To combat a surge in online scams, Singapore has turned to caning fraudsters

In Singapore, about 65 offences are punished with mandatory caning, including robbery. Photo / Unsplash

To combat a surge in modern-day online scams, Singapore has turned to a punishment from the past: caning.

This past week, Singapore’s Parliament amended criminal law in the city-state to introduce caning as a penalty for scammers and scam mules after tens of thousands of scams resulting in nearly US$385 million in losses were reported in the first half of this year alone.

“Offenders who commit scams, defined as cheating mainly by means of remote communication, will be punished with at least six strokes of the cane,” Sim Ann, senior minister of state for foreign affairs and home affairs, said in a statement.

The mandatory punishment could go up to 24 strokes, local media reported.

Scams are the most prevalent type of crime in Singapore, accounting for 60% of all reported offences in recent years, the Government says, and causing billions of dollars in losses.

Earlier this year, the Government passed a law to protect victims of scams by giving police the power to order banks to limit transactions from an individual’s accounts if a scam is suspected.

Last month, the Washington Post reported on how a cyber-scamming syndicate used the financial hub’s stable business environment to legitimise itself, raising concerns about Singapore’s role in enabling a multibillion-dollar industry that has become entrenched in Southeast Asia.

Members and recruiters of scam syndicates will also come under the purview of the law and be subject to caning, if found guilty.

The corporal form of punishment, a remnant of the British colonial era, is not new for the island nation, with about 65 offences punished with mandatory caning, including robbery.

The amendment also removed the mandatory caning penalty from some offences including vandalism, which will now be subject to discretionary caning.

A rattan cane is typically used in the punishment, following a medical examination.

Women, girls and men above the age of 50 are among those exempt from caning penalties.

Rights groups have frequently criticised Singapore’s use of caning as punishment and called upon it to end the practice.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International consider caning a form of torture under international law.

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