A 59-year-old Singaporean man was wrongly jailed for two extra days due to an unheard of error in updating the details of his case by the State Courts that showed he did not pay his S$500 fine when he already did.

In return for his unnecessary incarceration, Teo Seng Tiong received a letter of apology from the State Courts through the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

Case not over yet

But it appears this unfortunate and highly unusual error in proper and efficient Singapore is not over yet.

The latest development, CNA reported, is that the AGC is in talks with the man's lawyer, but the purpose of the exchange could not be disclosed owing to the matter's confidentiality, AGC said.

Although not reported anywhere, the public's best guess is that there are talks of possible compensation for Teo for having to do extra time.

How did error occur?

The case management system failed to reflect that Teo had paid his S$500 fine.

He was slapped with the fine, a two-year driving ban and seven weeks' in prison having been found guilty of deliberately swerving his lorry into a cyclist in a high-profile December 2018 case.

His appeal was thrown out on July 20, 2020, the day he paid his fine and started his jail term.

Receipt showed he had paid fine

But he was jailed longer than warranted because the case management system said he did not pay his S$500 fine.

In lieu of the unpaid fine, Teo needed to serve three extra days in prison.

The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) had informed Teo's lawyer that the records showed an unpaid fine when Teo was already serving time.

The imprisoned man's wife then confirmed the fine was paid.

When the SPS sent queries on the case on Aug. 21 and 22, the State Courts wrongly said that Teo did not pay the fine as the case management system was not updated.

Teo's payment was only discovered after the SPS forwarded a letter from his lawyer on Aug. 24 with a receipt as proof.

Teo was already out of prison by then.

Served 37 days in jail in total

In total, Teo ended up serving two extra days than necessary, owing to the one-third remission of his term that also applied to this three extra days.

The one-third remission effectively reduced his original incarceration period from 49 days to 35 days.

Teo was released on Aug. 24 after serving 37 days -- inclusive of his two extra days.

The one-third off total jail time is a practice in Singapore to let inmates who behave well get out earlier, which effectively also saves taxpayers' money.

State Courts deeply regret what happened

In its written apology, the State Courts said they deeply regret what had happened.

Teo's lawyer released a statement on Sept. 2 saying that Teo's two extra days locked up were "especially agonising" as he lived in uncertainty and in a small cell for four prisoners.

The State Courts also told CNA that immediate steps have been taken to review the work processes for cases with fines that have gone on appeal to the High Court.

Additional safeguards such as extra checks, as well as an internal review of the matter has been started.

Disciplinary action would be taken depending on the outcome of the review.

Each day in prison worth S$200 in fines

Convicted persons in Singapore can end up serving time if they cannot or refuse to pay a fine.

In February 2019, social worker and activist Jolovan Wham was fined S$3,200 over a 2017 public assembly he organised without a permit and refusing to sign a police statement.

He indicated he would not pay the fine and will instead serve jail time of 16 days in default.

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Top photo via Teo Seng Tiong Facebook & video of incident