1st ASEAN Prosecutors/Attorneys General Meeting 2026 - Speech by Attorney-General, Mr Lucien Wong S.C.

Distinguished Attorneys-General, Prosecutors-General, my fellow colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. Let me begin by expressing my sincere appreciation to Her Excellency Datin Seri Paduka Hajah Nor Hashimah Binti Haji Muhammed Taib, Attorney-General of Brunei Darussalam, and all officers from her Chambers, for hosting the inaugural ASEAN Prosecutors/Attorneys General Meeting (“APAGM”). My colleagues and I are awed by the excellent organisation of this event and touched by the warm welcome extended to us.

It has been one year since our momentous meeting in Bali, Indonesia, where we adopted the Sanur Bali Declaration on the establishment of the APAGM. I have personally been looking forward to this first meeting and am honoured to be here this morning.

Today, I would like to share what Singapore has been doing to advance one of the key objectives of the APAGM, namely, the promotion of capacity building and professional exchanges among ASEAN prosecutors. The Sanur Bali Declaration affirmed our collective commitment to "support and expedite international legal cooperation, in the areas of prosecution, capacity building, information and experience sharing." The Terms of Reference for the APAGM go further, calling on us to promote capacity building and conduct training programmes and professional exchanges to improve prosecutorial skills.

These are commitments we take seriously, commitments we had already honoured even before the formal establishment of the APAGM, and which we will continue to uphold. Since 2024, Singapore's Attorney-General's Chambers has opened our training programmes to prosecutors from Brunei, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, and Viet Nam. We currently offer six training programmes conducted on an annual or biennial basis, and we have welcomed 41 prosecutors from these countries over the last two years. The topics covered range from foundational subjects such as evidence and criminal procedure to more advanced advocacy skills, including how to deal with expert evidence. We are heartened by the positive response, and we remain committed to continue offering these programmes in the years ahead.

The advancement of our prosecutorial capabilities is critical in our increasingly challenging fight against crime. To properly equip our prosecutors for the immense challenges they face, we must continually offer them the best training available. In this regard, I would like to highlight two of the six training programmes that have drawn on the expertise of esteemed foreign trainers and received particularly favourable feedback from our prosecutors.

The first is a programme titled "How to Deal with Expert Evidence", conducted by King's Counsel and judges from the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The training programme aims to equip prosecutors with practical skills to evaluate and challenge expert testimony. The ability to put expert evidence in proper perspective is a key attribute of an effective prosecutor. Mindful of the value of this programme, we have extended this to our foreign counterparts, and I am happy to announce that to date, prosecutors from Brunei and Malaysia have joined us for the training. We are pleased to invite other ASEAN counterparts to this programme.

The second programme is conducted under the auspices of the Association of Professionals Solving the Abuse of Children, a US-based non-profit organisation dedicated to improving society's response to the abuse and neglect of children. As you are aware, the prosecution of crimes involving children can be extremely challenging. Often, the young and vulnerable victims are traumatised by the heinous acts perpetrated against them, and it is not easy to elicit the necessary evidence from them. This very useful programme brings in trainers from the United States with over 20 years of experience to deliver specialised training on forensic interviewing techniques in child abuse cases. Ensuring our prosecutors are well-prepared for cases involving child abuse is a responsibility we take seriously, and this is another area of training we have opened to our foreign counterparts.

Beyond formal training programmes, we also facilitate professional exchanges. Each year, as part of Singapore International Cyber Week, we host the ASEAN Cybercrime Prosecutors' Roundtable Meeting, which brings together specialist cybercrime prosecutors from ASEAN Member States, as well as China, Japan, and South Korea. They come to share knowledge on the evolving challenges of cybercrime prosecution. I hope that this year’s edition, held on 14th October 2026, not only provided an invaluable opportunity for your colleagues to meet their ASEAN counterparts but also fostered greater cooperation in tackling cybercrime. As digital threats continue to evolve rapidly, such exchanges are more important than ever.

Finally, these training programmes and professional exchanges do more than just transfer skills and knowledge. The Terms of Reference for the APAGM speak of "strengthening cooperation in support of ASEAN integration and community-building efforts, as well as the relations among the prosecutors in the region." When our prosecutors learn and train together, they build the trust and personal bonds that cultivate the friendships and professional relationships envisaged by the APAGM.

We are deeply committed to the spirit of ASEAN solidarity. My Chambers looks forward to continued collaboration with all of you, and we hope that the programmes and exchange I have described today will serve as a useful contribution to our shared goals.

Thank you.