MHA to consider caning for serious scam offences as deterrence measure
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will consider introducing caning as a deterrent for serious scam offenders, as announced in a parliamentary speech today (4 March).
Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling made this statement in response to Dr Tan Wu Meng, who, during a parliamentary debate on 3 March, shared a distressing case involving a Clementi resident who had fallen victim to a scam.
Having lost her life savings, she now risks losing her job and faces the threat of bankruptcy.
Source: MDDI on YouTube
The scam involved a local money mule, who allowed their Singaporean bank account to be used by the scammers.
As with many other cases, the victim’s money was transferred from this account to an international bank account, making it difficult to trace or recover.
‘Teach the scammers a lesson they won’t forget’
Dr Tan highlighted that despite Singapore’s efforts to tackle money mules, they remain undeterred.
The Jurong GRC MP pointed out a discrepancy in the law: a loan shark runner can face caning under the Moneylenders Act for handling as little as S$10,000 in cash from a victim, while a scammer or money mule can steal much larger sums without facing similar consequences.
In light of this, Dr Tan urged MHA to consider extending the possibility of caning to those involved in serious scams, stating:
If you mess with our people . . . we must do everything in our power to teach the scammers a lesson they won’t forget.
Government to consider caning proposal
In her response, Ms Sun expressed agreement with imposing stiff sentences to deter scammers.
She also noted that the Sentencing Advisory Panel (SAP) recently proposed harsher jail terms for money mules.
Source: CNA
Since the SAP’s guidelines were introduced, judges have generally handed down prison sentences of up to 19 months.
“We will consider Dr Tan’s suggestion for caning to be prescribed for certain scam-related offences,” she added.
According to the police, scam cases increased by 10.6% in 2024, reaching a total of 51,501 cases — up from 46,563 in 2023.
Scam incidents have been on the rise each year since 2020.
In 2024 alone, at least S$1.1 billion was lost to scams, marking a 70.6% increase from the previous year.
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Featured image adapted from CNA and Thx4Stock on Canva, for illustration purposes only.
