1. What do the police do when they decide to charge the arrestee?
When the police decide to charge a person, he/she will be brought before a police officer of the rank of inspector or above. That officer will read out the offence from a charge sheet. The charge sheet will normally include the location of the police station, name of the OC Case (officer in charge of the case), interpreter’s name (if applicable), language/dialect, time and date and the name of the defendant. After reading out the charge, the officer will ask the defendant whether he/she understands and whether he/she wishes to say anything.
After formally laying charge(s) against the defendant, the police will decide on the date of the first appearance in court and whether bail would be granted to him/her. If police bail is not granted, the defendant shall be brought before court as soon as possible and normally the first court appearance will be on the next working day (including Saturdays).