions. If your grounds are weak, we will say so.
Two, bail. Unless the court grants bail pending appeal, a short sentence can be fully served before the appeal is even heard. That has to be argued properly and quickly.
How we handle criminal appeals at A.W. Law
A few things we do differently.
- One lawyer start to end. Whoever takes your first meeting runs the Notice of Appeal, the submissions, and the hearing.
- File the Notice first, talk money second. If your deadline is days away, we protect the right to appeal before anything else.
- Legal terms explained simply. The Petition of Appeal and written submissions are legal documents, but we walk you through them in words you can actually read.
- WhatsApp until 10pm on weekdays. Families with loved ones in custody need to reach someone at night.
- Honest assessments. We turn down appeals that have no realistic prospect. Your money is worth more than a speculative filing.
We’re at 133 New Bridge Road, #20-03 Chinatown Point. Two minutes from Chinatown MRT, Exit E.
What happens next
If the sentence was handed down this week, the first step is simple. Book a free 10-min Criminal Appeals Discovery Session using the form on this page, or WhatsApp us using the button on the screen. Tell us the date of conviction, the court, and what the sentence was. We’ll say honestly whether an appeal, a revision, or a motion is the right route. Nothing commits you.
