SINGAPORE, Oct 20 — Singapore’s reputation as one of the world’s safest countries has long rested on its tough stance against crime — and the government now wants to go even further.
Under proposed changes to the Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, scammers and their accomplices could face caning, while offenders who fatally abuse vulnerable victims could be jailed for life.
According to The Straits Times, the new measures reflect the Home Affairs Ministry’s bid to strengthen deterrence amid rising scams and disturbing abuse cases that have shocked the public.
If passed, the Bill will make caning mandatory for scammers, syndicate members and recruiters, with penalties ranging from six to 24 strokes depending on the gravity of the offence. Scam mules — those who sell their Singpass credentials or bank accounts — could also face up to 12 strokes at the court’s discretion.
The move follows staggering scam losses of S$3.4 billion (RM11.1 billion) since 2019, with some victims even taking their own lives.
Criminal lawyer Josephus Tan said caning has proven to be an effective deterrent, pointing to how loan shark harassment cases plummeted after mandatory caning was introduced in 2010.
“Some people think that (caning is) very harsh. Actually, it’s not. We have done this before, and it was proven very successful in tackling prevalent crimes on a wide scale,” he told The Straits Times.
Harsher penalties for fatal abuse
The Bill also proposes raising the maximum jail term for fatal abuse of vulnerable victims — including children, domestic workers and the disabled — from 20 years to life imprisonment or up to 30 years.
Although the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said there have been no fatal migrant domestic worker abuse cases in the past five years, the amendment follows several horrific incidents that drew national outrage.
Among them was the 2020 death of four-year-old Megan Khung, whose mother and her boyfriend tortured her for over a year. In April, her mother Foo Li Ping was jailed for 19 years, while her boyfriend Wong Shi Xiang received 30 years and 17 strokes of the cane.
An MHA spokesman said the change was part of a routine review, not prompted by any one case.
“If a similar case like Megan’s happens in the future, offenders could face up to 30 years’ imprisonment, with the possibility of life imprisonment for the most serious of cases,” she said, as cited by The Straits Times.
Veteran lawyer Ramesh Tiwary said such sentences should be reserved for “the worst of the worst”, while others cautioned against overly harsh punishments that fail to address deeper social issues.
Tackling online sexual harm and AI-generated porn
The Bill also targets emerging sexual offences, including the creation and distribution of AI-generated pornography involving children or non-consenting adults.
It introduces a new offence for setting up or managing online platforms that facilitate the large-scale sharing of obscene material — a response to notorious Telegram groups such as SG Nasi Lemak, which had about 44,000 members.
Under current laws, group administrators face only a few months’ jail or a fine. The new proposal raises that to two years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
How Kay Lii, chief executive of SG Her Empowerment (SHE), said the move is long overdue, noting that her organisation has supported more than 400 survivors of online sexual harm since 2023.
“Previously, perpetrators could claim ‘it’s not real, so it’s not illegal’. This law closes that dangerous gap,” she reportedly said to The Straits Times.
Clarifying what’s legal — and what’s not
Interestingly, the Bill also clarifies that consensual sexting between adults is not illegal, though non-consensual sharing or any content involving minors remains criminal.
Advocates welcomed the move as a recognition of adults’ rights to private sexual expression.
“The answer isn’t to police consensual behaviour,” said Sugidha Nithiananthan of the Association of Women for Action and Research.
“It’s to hold abusers accountable, and to build a culture that understands and respects consent — online and off.”
Beyond punishment
While the proposed laws underline Singapore’s reliance on deterrence, some experts warn against using punishment as the only solution.
Tiwary said: “If we only have one method of controlling crime, which is to increase penalties, we’re not tackling issues of why this is happening in society.”
Others, such as the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, stressed that preventing abuse also requires better education, social support and empowerment for vulnerable groups.
Still, for many residents and lawmakers, the proposed Bill marks a decisive stand. Former MP Dr Tan Wu Meng, who first raised the idea of caning scammers in Parliament, said the move would send a strong message.
“We may not be able to recover all the funds for those who have already been scammed, but hopefully, we can prevent more lives from being ruined,” he said.
