The Singapore government has toughened penalties for scammers by introducing a mandatory caning sentence of at least six strokes and up to 24 strokes depending on the type of offence.
The new law passed in Parliament targets scam syndicates, recruiters and money mules who provide bank accounts, SIM cards or Singpass access.
According to The Straits Times, the Crimes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill also allows courts to sentence money mules to be given up to 12 strokes.
Senior Minister for Home Affairs Sim Ann stressed that fraud now dominates 60% of all reported crimes in the country.
Statistics show that between 2020 and mid-2025, almost 190,000 fraud cases were recorded with losses reaching $3.7 billion.
In the last three months, losses reached $187.1 million, bringing the total since 2020 to more than $3.88 billion.
Sim described the figure as shocking, adding that the loss was more than the cost of building a large hospital.
The proposed caning for fraudsters was first proposed in March last year by Jurong GRC MP Dr Tan Wu Meng after his constituents were scammed out of their life savings.
The Home Affairs Ministry later supported the proposal, arguing that tougher deterrent measures were needed.
In addition, caning will be dropped for eight minor offences deemed irrelevant, such as obstructing the movement of train carriages.
Separately, the penalty for distributing pornographic material to 10 or more people has been increased, with offenders facing up to two or four years in prison if it involves a minor.
The new provisions also criminalise the production and dissemination of sexual images generated by AI, including synthetic depictions of children.
The updated law also raises the age threshold for child pornography offences from 16 to 18.
The definition of sexual grooming has been expanded to include cases where the offender or victim travels abroad to commit an illegal act, with a prison sentence of up to seven years if the victim is under 14 years old.
Singapore's move highlights the extraordinary pressure its neighbours face in curbing fraud and cybercrime.
However, the question is, will tougher penalties reduce this rampant crime or simply add to the burden on the justice system without addressing the root causes?
