Information on revocation proceedings

The Selection Committee may revoke the appointment of a member of the Panel of Psychiatrists if the Selection Committee is satisfied that any of the following circumstances apply:  

• The member no longer meets the requirements for appointment;

• The member has displayed, or is likely to display, a clear lack of objectivity or competence as an expert witness;

• The member who is a psychiatry resident had failed to notify the Selection Committee of the outcome of his or her application to be:

  • accredited as a psychiatrist by the Specialists Accreditation Board; and

  • registered as a psychiatrist in the Register of Specialists

• There was false or misleading information in a material particular in the application for appointment.

The Selection Committee may commence proceedings to revoke the appointment of a member of the Panel of Psychiatrists ("Panel") on its own motion or based on a complaint. 

The member will be notified by the Selection Committee if revocation proceedings are commenced. The notification will include the potential grounds for the revocation.

The Selection Committee must consider the member's written representations, if any (see section (c) below). The Selection Committee may also request the member, the complainant or any other person to appear before the Selection Committee.

Once the member of the Panel is notified, the member must inform each of his or her subjects (i.e. a person whom the psychiatrist has been or is sought to be engaged to provide an opinion on any matter concerning psychiatry for the purpose of adducing evidence in any criminal proceedings in Singapore) that:  

• there are pending revocation proceedings against the member;

• once the revocation of the member's appointment takes effect, the member will cease to be able to give his or her psychiatric expert evidence in any criminal proceedings in Singapore;

• the member may still give his or her psychiatric expert evidence in criminal proceedings in Singapore until the revocation takes effect; and

• if the revocation takes effect after the member has given his or her psychiatric expert evidence in criminal proceedings in Singapore, the court may determine the weight to be given to the evidence, after considering all the circumstances of the case.

The member of the Panel will be able to submit written representations to the Selection Committee within one month of being notified of the commencement of revocation proceedings.

The member may also apply to the Selection Committee for an extension of time to send in these written representations.

If the Selection Committee decides to revoke the appointment of a member of the Panel, the member will be notified of the decision and the reasons for the decision. 

After being notified of the Selection Committee’s decision, the member must inform each of his or her subject of the revocation.

The member may file an appeal within 28 days (or such extended period as permitted) after the date of the Selection Committee’s decision. For information on how to file an appeal or how to seek an extension of time to file an appeal, please click here.

If no appeal is filed, the revocation takes effect 28 days after the date of the Selection Committee’s decision.