POD Research Institute founder Tong also said on Tuesday that reducing waiting times for a court date would ensure the rule of law was upheld and safeguard human rights.

The think tank noted that the vacancy rate among judges and judicial officers stood at 24.2 per cent in 2025.

Official figures showed that the average waiting time between a case’s first mention and the start of a trial at the District Court was 337 days last year.

Meanwhile, the average duration between the filing of an indictment and the beginning of a hearing at the Court of First Instance for criminal cases was 368 days in 2025.

Tong, who is also a senior counsel, warned that prolonged waits could undermine human rights protections and the rule of law, especially in serious cases where defendants had been denied bail.