Singapore Bill Makes Jail Default for Young Scam Offenders

Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) introduced a Bill in Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 3) that would make reformative training or imprisonment the default sentences for young scam offenders, AsiaOne reported, in a story carried by Malay Mail.

Under the proposed Sentencing (Scams) Bill, courts other than the Youth Court should treat reformative training or jail as the primary and default sentencing options for offenders aged 21 and below who commit scam or scam-enabling offences, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Bill responds to High Court ruling

The Bill follows a High Court judgment published on Sept 10 in the case of Mohamed Erzan Taib Zohri, one of six young offenders accused of scam-enabling offences.

In that decision, the court allowed four of the six appeals and replaced the offenders’ reformative training sentences with probation. It also held that reformative training or imprisonment should not be the default sentence for young people who commit scam-enabling offences.

MHA said the ruling was inconsistent with Parliament’s intention that such offences should generally attract deterrent sentences.

Jail Default for young scam offenders

Under the Bill, the High Court decision would not bind the courts, and judges would not need to consider it when sentencing scam or scam-enabling offenders or when hearing related appeals.

“We need to do more to deter young offenders,” the ministry said, adding that young people should not be drawn into such crimes by the prospect of quick financial gains.

MHA also warned that without a deterrent approach, the country’s scam and youth offending situation could worsen, according to the report.

Rising youth involvement in scams

According to MHA figures cited in the report, scams are the most prevalent crime type in Singapore, with an average of 90 scam reports and S$2 million (RM6.4 million) in losses a day in the first half of 2026.

More than 1,000 youths were investigated in connection with scam reports in 2025. The number of youths who committed cheating and related offences rose 37 per cent, from 814 in 2024 to 1,114 in 2025, the ministry said.

MHA said young people were largely involved in scam cases as money mules. The report did not give a timeline for the Bill’s further readings in Parliament.

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Jail Default