What is Personal Protection Order?

Many of my clients asked me: What is personal protection order?

What is personal protection order?

A personal protection order is granted if family violence has been committed, or is likely to be committed and a personal protection order is required for your protection.

Once a personal protection order is granted, it cannot be breached. Breach of a personal protection order is a criminal offence and the offender may be charged. The punishment for breaching of a personal protection order is either a fine or imprisonment term, or both.

You may make an application for a personal protection order against a family member.

Illustration of a potential PPO case

On 29 January 2016, an unemployed man was at home with 4 of his 5 children. He asked 2 of his children if they had any information relating to their mother. The man’s relationship with his wife were estranged. He had lost contact with her. The children replied that they did not know anything about their mother. The man became angry as he thought that the children were not being truthful.

Angered, he folded a cloth belt in half and used it to hit his son and daughter. The man later ignited a lighter and held it near the children, asking them about their mother.

The children suffered multiple bruises.

The man was sentenced to 4 months of imprisonment.

For ill-treating a child which resulted in unnecessary pain to the child, the man could have been jailed for up to 4 years and/ or fined up to S$4,000.

See: Elena Chong, “Man jailed for repeatedly hitting his two children, aged 9 and 10, with belt”, The Straits Times, 30 June 2017

The illustrated case is an extreme case where the children were badly hurt. In this case, the children are also able to make an application for a personal protection order against their father, as they have been hurt by a family member.

What is personal protection order- if you still have questions on this, contact us today!