SINGAPORE – Secondary school students took over the State Courts on July 4, stepping into the shoes of judges, lawyers, witnesses, court officers and interpreters as part of mock trials for a harassment case.

It was not all serious. A “judge” waved playfully from his bench at his classmates in the courtroom, and students cheered as their peers acted out a script based on a harassment case study they had discussed earlier.

The role play sessions were part of a “A Day in Court”, an annual programme started in 2014 by the Singapore State Courts to give students insights into Singapore’s justice system.

As with the previous three years, this year’s programme focused on harassment, in light of harassment and cyberbullying on social media.

In her opening address to about 200 Secondary 3 students from 43 schools, Principal District Judge Thian Yee Sze said she hoped they would learn some of the legal remedies that harassment victims may seek, and practical life skills to handle harassment if they or their loved ones face it.

Role play sessions, last conducted in 2018, were brought back to give students a more interactive and informal learning experience, the organisers said.

New activities included “CaseGoWhere”, a quiz where students are given different cases and determine which court the case will be heard in, and “You Be the Judge”, where students evaluate a mock stalking and cyberbullying case study and decide on the most appropriate ruling.

The programme wrapped on a fireside chat where district judges explained what they consider before deciding the outcome of a case.

Neoh Wen Xuan, 15, from Hua Yi Secondary School, said she felt inspired to sit in the judge’s seat and experience how judges carry out their jobs daily.

Her schoolmate Lu Jian Zhi, 15, said: “I think the court is a very mysterious place because videos and photographs are not allowed inside... (The courtroom) is not something that a lot of people...