The Singapore government has intensified its crackdown on advanced online crimes by implementing mandatory caning penalties for offenders convicted of fraud and money mule offenses, ranging from a minimum of 6 strokes to a maximum of 24. This measure took effect on 30 Dec following record-high losses caused by scammers.
Starting Tuesday, 30 Dec 2025, Singapore's amended Penal Code will officially come into force, mandating caning as a compulsory punishment for serious fraud offenses. This aims to deter criminal syndicates that cause severe economic and social damage.
The Ministry of Home Affairs of Singapore stated that "combating scammers is an urgent national mission" because statistics from 2020 through the first half of 2025 show over 190,000 victims in Singapore losing a combined total of 2.8 billion U.S. dollars (approximately 88 billion baht).
Members of criminal groups, recruiters, or masterminds of scams will face caning penalties of at least 6 strokes and up to a maximum of 24, in addition to imprisonment and fines.
Regarding "money mules"—individuals who willingly provide bank accounts, Singpass data, or SIM cards for criminals to exploit—they may be caned up to 12 times, subject to court discretion.
The fraud problem in Singapore is not limited to the general public; even former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has revealed that he was once a victim of an online purchase scam where he never received the goods. Meanwhile, authorities continue to dismantle transnational cyber scam networks that use forced labor in neighboring countries to deceive victims through "romance scams" and cryptocurrency investment fraud.
Recently, Singapore police have also ordered the seizure of over 115 million dollars in assets linked to a British-Cambodian billionaire accused of being behind a large scammer base in Cambodia.
In addition to increased criminal penalties, the Singapore government has introduced parallel preventive measures such as the ScamShield application and a national hotline to educate the public against falling victim and to emphasize caution in sharing personal information in any form.
/AFP