Singapore’s parliament on Tuesday passed a law that introduced caning as a punishment for scammers and money mules, as the country battles a scourge of fraud cases
Under the Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, scammers as well as members and recruiters of scam syndicates will be punished with six to 24 strokes of the cane.
The harsher penalties aim to enhance deterrence against scams, which are the most prevalent form of crime in Singapore, according to Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Sim Ann.
Sim, who presented the bill, said scam syndicates had the “highest level of culpability” and used significant resources to conduct and profit from scams.
Legal experts told This Week in Asia the move marked the moral severity of the crime and would serve as a strong deterrent.
Other offences in Singapore that carry the penalty of caning include rape, which warrants at least 12 strokes, drug trafficking and illegal moneylending. In a single trial, the court can impose a maximum of 24 strokes of the cane.
Offenders found guilty of knowingly facilitating scams by handing over their bank accounts or other relevant details to syndicates will also face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes. This means that the court will decide whether to enact the punishment during sentencing.
“Crippling the supply of scam enablers would significantly increase the difficulty for scammers to successfully conduct or profit from scams,” Sim said.
The prospect of caning scammers was first brought up by former People’s Action Party (PAP) member of parliament Tan Wu Meng in a debate on the home affairs ministry’s budget in March, where he asked if the state was too soft on scammers. The bill was introduced in parliament last month.
Scams constituted 60 per cent of reported crimes in Singapore, with 190,000 cases lodged between 2020 and the first half of this year, Sim said on Tuesday. About S$3.7 billion (US$2.8 billion) had been lost to scams, she added.
Follow Us on Facebook – @LadunLiadi; Instagram – @LadunLiadi; Twitter – @LadunLiadi; Youtube – @LadunLiadiTV for updates
