What grounds for bail pending extradition committal were considered in Ge Zhi v Attorney-General [2026] SGHC 114?

In [2026] SGHC 114, Tay Yong Kwang JCA dismissed Ge Zhi's application on 26 May 2026. The applicant relied on s 95 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, citing sickness, inadequate prison medical facilities, and strong community ties, but the High Court rejected those grounds as sufficient for bail pending extradition committal.

[2026] SGHC 114 — GE ZHI v ATTORNEY-GENERAL

SUPREME COURT OF SINGAPORE

26 May 2026

Case summary

Ge Zhi v Attorney-General [2026] SGHC 114

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Decision of the General Division of the High Court (delivered by Tay Yong Kwang JCA):

Outcome: The applicant, who was held in remand pending committal proceedings under the Extradition Act 1968 (2020 Rev Ed), had applied for bail in the State Courts on the basis that he was “sick or infirm” owing to impaired eyesight in his left eye and his bipolar disorder. This application was dismissed by a district judge (“DJ”) in the State Courts. Subsequently, the applicant filed a criminal motion seeking to invoke the revisionary jurisdiction of the High Court, on the basis that the DJ had erred in her decision. The High Court found no error in the DJ’s decision and dismissed the criminal motion.

Pertinent and significant points of the grounds of decision

• The High Court would exercise its revisionary jurisdiction sparingly. Two conditions must be satisfied before a court would exercise such jurisdiction. The first was that the decision or order made by the judge below contained some error. The second condition was that material and serious injustice had to be shown to follow from the error: at [17].

• The phrase “sick or infirm”, as interpreted in Paulus Tannos v The State [2025] 5 SLR 620, referred only to the exceptional situation of a fugitive suffering from a sickness or infirmity that could not reasonably be managed by the Singapore Prison Service safely. A broad interpretation encompassing any sickness or infirmity would lead to unworkable results, enabling fugitives to rely on even the slightest illness or weakness to seek bail: at [22].

Decision

1. The applicant, Mr Ge Zhi (the “Applicant”), was arrested in Singapore pursuant to a request by the government of the United States of America (the “United States”). The Applicant had been indicted on six securities-related charges in the United States. However, the Applicant contested his extradition on the basis that he was innocent on the charges. Pursuant to s 95(1)(c) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 (2020 Rev Ed) (the “CPC”), the Applicant was held in remand pending committal proceedings under the Extradition Act 1968 (2020 Rev Ed) (the “EA”), which would determine whether the Applicant is to be extradited to the United States: at [1]–[7].

2. The Applicant applied for bail in the State Courts on the basis that he was “sick or infirm” owing to the impaired eyesight in his left eye and his bipolar disorder. This application was filed pursuant to s 95(2)(c) of the CPC, which provides that an accused person falling within the ambit of s 95(1)(c) – meaning a fugitive apprehended under the EA – may nonetheless be released on bail if the conditions prescribed in the Criminal Procedure Rules 2018 (the “CPR”) are satisfied. In this regard, r 6(1)(b) of the CPR provides that a fugitive apprehended under the EA may be released on bail where the fugitive is sick or infirm: at [8]–[12].

3. The application for bail was dismissed by a district judge (“DJ”). Subsequently, the Applicant filed a criminal motion seeking to invoke the revisionary jurisdiction of the High Court on the basis that the DJ had erred: at [16].

4. The High Court found that the DJ made no error in coming to her decision. Although the DJ did not have the benefit of considering the High Court’s decision in Paulus Tannos v The State [2025] 5 SLR 620 (“Paulus Tannos”), the DJ followed the guiding principles in Muhammad Feroz Khan bin Abdul Kader v Public Prosecutor [2023] 4 SLR 1062 (“Feroz”), which was in turn followed in Paulus Tannos. Accordingly, the DJ was right to interpret “sick or infirm” as referring to the exceptional situation of a fugitive suffering from a sickness or infirmity that could not reasonably be managed by the Singapore Prison Service safely (the “SPS”): at [13], [22] and [36].

5. The High Court found that the DJ did not err in finding that the Applicant was not sick or infirm:

a. The court acknowledged that the Applicant was legally blind in his left eye and noted that this would be an infirmity within the literal meaning of that word. However, the court accepted evidence from the SPS which demonstrated that the Applicant’s eye condition was a permanent condition that would not change regardless of whether the Applicant was released on bail. Consequently, the court held that there was no medical condition for SPS to manage insofar as the Applicant’s left eye was concerned. There was therefore no infirmity in the legal context of r 6(1)(b) of the CPR: at [23]–[25].

b. The court rejected the Applicant’s contention that the SPS could not manage his bipolar condition safely. The Applicant was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in his late teenage years. However, the Applicant has not suffered any relapse of his bipolar disorder while in remand, despite the Applicant not taking medication for this since 2015. The court accepted evidence from the SPS which demonstrated that even if the Applicant were to suffer a relapse of his bipolar disorder, the SPS would be able to manage this safely: at [28]–[34].

6 The High Court dismissed the application for bail pending the extradition proceedings.

This summary is provided to assist in the understanding of the Court’s grounds of decision. It is not intended to be a substitute for the reasons of the Court. All numbers in bold font and square brackets refer to the corresponding paragraph numbers in the Court’s grounds of decision.

GE ZHI v ATTORNEY-GENERAL

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What grounds for bail pending extradition committal were considered in Ge Zhi v Attorney-General [2026] SGHC 114?

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