The Legal Aid Commission attempts to provide assistance to remandees to post bail or reduce bail conditions, but stated it does not receive adequate funds to conduct legal clinics in prisons regularly and provide legal information and representation for remandees in regional prisons. Furthermore, the Legal Aid Commission is not equipped to provide legal aid for a defendant accused of serious crimes, as the such a case typically continues for a number of years. As a policy of the current Commission, persons arrested on drug related charges are not provided legal aid. 23. Legal and Judicial Proceedings The large number of pretrial detainees in prison is an indication of the shortcomings of the criminal justice system, where persons unconvicted of a crime spend a prolonged duration in prison, until the conclusion of their trial. One reason for the prolonged time in remand is due to stringent bail conditions. The Commission came across many remandees in prison who were eligible for bail but could not furnish bail due to the stringent conditions imposed on them. Persons who cannot meet bail conditions have limited access to means of communication from inside prison to arrange a lawyer to file a motion on the accused’s behalf and request an alteration of bail conditions. Persons who are not detained in close proximity to their family members, as well as foreign nationals, would become extremely helpless in such situations as they do not have local contacts to communicate with lawyers on their behalf. Without access to legal representation to request bail or alter bail conditions, persons on remand who may be eligible to be released on bail remain in prison. Therefore, the denial of bail or the imposition of bail conditions that persons are unable to fulfil, have a direct impact on overcrowding in prisons. Further, the need to remand persons who have committed minor offences, where small-time offenders can be exposed to persons with serious criminal records, requires careful scrutiny, and the use of non-custodial measures to mitigate this risk has to be explored. The refusal of bail or the extension of periodic remand in a Magistrate’s Court requires adequate scrutiny and review by a judge to ascertain the continued need for an individual to remain in prison. However, it was reported to the Commission that defendants have inadequate opportunity to present their case, before a decision to refuse bail or extend remand is pronounced. Many prisoners informed the Commission that the presiding Magistrate did not acknowledge their attempts to speak in court. The prosecution or police reportedly often become de facto arbiters of the need for detention, as their direction is followed with inadequate independent and impartial assessment of the need to prolong pretrial detention. Persons who cannot afford expensive legal services, or adequately follow or understand legal proceedings, become mere spectators in the determination of their freedom. Persons who do not understand their charges and cannot follow what ensued in court would not be able xxx