Scammers will be caned under a new law as the city-state grapples with crimes affecting thousands of people.
The measure, passed in a parliamentary session on Tuesday, comes as financial frauds are exploding in the South-East Asian country and globally. Scam victims in Singapore have lost around S$3.8bil (RM12.2bil) since 2020, with a record S$1.1bil (RM3.53bil) in losses last year, according to data from the local police.
The pervasiveness of the problem alarmed authorities with the number of cases reaching nearly 20,000 in the first half of this year with S$456.4mil (RM1.47bil) in losses.
Scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates will face mandatory caning of at least six strokes, which can go up to 24 strokes, for stronger deterrence, according to the law.
Scam mules who enable scammers will face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes.
“Scams are by far the most prevalent crime type in Singapore today,” Sim Ann, senior minister of state for home affairs, said during the session. “They make up 60% of all reported crimes.”
Singapore already uses caning for several crimes, such as vandalism, serious sexual offenses and robbery, but the use of caning for scams elevates its crackdown to a new level.
The South-East Asian financial hub has implemented a series of measures to combat the surge in scams, including by restricting access to key banking and telecoms services for individuals who are linked to scam activities.
The country passed a new law as well earlier this year that would allow the police to control the bank accounts of individuals who they suspect to be scam targets and limit what transactions they can do.
Singapore’s police and the central bank have also worked with major retail banks since 2022 to distinguish scams from legitimate transactions, trace fund flows and freeze accounts suspected to be linked in criminal operations. — Bloomberg
