Singapore announced on Tuesday that it is considering caning as a punishment for certain scam-related offenses as part of a broader crackdown on fraud syndicates following record financial losses from scams.
“We will consider… caning to be prescribed for certain scam-related offenses, recognizing the serious harm they can cause,” said Sun Xueling, Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development.
Despite existing banking security measures, scammers have adapted their tactics.
“They have started asking victims to convert their money into cryptocurrencies before transferring funds, thereby bypassing our banking safeguards,” Sun explained, noting that crypto-related scams accounted for nearly 25 percent of total scam losses. She also warned Singaporeans to avoid cryptocurrency investments.
The number of scams conducted via the messaging platform Telegram, which allows users to remain anonymous, nearly doubled in 2024. Sun urged Telegram to implement stronger verification measures and stated that the government is exploring legislative options to enforce compliance.
In recent years, Singapore has ramped up efforts to combat scams through public awareness campaigns, including the establishment of a national scam hotline. In 2020, the government launched the “ScamShield” app, which helps users identify suspicious calls, messages, and websites.
Even prominent figures have fallen victim to scams—last year, former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong revealed that he was scammed after an item he ordered online never arrived, underscoring the widespread nature of the issue.
Scam operations based in Southeast Asia, where criminals lure foreign workers into running fraudulent schemes—such as online romance scams and crypto investment frauds—have been on the rise.
In a recent crackdown on transnational crime, hundreds of Chinese nationals were repatriated from Myanmar via Thailand, with plans to send thousands more back from camps near the Thai-Myanmar border.
