The Ministry of Home Affairs introduced the Sentencing (Scams) Bill to establish custodial measures as the baseline punishment for scam-related offences committed by young people. This move responds directly to a September 10 High Court ruling that favored probation over detention for several youth offenders. The bill will apply retroactively and prospectively to acts committed before, on, or after its enactment date. Government officials stressed that harsher penalties are critical because young individuals increasingly provide crucial infrastructure, such as bank accounts and Singpass credentials, to scam syndicates.
Key points
The government is prioritizing general deterrence to disrupt scam syndicates that rely he…: The government is prioritizing general deterrence to disrupt scam syndicates that rely heavily on young accomplices.
Reformative training or imprisonment will become the standard penalty for scam enablers a…: Reformative training or imprisonment will become the standard penalty for scam enablers aged 21 and below unless exceptional factors exist.
The new bill directly counters a High Court ruling that had previously favored probation…: The new bill directly counters a High Court ruling that had previously favored probation for young scam mules.
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The Sentencing (Scams) Bill seeks to make jail or reformative training the default for young scam offenders, after the High Court ruled against such a default for such offenders.
SINGAPORE: Reformative training or imprisonment should be the default sentences for young offenders convicted of scams and scam-enabling offences, under proposed legal changes prompted by a recent High Court ruling.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) introduced the Sentencing (Scams) Bill for first reading in parliament on Tuesday (Nov 3).
The ministry said in a news release on Tuesday that the Bill sets out and reiterates parliament's intention that such offenders - aged 21 or below at the time of the offence - should be sentenced to reformative training or imprisonment as primary and default options, “unless there are exceptional circumstances”.
The Bill’s proposed changes will apply to offenders who committed scam or scam-enabling offences before, on or after the law's commencement date.
The High Court judgement published on Sept 10 had said that reformative training or imprisonment should not be the default sentence for young offenders who commit scam-enabling offences.
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