SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Singapore could cane those who commit scams and scam-related offences under proposed changes to Singapore’s criminal law, local media reported on Tuesday.
Money lost through scams in Singapore stood at S$456.4 million ($350.9 million) in the first half of 2025, down 12.6% compared to the same period of last year, according to police statistics.
Scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates could face between six and 24 strokes of mandatory caning under the proposed changes.
Those who launder scam proceeds or provide national identification credentials and mobile phone SIM cards to scammers could face up to 12 strokes. Offenders who have not taken “reasonable steps” to ensure their credentials are not used to commit scams may also be caned.
The punishment was first mooted in March this year during a debate over the home affairs ministry’s budget.
The Singapore government has been taking steps to curb scams perpetrated against its residents.
In September, the home affairs ministry threatened Meta with a fine of up to S$1 million and fines of up to S$100,000 per day after the end of the month if it failed to introduce measures like facial recognition to curb impersonation scams on its social network Facebook.
(Reporting by Jun Yuan Yong; Editing by David Stanway )
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