Overview

• Scammers and syndicate members would face mandatory caning of six to 24 strokes, while mules who provide accounts, SIM cards or Singpass credentials could receive up to 12 strokes at the court’s discretion, including cases where they failed to take reasonable steps to prevent misuse.
• Caning would be introduced as a sentencing option for traditional cheating and fraud offences under the Penal Code.
• Following a review of 161 caning offences, MHA proposes removing caning or making it discretionary for 22 offences, with examples including delisting certain railway passenger-safety and prostitution-related offences and shifting crimes like piracy, attempted gang robbery and vandalism to discretionary caning.
• The Bill clarifies offences for AI‑generated and deepfake pornography, creates a new offence for setting up or managing online channels that enable large‑scale circulation of obscene material, and raises penalties for sending such content to 10 or more people, with higher maximums when it involves those under 18.
• Further changes expand extraterritorial reach and increase maximum penalties for sexual grooming, raise the maximum sentence for fatal abuse of vulnerable victims to life imprisonment or up to 30 years, and strengthen protection of public servants from doxxing by making intent sufficient and criminalising doxxing accompanied by falsehoods with penalties of up to three years’ jail and a $10,000 fine.