Singapore Mandates 6 To 24 Strokes Of Cane For Scammers Under New Criminal Law

Singapore has strengthened punishment for scammers, mandating caning of up to 24 strokes from December 30, under changes to criminal law to deter surging fraud cases. This will be in addition to penalties that already include imprisonment and fines, Associated Press reported.

Under the changes, scammers, including recruiters and members of scam syndicates, face six to 24 strokes of the cane. Those who launder scam proceeds or provide national identification credentials and mobile phone SIM cards to scammers could face up to 12 strokes.

Offenders who have not taken "reasonable steps" to ensure their credentials are not used to commit scams may also be caned. The new laws also allow for discretionary caning for other forms of fraud.

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The country's Home Affairs Ministry said the enhanced punishment“ensure that our criminal laws remain effective, fair, and responsive to emerging challenges.”

“Fighting scams is a top national priority. The number of scam cases and scam losses remain concerning,” it said.

Money lost through scams in Singapore stood at $350.9 million in the first half of 2025, down 12.6 per cent compared to the same period of last year, according to police statistics, Reuters reported in October 2025.

The top five scams in the city-state involve phishing, fraudulent jobs, e-commerce and online shopping, as well as get-rich investment scams and impersonations, according to the Singapore Government Technology Agency's website.

Judicial caning, a form of corporal punishment involving a rattan cane on bare buttocks, is already applied in the city-state for male offenders under 50 for serious crimes like robbery and sexual offenses, alongside prison time. Caning was introduced during British colonial times and is also used in neighboring Malaysia and Brunei.

The punishment was first mooted in March this year during a debate over the home affairs ministry's budget.

In September, the home affairs ministry threatened Meta with a fine of up to one million Singapore dollars and fines of up to 100,000 Singapore dollars per day after the end of the month if it failed to introduce measures like facial recognition to curb impersonation scams on its social network Facebook.

[With inputs from Reuters]

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