Singapore passed a law that will see scammers receive between six and 24 lashings from a cane, depending on the severity of the crime, according to international media reports.
Those subjected to the new law will reportedly include syndicate members, recruiters, and their aides, according to The Straits Times. The law will also apply to money mules, those who provide Singpass credentials, bank accounts, and or SIM cards, though they will receive a discretionary maximum of 12 canings for their support.
The physical punishments for scams were introduced after the Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill was passed by Parliament on November 4.
Scams in Singapore
Senior State for Home Affairs Minister Sim Ann reportedly announced during the passing that scams make up 60% of the crime reported in Singapore.
Ann said that from 2020 to the first half of 2025, approximately 190,000 cases were reported, resulting in losses of about $3.7 billion.
“These are staggering numbers... The losses are more than 3½ times the cost of building Woodlands Health Campus,” she said.
Money lost to scams in Singapore stood at S$456.4 million ($350.9 million) in the first half of 2025, down 12.6% from the same period of last year, according to police statistics.
Taipei prosecutors said on Tuesday they had detained 25 people and seized T$4.5 billion ($147.09 million) in assets tied to the Prince Group, a multinational network accused of running vast scam-center operations.
Last month, Singapore police seized more than S$150 million ($115.90 million) in assets tied to the Prince Group.
The seizures in Singapore and Taiwan came after Britain and the US sanctioned the Southeast Asia-based network, which has been accused of operating large-scale online "scam centers" that used trafficked workers to defraud victims across the globe.
Singapore's government has been taking steps to curb scams perpetrated against its residents.
In September, the home affairs ministry threatened, opens new tab Meta with a fine of up to S$1 million and fines of up to S$100,000 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.
Toughening laws on sexual offences in Singapore
Those who circulate sexually obscene material to 10 or more people will now face between three months and two years in prison, with the maximum penalty doubled to four years if the subject of the material is below the age of 18.
Citing the recent SG Nasi Lemak Telegram group case, where obscene material of women and girls was shared to 44,000 people, Ann said, “We cannot begin to imagine the distress suffered by a young girl whose images are sent to thousands of prying eyes.
“And because these materials can be sent to so many people, it is impossible to take them out of circulation entirely. They will always be lurking somewhere, threatening to resurface. These victims may never have peace of mind again.”
The law applies to deepfaked AI-generated images of women already.
Sentencing for offences like doxing public officials and flying abroad to engage in sexual crimes were also toughened.