SINGAPORE – People here who allow scammers to control their bank or Singpass accounts, or help them perform illegal transactions, should be jailed for at least six months if convicted, with immediate effect.
In an Aug 21 statement, the Sentencing Advisory Panel recommended significant jail sentences should be the norm for such offences to send a strong deterrent signal.
This means that from Aug 21, anyone convicted of these offences can be jailed for at least six months.
The panel added jail time should apply even to offenders below 21 years old, except for those dealt with in the Youth Court.
Currently, those convicted of the offences can be fined, or jailed or both.
The panel said scams are a major and fast-growing concern, citing how scam cases have increased by more than seven-fold over the past five years, with the amount lost to scams quadrupling.
In 2023, there were 46,563 scam cases, resulting in a total loss of $651.8 million by scam victims.
Due to the devastating impact of scams on vulnerable victims, the panel recommended heftier sentences for cases involving such victims, which include the elderly, or those unable to protect themselves due to physical or mental infirmity.
It added the starting sentences for those involved in such cases should be increased by at least 25 per cent.
The panel comprises members from the judiciary, the Law and Home Affairs ministries, the police, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, and the Bar.
The panel’s guidelines, unlike judicial ones, are not binding on any court.
They are meant to guide judges in passing sentences, and guide the prosecution and defence in their sentencing submissions.
Since Feb 8, it has become an offence for money mules to make a transaction if they know or have some idea that what they are doing involves a criminal element, or to continue a transaction that would have raised red flags for a reasonable person.