Law passed for scammers, mules, to be caned after victims in Singapore lose almost S$4 billion since 2020
About 190,000 cases were reported between 2020 and the first half of 2025
[SINGAPORE] Scammers will be caned with at least six strokes, the punishment going up to 24 strokes depending on the severity of the offence.
Those to be caned will include syndicate members and recruiters, and those who help them, such as money mules who provide their bank accounts, SIM cards or Singpass credentials.
These mules will face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes.
The enhanced punishments for scams come as the Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill was passed in Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 4).
During its second reading, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Sim Ann said scams are by far the most prevalent crime type in Singapore, making up 60 per cent of all reported crimes.
She said that between 2020 and the first half of 2025, about 190,000 cases were reported, with losses amounting to about S$3.7 billion.
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Sim said: “These are staggering numbers... the losses are more than three and a half times the cost of building Woodlands Health Campus.”
According to figures provided to The Straits Times by the police, at least S$187.1 million was lost to scams from July to September.
This brings the total lost to scams from 2020 till September 2025 to at least S$3.88 billion.
Caning scammers was first raised in March by then Jurong GRC MP Tan Wu Meng in a debate on the Ministry of Home Affairs’ budget.
Dr Tan, who was then overseeing the Clementi ward, said a resident lost her life savings to scams, and asked if Singapore was too soft on scammers.
On Nov 4, Sim said the ministry reviewed his suggestion, and agreed with it.
The new laws also allow for discretionary caning for other forms of cheating, like traditional fraud.
Other changes include those relating to sexual offences, doxxing of public servants, and punishment for youth offenders.
Caning removed for some offences
Sim said that even as caning is introduced for scams, a review found a need to recalibrate caning for other offences.
There are 96 offences that attract discretionary caning and 65 with mandatory caning.
Caning will be removed for eight of them, including blocking carriages and endangering the safety of passengers under the Railways Act.
Sim said caning is not necessary for some offences, as society and the crime situation has evolved.
“These are generally offences that do not involve intentional harm to a person, nor cause significant harm to the public, and for which we assess that the other penalties are adequate,” she said.
“The amendments do not signal any softening in our stance against crime. The large majority of offences which attract caning today, including serious sexual and violence offences, will continue to attract caning as a punishment.”
Sexual offences
Penalties will also be harsher for those who circulate obscene material to 10 or more people.
Those who commit such offences can be jailed for up to two years, up from three months.
If the material is of someone under 18, the maximum jail term will be doubled to four years.
Sim cited SG Nasi Lemak, in which over 44,000 members circulated and shared obscene materials involving women and girls in Singapore.
She said: “We cannot begin to imagine the distress suffered by a young girl whose images are sent to thousands of prying eyes.
“And because these materials can be sent to so many people, it is impossible to take them out of circulation entirely. They will always be lurking somewhere, threatening to resurface. These victims may never have peace of mind again.”
To punish those who facilitate such acts, there will be a new offence targeting those who set up or manage online locations where obscene materials are circulated. They include administrators of chat groups or channels, blogs or accounts on video-sharing platforms.
The abuse of artificial intelligence (AI) to generate obscene images and videos will be addressed.
Sim said the laws already cover sexually explicit deepfakes, which alter existing recordings.
But generative AI now makes it possible to produce synthetic images or videos of a person, without making use of a pre-existing image or recording.
Changes to the law will make it clear that it is an offence to produce any intimate image without consent. This applies for those depicting children, even if a real child is not involved.
To keep in line with the United Nations’ standards, the threshold for obscene materials depicting minors will cover those up to 18 years old, up from 16.
Another change relates to sexual grooming offences under the Penal Code.
If the offender and victim meet or plan to meet overseas to engage in an illicit sex act, and either of them has travelled from Singapore, the offender can be liable for sexual grooming.
The maximum jail term will be increased to seven years if the victim is under 14.
If the victim is aged 14 to 17, the offender faces a maximum of five years’ jail.
This will apply only to victims aged 16 and 17 if there was an exploitative relationship.
Other changes
Those who fatally abuse vulnerable victims can be jailed for up to 30 years or for life, up from 20 years’ jail.
Sim said life imprisonment was being introduced as there is strong public interest to deter abuse of vulnerable persons.
She cited the case of a couple who repeatedly splashed hot water on their five-year-son until the boy died from his injuries in 2016.
In 2022, the mother was convicted of murder, while the father was convicted of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by means of a heated substance. Both were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Sim said although the father’s charge was not for causing death but only endangering life, the Court of Appeal found that life imprisonment was justified, and the government agrees with this.
She said such cases can be prosecuted under the offence of fatal abuse of vulnerable persons.
Doxxing of a public servant, when accompanied by a falsehood, will also be a criminal offence, carrying a maximum jail term of three years and a fine up to S$10,000.
For older youth offenders aged 16 and 17, the changes ensure they can be given deterrent sentences such as imprisonment, reformative training and caning when their cases are handled in the State Courts or High Court instead of the Youth Courts.
And regulatory requirements for workers and dealers in precious metals will be updated, increasing the waiting time from three days to five days before these individuals can melt, alter or deface such goods or articles. THE STRAITS TIMES
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