Singapore, November 5, 2025 – In a bold escalation of its war on financial fraud, Singapore's Parliament has moved to impose mandatory judicial caning on convicted scammers, marking the first time the city-state's iconic corporal punishment will be compulsory for remote cheating offences. The landmark provision was unveiled on November 5 during the second reading of the Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2025, tabled by Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs, Ms Sim Ann.
Speaking in Parliament, Ms Sim disclosed that Singaporeans lost a staggering S$2.83 billion to scams between January 2020 and June 2025, with 189,714 cases reported to police in the same period. “These syndicates mobilise significant resources, operate transnationally, and profit enormously from the misery of victims,” she said. “The highest level of culpability must attract the highest level of punishment.”
Under the amended Section 417A of the Penal Code, any person convicted of cheating by means of remote communication – including phishing, love scams, investment fraud, and job scams – will receive at least six strokes of the cane, regardless of gender or nationality (women, men over 50, and certain medical cases are exempt under existing law). Repeat syndicate leaders or masterminds face up to 24 strokes. Even low-level participants who knowingly join scam rings can be caned up to 12 strokes.
“Money mules” – individuals who allow their bank accounts or Singpass credentials to be used for illicit transfers – will now face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes if the court finds they turned a blind eye to red flags. Suppliers of SIM cards, fake invoices, or payment gateways will be caned if prosecutors prove they knew, suspected, or failed to exercise reasonable care that the items would fuel fraud.
Caning will be in addition to existing jail terms of up to 10 years and fines of S$500,000. The Ministry of Home Affairs estimates the changes will affect 15–20% of scam cases that currently escape corporal punishment because they are prosecuted under general cheating provisions.
A Punishment with Proven Deterrence
Singapore has administered judicial caning since 1871 for over 90 offences, with 65 carrying mandatory strokes as of 2024. A 2023 Home Team study found that offenders caned for violent or sexual crimes re-offended 38% less within five years compared to those who received only imprisonment.
Ms Sim stressed that while the Bill converts mandatory caning to discretionary for 12 lesser offences (such as vandalism below S$50,000), scam-related cheating will join the short list of mandatory-caning crimes alongside rape, drug trafficking, and firearm discharge. “Serious syndicated scams destroy lives. Caning sends an unmistakable signal,” she said.
Broader Protections in the Same Bill
The 112-page amendment package also:
Criminalises large-scale non-consensual distribution of intimate images, with up to five years’ jail and 12 strokes for platforms or individuals who disseminate 50 or more images.
Raises the threshold for child abuse material offences and introduces mandatory reporting by schools and tuition centres.
Makes doxxing of public servants a specific crime: publishing home addresses, phone numbers, or family details without consent now carries two years’ jail and six strokes.
Empowers police to compel banks to freeze accounts within two hours of a scam report, down from 12 hours.
Industry and Victim Reactions
The Association of Banks in Singapore welcomed the mule-caning clause, noting that 68% of 2024 scam funds flowed through local accounts rented for as little as S$500. “Deterrence must hit the facilitators as hard as the masterminds,” said ABS chair Pia Lund.
Victim support group SCAMwatch SG, which assisted 4,200 victims last year, called the measures “long overdue”. Spokesperson Daniel Teo, who lost S$180,000 to a 2023 crypto scam, said: “I still wake up angry. Knowing the scammer will feel physical pain gives closure money can’t buy.”
International Ripple Effects
News of mandatory caning sent shockwaves across Southeast Asia’s scam belts. In Phnom Penh, a Telegram channel used by Cambodian call-centre recruiters posted: “SG job postings suspended until further notice.” Thai police reported a 14% drop in Singapore-targeted job-scam ads within 24 hours of the Bill’s reading.
Parliamentary Vote and Royal Assent
The Bill cleared its second reading 74–0 (9 abstentions from Workers’ Party MPs seeking more rehabilitation clauses). Third reading is scheduled for January 13, 2026, with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam expected to grant assent by Lunar New Year. First canings under the new law could occur as early as Q2 2026, after courts clear the current 2,800-case scam backlog.
Singapore’s message is clear: in the fight against billion-dollar fraud, the city-state is willing to wield the rattan cane once more.
