More will soon be able to access legal aid with the raising of Per Capita Household Income (PCHI).
The average PCHI is the average gross household income for the last 12 months divided by the total number of household members, including the applicant.
The Per Capita Household Income (PCHI) threshold for criminal defence aid will be increased from SS$1,500 to S$1,650.
For civil legal aid, the threshold will be raised from S$950 to S$1,050.
The Annual Value threshold for both types of aid will also be increased from S$13,000 to S$21,000, in line with Ministry of Finance’s revision of the Annual Value threshold for social assistance schemes. This will cover all housing board flats, said Mdm Rahayu.
Changes are expected to be implemented by the second quarter of this year.
Mdm Rahayu said the authorities will continue to exercise flexibility for deserving cases, in response to a Member of Parliament’s question on whether exceptions will be made for those who did not meet the means test
She said that a Means Test Panel appointed by the minister could consider and recommend for aid to be granted to applicants who could not afford basic legal services due to “extenuating circumstances”.
LEGAL AID OFFICES
The revisions are to ensure access to justice, especially for those who may not be able to afford it. Legal aid is rendered through offices such as the Public Defender’s Office (PDO) for criminal matters or the Legal Aid Bureau for civil matters.
The PDO was established in 2022 to provide criminal defence aid to more people, covering up to the 35th percentile of resident households based on per capita household income.
Before that, the government funded criminal defence aid via the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (CLAS), run by the Law Society.
Eligible applicants who apply to the PDO will be granted criminal defence aid and assigned to a public defender or a criminal lawyer under CLAS, who will represent the accused person.
Giving an update on the PDO, Law Minister K Shanmugam said that the PDO received about 1,700 applications as of December last year. Of these, almost half were assessed to be eligible for criminal defence aid.
As of December 2023, PDO has a team of 16 public defenders, and represented more than 440 accused persons in court.
“With our ongoing partnership with Pro Bono SG, eligible applicants receive representation either from PDO or criminal lawyers working with CLAS,” said Mr Shanmugam.
For civil legal aid, the Legal Aid Bureau provides assistance and advice to the less privileged in matters such as matrimonial, monetary claims and probate.
While the Legal Aid Bureau started out with a team of 15 staff in 1958, it now has around 50 in-house lawyers and support staff, as well as 140 assigned solicitors, said Mr Shanmugam.