PUBLIC PROSECUTOR v SOO CHEOW WEE

[2023] SGHC 204 High Court (General Division) 31 July 2023 HC/MA 9220/2022/01 · HC/MA 9220/2022/02

27 cases cited (26 SG, 1 foreign)

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	31 July 2023
Judge	Sundaresh Menon
Charges / claim	Criminal Procedure and Sentencing
Counsel	Attorney-General's Chambers, Eugene Thuraisingam LLP, Chooi Jing Yen, Ng Yuan Siang, R. Arvindren, Tai Wei Shyong

Source: [2023] SGHC 204, High Court (General Division), decided 31 July 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Criminal Procedure and Sentencing — Sentencing — Mentally disordered offenders

Practice Areas

Criminal Procedure and Sentencing

Judges (1)

Sundaresh Menon Delivered

Counsel (6)

Attorney-General's Chambers Firm Eugene Thuraisingam LLP Firm Chooi Jing Yen Counsel for the respondent Ng Yuan Siang Counsel for the respondent R. Arvindren Counsel for the appellant Tai Wei Shyong Counsel for the appellant

Parties (2)

Public Prosecutor Appellant

Soo Cheow Wee Respondent

Case Significance

Public Prosecutor v Soo Cheow Wee and another appeal [2023] SGHC 204 is a reserved judgment of Sundaresh Menon CJ in the General Division of the High Court, delivered on 31 July 2023 in Magistrate's Appeal No 9220 of 2022/01 and /02. The cross-appeals concerned the sentencing of Soo Cheow Wee, an offender with a history of schizophrenia who suffers from polysubstance dependence and psychosis, and it was common ground that he was experiencing an episode of psychosis when he committed the offences. The key question was the impact of the offender's mental conditions on the appropriate sentence; the judgment records the court identifying gaps in the psychiatric evidence and hearing the parties on 18 April 2023, with the catchwords engaging the Criminal Law Reform Act, Misuse of Drugs Act and Penal Code.

What was Public Prosecutor v Soo Cheow Wee [2023] SGHC 204 about?

It was a set of cross-appeals before Sundaresh Menon CJ, decided on 31 July 2023, concerning the sentencing of Soo Cheow Wee, an offender with schizophrenia, polysubstance dependence and psychosis, and the impact of those mental conditions on the appropriate sentence.

What evidential issues arose in [2023] SGHC 204?

The judgment records the court identifying gaps in the psychiatric evidence, including the precise connection between Soo Cheow Wee's polysubstance dependence and his psychosis and the extent of his insight into his conditions, and hearing the parties on 18 April 2023.

Statutes Cited

Criminal Law Reform Act Cases on this Act →

s 95

Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185) Cases on this Act →

s 33B(1)(b) s 33B(3)(b)

Penal Code (Cap 224) Cases on this Act →

s 304(a) s 323 s 324 s 332 s 506

Cases Cited (27)

SG (3)

[2006] SGHC 168 [2007] SGHC 34 [2023] SGHC 41

SLR (23)

[2003] 1 SLR 167 [2003] 3 SLR(R) 178 [2006] 1 SLR(R) 530 [2006] 4 SLR 124 [2006] 4 SLR(R) 849 [2007] 2 SLR 814 [2007] 4 SLR(R) 753 [2008] 1 SLR 824 [2008] 2 SLR 684 [2009] 1 SLR(R) 115 [2009] 3 SLR(R) 327 [2014] 3 SLR 299 [2014] 4 SLR 1287 [2015] 3 SLR 222 [2016] 3 SLR 706 [2018] 2 SLR 249 [2018] 2 SLR 295 [2019] 5 SLR 526 [2019] 5 SLR 769 [2019] 5 SLR 887 [2020] 3 SLR 1097 [2021] 2 SLR 1169 [2023] 1 SLR 222

UK (1)

[2020] 4 WLR 13