Jail or reformative training to be default for young scam offenders under proposed law

Jail or reformative training to be default for young scam offenders under proposed law 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 Sep 10 had said that reformative training or imprisonment should not be the default sentence for young offenders who commit scam-enabling offences. The judgement involved the appeals of Mohamed Erzan Taib Zohri and six others - who were all involved in scam-related offences, such as handing over bank accounts or Singpass credentials, which were subsequently used to facilitate scams. The court allowed the appeals for four cases and meted out probation and community-based sentences to them, and dismissed the remaining three. Six of the seven offenders were under the age of 21. MHA said on Tuesday that parliament recognised the severity of the scam situation, the harm caused to victims, and the need to deter scams and scam-enabling offences swiftly and decisively. "Due to the serious impact of these offences, parliament’s intent was (and is) that scams and scam-enabling offences must be deterred, and that, in considering any sentence to be imposed on such offences, the court should consider reformative training or imprisonment as primary and default options," said MHA. Senior Minister K Shanmugam had told parliament on Oct 6 that the government will table new legislation to reinforce the deterrence approach when sentencing all scammers and those who facilitate scams. He added that the High Court’s rationale in putting weight on rehabilitation as the primary sentencing consideration "contradicts the approach set out in sentencing guidelines" that recommend jail or reformative training. He noted that while it was understandable for the court to be inclined to impose rehabilitative sentences to youth offenders, the government has to consider the wider consequences of such crimes, including the huge amount of financial losses and "the full human costs of such scams". “We respect the court's views," said Mr Shanmugam, who is also the Coordinating Minister for National Security and the Minister for Home Affairs. In 2025, the police investigated more than 1,000 youths in connection with scam reports. The number of youths who committed cheating and related offences increased by 37 per cent, from 814 in 2024 to 1,114 in 2025. Youths who committed cheating and related offences were largely involved in scam cases as mules, noted MHA. To deter mules from enabling scams, MHA has introduced numerous measures in recent years. Since 2023, parliament has passed five Bills aimed at strengthening Singapore's laws against scams. These included introducing offences targeting money mules and people who provide Singpass credentials, SIM cards or online accounts to facilitate scams. In November 2025, parliament also passed legislation introducing mandatory caning of between six and 24 strokes for scammers and certain scam syndicate offenders, as well as discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes for scam mules. MHA said scams cause serious harm to victims and must be met with a "strong deterrent message". “The Bill reinforces the message that scammers and those who facilitate scams should generally face deterrent sentences.”