SINGAPORE: People with special needs and mental health conditions will soon have better access to legal support through a new law centre.

The Inclusive Justice Law Centre was launched on Monday (Mar 16) by Pro Bono SG – the charity arm of the Law Society of Singapore – with the non-profit Rao Family Foundation pledging more than S$700,000 (US$550,000) to support operations over two years.

The centre will assist those with invisible disabilities who may unknowingly commit offences or be taken advantage of.

This comes as those with intellectual disabilities, autism or mental health conditions may find it challenging to assist in legal investigations. 

GROWING DEMAND FOR SUPPORT

Social service agency MINDS, which has supported about 6,800 such cases since 2015, said the number of cases has risen to more than 1,750 in the past year alone.

MINDS CEO Kelvin Koh said: “(There are) cases of sexual abuse, or persons not knowing what's right from wrong and possibly causing disruption to the community, being taken advantage of, or committing offences that they find are perfectly all right with them.

“Because unbeknownst to them, they do not have that awareness of what is right in terms of behaving socially in the community.”

Many of these cases also involve individuals from less privileged backgrounds.

Mr Koh said the new centre will help provide a clearer pathway for these individuals and their caregivers in seeking legal support.

Speaking at the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the centre at The Foundry, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Social and Family Development Eric Chua said more is being done to better support those with disabilities and mental health conditions.

Mr Chua is also co-chair of the 20-member Inclusive Justice Taskforce, which looks at how the government can better support people with mental health conditions and special needs within the criminal justice system.

Through the Inclusive Justice Law Centre, “a dedicated lawyer will assist individuals with invisible disabilities, legal education and training will be strengthened, and specialist legal services will be made available where needed”, he said.

“This will provide more customis...