Type of Proceeding

The dispute was regarding equity and trusts of the deceased husband’s will. The plaintiff was
arguing that part of the house belonged to them while the defendant claimed that there was
no such agreement in the will. The dispute also included the relationship between the
plaintiff and the defendant and that during their marriage they had come to certain
agreements which were not laid out clearly in the will, such as the sale of interest shares,
property ownership and the future of the business that was set up by Ang Wee Chai. The
trial ended with no clear decision and was told to resume during the next session.

Courtroom Environment
The courtroom was small with a public viewing area at the back. These areas were separated
by a glass panel. Since the case was a civil case, there was no jury present for the hearing.
There was security present in the viewing area to ensure that the viewing audience adhered
to the rules of the court. Before the judge came, the clerks came in and sat in between the
judge and the attorneys, facing the attorneys. As compared to my initial idea of the
courtroom, everyone is very calm and there is very little movement. Everyone stays in their
seats and they do not walk around as much. There was also a lot of case notes regarding the
case and when an issue is brought up, both sides would be busy trying to find the record
that has been mentioned in their case notes. Since there were also 2 attorneys on each side,
one would be taking notes and providing additional support to the other while he presented
his case. I did not expect this but it is definitely a more efficient method so as to not
overlook important aspects of the case that one might miss out on.

Impressions
Before the judge arrived and the hearing started, both sides were friendly to each other but
became professional once the hearing started. Once the case started, the judge had given
the plaintiff a chance to start as the defendant was the last party to speak during the
previous hearing. As the proceeding continued, there was information that was passed on to
the judge the morning of the hearing and the judge was very well informed of the new
documents provided to her. The judge also seemed to have an agenda and tried to settle an
issue before moving onto another and tried to avoid any side tracks until the matters were
resolved. The proceeding was very calm and the plaintiff and defendant would pause to let
the judge take notes regarding their statements. All the lawyers and the judge also had the
same stacks of case notes present which they would refer to from time to time to clarify
records. The defence attorney for this case was very brief and concise while the prosecutor
was slightly busier as he tried to make the case for his client. Clients for both sides were also
not present during the court hearing. Each side had 2 lawyers but only one would stand to
speak while the other collected information or took notes as the hearing was happening.
Due to this case having several trials, the judge was very well prepared and cleared up
misunderstandings with regards to agreements made during previous hearings sessions.

Experience
The court visit experience was an interesting experience and everyone was very cordial with
each other despite the tension of the case. As compared to my initial impression that it
courtroom environment would be tense, it is very much the other way around as everyone is
respectful and understanding and issues do not get as heated. The judge manages both sides
well and makes clear and fair judgement for the case.

Magistrate vs District Courts

With regards to the Magistrates and District Courts, both courts oversee criminal and civil
cases. This also includes the Coroner’s Courts and the Small Claims Tribunal. The Coroner's
Court handles cases to determine if an unnatural death was due to criminal causes. The
Small Claims Tribunals handles small claim disputes that do not exceed S$10,000.

District Courts hear claims to recover monies for debt, demand or damages of up to
S$250,000. Magistrate Courts hear claims to recover monies for debt, demand or damages
of up to S$60,000. At the end of the trial, for both Magistrates and District Courts, the
Magistrate or District Judge will declare a judgment that is final and conclusive between the
parties. Another difference between the Magistrates Court and the District Court would be
the complication of the case. For criminal cases in District Courts, the maximum prison term
tried cannot exceed 10 years, offenses are only punishable by fines not exceeding S$30,000
and a maximum of 12 strokes of the cane. Whereas the Magistrates Court can try offenses
with a maximum prison term not exceeding 3 years, are only punishable by a fine not
exceeding S$10,000 and a maximum of 6 strokes of the cane.

Since the District Court oversees claims of up to S$250,000, the judges that preside cases are
generally more dedicated and personalized judges follow up on all the hearings. With more
money involved, it means that the cases tend to be handled in a proper manner with every
issue settled while Magistrate cases tend to overlook certain aspects of the case as they
would assume that certain information is not important or requires too much effort to
retrieve which they do not have sufficient methods to carry out the information search.

Magistrate and District Courts would handle different cases depending on the extent of its
legal matter and the complexity of the case.