Jump to content

Crime in Singapore

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Singapore
Crime rates* (2023)
Physical Crimes
Theft/related crimes145
Crimes against persons79
Commercial crimes49
Housebreaking/related crimes3
Violent/serious property crimes1
Total physical crimes337
Scams & Cybercrimes
Total Scams/cybercrimes851
*Per 100,000 population. Est. total population ('000) 5,917.6

Crime rates in Singapore are some of the lowest in the world, with petty crimes such as pickpocketing and street theft rarely occurring, and violent crime being extremely rare.[1] Penalties for drug offences such as trafficking in Singapore are severe, and include the death penalty.[2]

In 2022, Singapore ranked as the first safest country or area in the Global Law and Order Index.[3] It was also ranked third safest city in 2021 by the Economist Intelligence Unit,[4][5] and 24th safest out of 136 countries in the Global Organised Crime Index by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.[6][7]

Statistics

[edit]

The total number of physical crimes remain low in 2023.[8] The total number of cases tracked down from 25,633 cases (2018) to an average of 19,750 cases (2020-2023).[9]

Categories 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Theft & Related Crimes
No of Cases 12,196 11,128 7,437 6,843 7,878 8,572
Per 100,000 population 216 195 131 125 140 145
Housebreaking & Related Crimes
No of Cases 328 281 210 160 163 191
Per 100,000 population 6 5 4 3 3 3
Violent/Serious Crimes1
No of Cases 210 153 305 469 60 63
Per 100,000 population 4 3 5 9 1 1
Crimes against persons2
No of Cases 5,031 4,349 4,602 4,878 4,869 4,673
Per 100,000 population 89 76 81 89 86 79
Commercial Crimes3
No of Cases 9,416 12,710 17,123 25,871 3,2603 2,921
Per 100,000 population 167 223 301 474 583 49
Miscellaneous Crimes4
No of Cases 5,945 6,494 7,596 7,975 3,963 3,546
Per 100,000 population 105 114 134 146 704 60
Physical Crimes5
No of Cases 25,633 23,980 19,498 19,343 20,193 19,966
Per 100,000 population 455 420 343 355 358 337
Scams/cybercrimes
No of Cases 6,234 9,545 15,651 23,933 33,669 50,376
Per 100,000 population 111 167 275 439 597 851

Sources: Based on SPF Annual Reports, S'pore National Statistical Office.

Notes: 1Mainly robberies and extortion cases; 2Refers to crimes where victims suffer bodily harm such as in murders, serious assault/hurt, rape, outrage of modesty and rioting; 3Comprises commercial and financial white collar crimes [2018-2021] includes scams [From 2022] scams relegated to separate category; 4Miscellaneous cases such as affray, mischief, weapon possession, causing hurt and vandalism [2018-2021] includes cybercrimes [From 2022] cybercrimes relegated to separate category; 5Does not include scams/cybercrimes.

2023

[edit]

On a year-on-year basis, physical crime cases decreased (1.1%) from 20,193 cases (2022) to 19,966 cases (2023).[10][11] The crimes of concern were shop theft, theft in dwelling, outrage of modesty and voyeurism. Shop thefts and voyeurism were among the cases that showed an uptrend. The rise in shop theft came after the widespread adoption of self-checkout counters in supermarkets. Most of the voyeurism and outrage of modesty cases were perpetrated by persons known to victims, in residential and public settings.[9][11]

Physical Crime Cases 2021 2022 2023
Outrage of Modesty 1,474 1,610 1,528
% Change — +9.2% -5.1%
Voyeurism 467 424 476
% Change — -9.2% +12.3%
Shop Theft 2,652 3,244 3,939
% Change — +22.3% +21.4%
Theft in Dwelling 1,359 1,729 1,695
% Change — +27.2% -2.0%
Rioting 46 60 —
% Change — +30% —
Others 13,345 13,126 —
% Change — — —
Total 19,343 20,193 19,966
% Change — +4.4% -1.1%

For traffic related offences:[12]

Traffic Related Offences 2021 2022
Red Light Running Violations 44,745 43,687
% Change — —
Speeding Violations 139,276 125,189
% Change — —
Red Light Running resulting in Accidents 136 132
% Change — —
Speeding resulting in Accidents 984 1,124
% Change — +14.2%

Scams

[edit]

Scams and cybercrime continue to be a key concern in the city state.[13] From 2016 to 2023, the number of reported scam cases experienced an eight-fold increase from 5,300 to over 46,000 cases.[14][15][16][17] As a crime of concern, the Singapore Police Force has separated scams from its annual crime number statistics.[18]

Scams/cybercrimes 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
No of Cases 6,234 9,545 15,651 23,933 31,728 46,563
% Change — +53.1% +64.0% +52.9% +32.6% +46.8%
Losses ($Mil) 151.4 170.8 265.7 632.0 660.7 651.8
% Change — +12.8% +55.6% +137.9% +4.5% -1.3%

Since 2022, the majority of crime reports has been attributed to scams.[19] On a year-on-year basis, there were 46,563 reported scam cases in 2023, up from 31,728 cases in 2022 (46.8% increase). Since 2019, more than S$2.3 billion has been lost to scams. Annual losses of more than $650 million were recorded in both 2022 and 2023.[20]

The top five reported scams by number of cases were related to jobs (9,914 cases), e-commerce (9,783 cases), fake friend call (6,859 cases), phishing (5,938 cases), and investment-related (4,030 cases).[20][17] The phishing scams often involve malware installed on victims' Android devices to steal banking credentials.[21]

The top five reported scam cases in terms of monetary losses were related to investment ($204.5 million), job scams ($135.7 million), government impersonation ($92.5 million), internet love ($39.8 million), and malware enabled ($34.1 million).[17]

Countermeasures

[edit]

To combat the rising incidence of scams, the Singapore authorities had implemented various counter measures to combat scams and reinstating money back to victims.

In 2019, the Anti-Scam Centre was formed under Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) in 2019 and was reorganised into the Anti-Scam Division in 2021.[22] In March 2022, the Anti-Scam Command (ASCom) was formed to include the Anti-Scam Centre and three Anti-Scam Investigation Branches.[22] ASCom also oversees the Scam Strike Teams managed by the seven Police Land Divisions.

Other initiatives and measures include the following:[23]

  1. Amended the Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA), Computer Misuse Act (CMA) and introduced Online Criminals Harm Act (OCHA) in 2023[24]
  2. Launched and refreshed the anti-scam campaign[25]
  3. Collaborating with law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong, Macau and Malaysia to deal with transnational scams
  4. Launched ScamShield app for iOS and Android phone users[26]
  5. Deploying bank staff to expedite the process of identifying and freezing fraudulent transactions and accounts[22]
  6. Maintaining a SMS Sender ID Registry[27] under the Infocomm Media Development Authority to flag potential scam messages
  7. Prescribed a shared liability framework (with financial and telecommunication companies) to manage losses incurred by phishing scams[28]

Notable cases

[edit]

High-profile scam cases in Singapore include the following:

Subject Period Perpetuators Losses #Victims Description
Nickel Investment Fraud Scheme 2017-2021 Ng Yu Zhi, (conspirators: Keeran Marcus Phang Guan Wei, Alvin Oey Wei Zhong & Ding Kuon Chwo) $1.5 billion 300 Alleged ponzi scheme touted at 15% quarterly gains with fake nickel transactions through the incorporated companies "Envy Global Trading" and "Envy Asset Management". Ng faces 105 criminal charges and is currently awaiting trial.[29][30]
Sunshine Empire Ponzi 2006-2007 James Phang Wah, (conspirators: Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat & Neo Kuon Huay) $190 million 20,000 MLM and ponzi scheme touted at multi-X% returns that marketed lifestyle packages through the incorporated company "Sunshine Empire".[31][32]
Maxim Trader Compensation Plan 2013-2015 Andrew Lim Ann Hoe, Chin Ming Kam[33] & Goh Seow Mooi >$50 million 2,000 MLM and ponzi scheme touted at 6-8% returns with fund management services in leveraged foreign exchange through the incorporated (New Zealand) company "Maxim Capital".[34]
OneCoin Promotion 2015-2019 Terence Lim Yoong Fook & Fok Fook Seng Unknown 2,349 MLM and ponzi scheme that marketed educational packages bundled with OneCoin mining tokens through the incorporated company "OneConcept".[35][36]
Training Grants 2017 Ng Cheng Kwee, Sim Soon Lee, Lee Lai Leng, David Lim Wee Hong & eight other operatives[37] $39.9 million – Syndicate that submitted fraudulent claims for training grants to SkillsFuture Singapore through nine shell companies when no training has been conducted between April to August 2017. S$21.3 million of public funds was laundered away and remains unaccountable.[38][39][40]
Tradenation Luxury Goods 2021-2022 Pi Jiapeng & Pansuk Siriwipa $32 million 180 Alleged cheating through the falsified consignment sales of luxury watches and handbags. The couple were arrested while on the run and are currently awaiting trial. The companies "Tradenation" and "Tradeluxury" were incorporated to trade in luxury goods in April 2021 and the former was registered as a precious stones and precious metals dealer in April 2022.[41]
OCBC Bank Phishing 2022 Suspected overseas syndicates, (conspirators: Brayden Cheng Ming Yan,[42] Kong Jia Quan, Jovan Soh Jun Yan, Roy Peh Yong Rong, Muhummad Khairuddin Eskandariah, Lim Kai Ze & Leong Jun Xia) $13.7 million 469,790 Spoofed SMS to collect online banking log-in credentials through phishing websites. Money was laundered to suspected overseas syndicates by conspirators.[43] The bank made reparations on goodwill basis.[44] The MAS imposed additional capital requirements on the bank amounting to S$300 million.[45]
Car Deposit Scam 2014 Koh Chek Seng, (conspirators: Alvin Loo Mun Yu, Jason Koh Chi Kang) $6.2 million 182 Collected deposits for falsified sales in parallel imported cars through the incorporated company "Volks Auto". To keep up the charade, several luxury cars were put on display in the showroom.[46]
Investment Fraud Scam 2011-2021 Low Mood Chay $1.39 million Unknown Cheated several acquaintances through fake investment schemes that touted high dividends.[47]
Relationship Scam 2016-2021 Joselyn Kwek Sok Koon, (conspirator: Lai Sze Yin) $880,000 10 Cheated various people through ruses and deceits including the promise of romantic relationships.[48]
Stock Scheme 2014-2020 Rafiq Shamoon Omer $714,000 3 Cheated acquaintances with stock schemes (2014-2018) and credit card charges (2020).[49] He is a Dutch-national S'pore resident with prior US wire fraud conviction (2004)[50] and further alleged to have defrauded millions from US investment firms with pre-IPO share offers (2020).[51]
Airbnb Rental Scam 2022 Gibson Zeng Xianfu $383,000 68 Collected deposits for fake rental listings with victims from at least 12 countries.[52][53]
Renovation Scam 2020 Huang Ruixiang $160,000 40 Misappropriated money for renovation projects after doing partial renovation work through the incorporated company "SG Venture Furnishing". Also duped victims through a fake investment scheme.[54]
Sg Tinder Swindler 2018-2021 Jerald Low Jing Yong >$150,000 10 Fabricated an image of wealth and opulence to cultivate trust from friends and associates, thereby inducing them to give him money.[55]
Carousell Scam 2021-2022 Nicholas Ong Chang Hui $148,000 128 Collected deposits for fake pre-orders of Apple laptops, iPhones and PlayStation consoles as well as the fake sale of a Rolex watch.[56]
Carousell Scam 2019 Caine Poh Zhenglong $108,000 396 Collected proceeds from false sales of various items, most of which were tickets to attractions. Fraudulent Carousell accounts were created by duping jobseekers.[57]

Multi-level marketing schemes

[edit]

Multi-level marketing (MLM) or pyramid selling are illegal under the jurisdiction[58] unless approved by the Direct Selling Association of Singapore,[59] after having met specific exclusion criteria to protect consumers and participants. A MLM may evolve into a ponzi scheme where the "new income", generated by attracting new or successive participants to provide funds, are marked as "profits" and used to provide "returns" for the older or preceding participants.[60]

Transnational crimes

[edit]

The key transnational crimes affecting Singapore and the region are driven by scams and cybercrime, illicit drug trafficking and terrorism. Over the years, the police have carried out various operations against transnational crime syndicates. Self-radicalised individuals involved in terrorism are dealt with under the Internal Security Act.[61] There have also been reports of Singaporeans abducted by criminal gangs to work in scam centres in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines and Thailand with the lure of overseas job postings.[62]

Operations

[edit]

The Singapore Police has taken action against transnational crime syndicates on its own or in combined operations with the Royal Malaysia Police:

  1. Thirteen transnational scam syndicates with the arrest of more than seventy persons (2022).[61]
  2. Home rental scams that incurred $1.3 million losses from 480 victims (2023).[63] The number of home rental scams was known to have increased from 192 cases (2021) to 979 cases (2022).[64]
  3. A "fake friend call" syndicate that incurred over $1.3 million losses from over 490 victims (2022-2023).[65]
  4. Money laundering cells that incurred over $1.3 million losses from 60 victims (2023).[66]

Criminal & civil proceedings

[edit]
Supreme Court Building

Singapore has indoctrinated strong rule of law and their civil and criminal justice systems have consistently performed well over the years. In the World Justice Report 2021 by the World Justice Project, it was ranked 17th out of 139 countries (scoring 8th place in civil justice, 7th place in criminal justice, 4th place in regulatory enforcement and 3rd place in absence of corruption).[67][68]

Commercial crimes

[edit]

As a leading financial hub that ranks third in the Global Financial Centres Index 2022,[69] Singapore is not immune to financial and corporate crime. Commercial crime includes insider dealing and market abuse, bribery and corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing. Since March 2015, financial crimes are investigated collaboratively by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to detect, investigate and deal with any misconduct.[70] In May 2023, new offences concerning rash and negligent money laundering were added to the CDSA.[71] Notable commercial crime cases include the following:

  1. The share prices of three companies - Asiansons Capital, Blumont Group and LionGold Corp were manipulated causing their share prices to collapse and two financial institutions were also cheated from August 2012 to October 2013.[72]
  2. There was an alleged conspiracy to bribe (US$55 million) officials of Brazilian company Petrobras by six senior management staff of Keppel O&M from 2001 to 2014 . Keppel O&M agreed to pay more than US$422 million to resolve the charges.[73] The six staff were issued stern warnings for the bribery-related offences.[74]
  3. There were breaches of anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism requirements (AML/CFT) by Standard Chartered Bank (S'pore) and Standard Chartered Trust (S'pore) from December 2015 to January 2016. The companies were fined S$5.2 million and S$1.2 million respectively.[75]
  4. There were breaches of anti-money laundering regulations since the 1MDB scandal broke. Eight banks in Singapore were subjected to fines of up to S$29.1 million. The BSI Bank and Falcon Private Bank (S'pore) were closed.[76]
  5. In findings reported by the United Nations (UN), US$254 million worth of arms and raw materials to manufacture weapons were shipped to Myanmar military through Singapore based entities from February 2021 to December 2022. The report said that the Singapore banks have been "used extensively by arms dealers" and that "substantial reserves" of Myanmar are suspected to be held in DBS, UOB and OCBC Banks. In response to the UN report, the Singapore Authorities said that it will not hesitate to take action against any individual or entity that contravenes its laws. According to the UN, about 3,000 civilians have been killed by the Myanmar military since the coup, including more than 200 children.[77]

Money laundering

[edit]
Money Laundering Cycle

From 2020 to 2022, at least 240 people were convicted of money laundering offences (largely related to domestic scams) and a total of $1.2 billion worth of assets were seized.[78] In August 2023, the police arrested ten foreign nationals on suspicion of committing offences such as forgery and money laundering.[79] Over $2.8 billion worth of assets were seized and/or subjected to prohibition of disposal orders in raids across the country: 152 properties and 62 vehicles (>$1.24 billion), cash in bank accounts (>$1.45 billion), cash of various currencies (>$76 million), thousands of bottles of wine and spirits, cryptocurrencies (>$38 million), 68 gold bars, 294 luxury bags, 164 branded watches and 546 pieces of jewelry.[78]

[edit]

The global shift in attitudes toward drugs has also led to the liberalisation of drug policies in some countries, as evident in the decriminalisation and/or legalisation of cannabis in Thailand and some states in the United States. Due to its proximity to major producing countries (e.g. Golden Triangle) in the illegal drug trade (worth about 1% of total global trade), Singapore is also vulnerable to the inflow of drugs.[80]

2022

[edit]

The number of drug abusers arrested increased 4% from 2,729 cases (2021) to 2,826 cases (2022). The Central Narcotics Bureau highlighted trends of increased cannabis seizures and a growing number of new cannabis users below the age of 30 years, with some as young as 14. Some of the users were involved in drug trafficking. Methamphetamine, heroin, cannabis and ecstasy were among the three most commonly abused drugs in Singapore. The estimated market value of drugs seized is $16.66 million. In the Misuse of Drug Act (MDA), 13 new psychoactive substances were added to the Class A controlled drugs schedule.[80] There were a total of 11 judiciary hangings all for drug related offences.[81]

Arrests* 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
No of drug abusers 3,439 3,526 3,056 2,729 2,826

source: *CNB annual reports, https://www.cnb.gov.sg

Human trafficking

[edit]

Singapore is a transit and destination country for human trafficking.[82][83] Individuals trafficked from other South and South-east Asian countries are often rendered vulnerable to sex or labour exploitation through various means. Regarding human smuggling, Singapore has seen a decrease in cases as authorities have become better at detecting concealed individuals at land and sea checkpoints.[84][85] However, at the same time, criminal organisations have developed more sophisticated methods of human smuggling, including the procurement of genuine and fraudulent travel documents.[86]

Some of the 849,700[87] foreign work permit holders who constitute almost one-quarter of Singapore's labour force are at risk of trafficking. Most victims migrate willingly for work in construction, domestic service, performing arts, manufacturing, the service industry, or commercial sex but may later face exploitation in these sectors. To migrate, many workers assume large debts[88] to recruitment agents in their home countries and sometimes in Singapore, placing them at risk for debt bondage. Foreign workers from countries with a small presence in Singapore can experience language barriers that increase their isolation.[85]

Traffickers compel foreign workers into sex trafficking or forced labour through threats of forced repatriation without pay, restrictions on movement, physical and sexual abuse, and withholding wages and travel documents, such as passports. Some recruitment agencies illegally engage in contract switching and charge workers fees more than the legal limit. Foreign workers have credible fears of losing their work visas and being deported,[89] since employers have the ability to repatriate workers legally at any time during their contracts with minimal notice. Unscrupulous employers exploit the limited transferability of low-skilled work visas to control or manipulate workers.[85]

Reports indicate that some fishing vessel captains of long-haul boats that transit or dock at Singaporean ports use physical abuse to force men to perform labour.[90] A small number of Singapore residents facilitate and engage in child sex tourism abroad.[85][91]

Abuse of vulnerable persons

[edit]

The protection of vulnerable persons from domestic violence comes under the charter of the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).[92]

Child Abuse

[edit]

In 2021, there were over 2,000 cases of child abuse investigated by MSF's Child Protective Services in Singapore. MSF said that the increase in the number of cases from 2015 onwards was attributed to the introduction of more rigorous screening tools and training to spot such cases of abuse for professionals working with children, such as educators, social workers, counsellors, and health professionals.[93][94]

Investigated Cases 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Physical Abuse 171 148 161 263 444 373 584 660 677 788
Sexual Abuse 70 60 56 82 107 181 248 210 261 443
Neglect 136 135 164 206 322 340 331 218 375 910
Total 383 343 381 551 873 894 1,163 1,088 1,313 2,141

Elderly Abuse

[edit]

The number of cases of elderly abuse have also been increasing over the years.[95]

Known Cases 2019 2020 2021
High Risk 85 71 39
Total 232 283 338
[edit]

In 2014, the government explained during a parliamentary sitting that between 2009 and 2013, there were more than 18,000 persons arrested out of which 20% were foreigners. The arrest rates for foreigners were 272 per 10,000 persons while the arrest rate for residents were 385 per 10,000 persons.[96]

In a 2019 report Public Attitudes Towards Migrant Workers in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations Women, a majority (52%) of survey respondents in Singapore felt that crime rates have increased due to immigration although there is little direct evidence to back up the claims. The findings suggested that programmes and policies be put in place to encourage interaction and community engagement of foreign workers and discourage exclusion, isolation and discrimination practices.[97]

According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), an average of 270 reports of abuse involving migrant domestic workers (MDWs) were made to the police each year between 2017 and 2020.[98]

Traffic offences

[edit]

Serious traffic offences involving death, injury or damage to public property fall under the jurisdiction of criminal law in Singapore.[99] In 1985, the legal alcohol limit has been revised from 0.11% to 0.08% BAC. The number of accidents and arrests related to drink driving are given in the table below.[100] In other developments, cyclists who break road rules such as non-conformance to group size, failing to stop at red lights, riding abreast of another cyclist on single lane roads and cycling on expressways are subject to higher compositions fines or imprisonment, effective from January 2022.[101]

Drink Driving 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
No of Fatal Accidents 11 7 13 8 10
No of Accidents 178 162 146 155 175
No of Arrests 1,685 1,453 1,517 1,987 2,038

Failure to Report a Crime

[edit]

Under §424 and §202 of the Criminal Procedure Code, it is a legal duty binding upon any person who has knowledge or reason to believe or suspect that a crime has been committed, to submit a police report (or witness report where applicable). The failure to act in accordance with the aforementioned will render the person to be liable to the charge of perverting or obstructing justice.[102]

Crime deterrence

[edit]
Main article: Singapore Police Force

The National Crime Prevention Council of Singapore maintains a web portal Scam Alert that offers scam prevention campaign posters[103] and also encourages victims to come forward to share their stories.[104]

The Neighbourhood Watch Zone scheme was formed on 27 April 1997[105] and today includes the Citizens On Patrol (COP) initiative, which conducts regular foot patrol with community policing.[106] Officers go around each neighbourhood to project police presence and to disseminate crime prevention pamphlet to the residents.

The Ministries of Law and Home Affairs said that the death penalty is an effective deterrent when it comes to the most serious crimes, including the trafficking of significant quantities of drugs as well as crimes such as murder.[107]

Number of judiciary hangings

Type 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Drugs 2 2 3 0 2 0 0 2 3 2 8 11 2 0 0 11 5
Murder 1 4 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0
Firearms 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 3 6 5 0 4 0 0 2 4 4 8 13 4 0 0 11 5

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Singapore Travel Advice". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Singapore". Smartraveller. Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Archived from the original on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Global Law and Order 2022" (PDF). Gallup, Inc. p. 15. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Safe Cities Index 2021". The Economist. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Global Insights & Market Intelligence". Economist Intelligence.
  6. ^ "Crime Rate by Country 2023". World Population Review.
  7. ^ "Global Organized Crime Index". Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.
  8. ^ "Statistics". Singapore Police Force.
  9. ^ a b Sun, David (16 February 2023). "Physical crime rises in 2022, with molestation, voyeurism, theft among crimes of concern: Police". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Types of physical crime". The Straits Times. SPH Media.
  11. ^ a b Chua, Nadine (19 February 2024). "Physical crime cases fall below 20,000 in 2023 but shop theft, voyeurism offences spike". The Straits Times. SPH Media.
  12. ^ "Statistics". Singapore Police Force.
  13. ^ Choo, Daryl (29 August 2022). "Scams account for over half of crime reports in first half of 2022, with victims losing S$228m". TODAY. MediaCorp.
  14. ^ Goddard, Steve (17 February 2023). "The global scam pandemic hits Singapore". Featurespace. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  15. ^ [1]
  16. ^ [2]
  17. ^ a b c Ng, Yun Shiean; Tan, Mike (19 February 2024). "Annual Scams and Cybercrime Brief 2023". Singapore Police Force Media Room. Ministry of Home Affairs.
  18. ^ "Statistics". Singapore Police Force.
  19. ^ "The Global State of Scams Report 2022". Group-IB. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  20. ^ a b "Scam victims in Singapore lost S$651.8 million in 2023, with record high cases". The Business Times. SPH Media. 18 February 2024.
  21. ^ "Police Advisory on Resurgence of Phishing Scams Involving Malware to Steal Banking Credentials". Singapore Police Force Media Room. 13 April 2023.
  22. ^ a b c Chua, Nadine (6 September 2022). "Staff from 6 banks deployed at police's Anti-Scam Command office for faster response to cases". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  23. ^ Chua, Nadine (8 February 2023). "Scam victims in S'pore lost $660.7m in 2022; more than half of them were young adults". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  24. ^ Tan, Bryan (16 May 2023). "Singapore tackles online criminal activities with a trio of bills". ReedSmith.
  25. ^ Chan, Arvind (27 February 2023). "MHA COS 2023: Combatting Scams and Safeguarding Singapore, Together". Ministry of Home Affairs. Government of Singapore.
  26. ^ "Scamshield". Open Government Products.
  27. ^ "Overview of SMS sender ID registry". Singapore Network Information Centre Pte Ltd.
  28. ^ Tang, See Kit (7 November 2023). "Safeguards by banks, telcos under shared liability framework to 'materially reduce' phishing scam risks: MAS". Channel News Asia. MediaCorp.
  29. ^ Tay, Peck Gek. "US$1.1b nickel scam accused Ng Yu Zhi faces possibly over 20 years in jail if convicted". Business Times. SPH Media. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  30. ^ Alkhatib, Shaffiq (26 October 2021). "Trio charged over plans to help businessman Ng Yu Zhi, linked to alleged fraud of $1.2b, flee S'pore". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  31. ^ Hussain, Amir (17 May 2016). "Guilty As Charged: Sunshine Empire duped investors of millions with Singapore's biggest Ponzi scheme". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  32. ^ Lai, Linette (6 January 2018). "The rise and fall of Sunshine Empire". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  33. ^ Alkhatib, Shaffiq (24 May 2019). "Investor who promoted pyramid scheme fined $120,000". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  34. ^ "Three Convicted for Promoting a Prohibited Multi-level Marketing Scheme". Singapore Police Force. 5 June 2020.
  35. ^ "Man Convicted for Promoting a Multi-Level Marketing Scheme Involving Cryptocurrency (Onecoin)". Singapore Police Force. 20 January 2021.
  36. ^ Alkhatib, Shaffiq (10 April 2019). "2 men charged over allegedly promoting multi-level marketing scheme involving purported cryptocurrency". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  37. ^ "Last Two Members Of Criminal Syndicate Convicted For Their Involvement In Multi-Million Dollar Fraud On SkillsFuture Singapore". Singapore Police Force. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  38. ^ "Jail for couple who were key syndicate members behind S$40 million SkillsFuture scam". Channel News Asia. MediaCorp. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  39. ^ Lam, Lydia (31 May 2023). "Right-hand man of mastermind in S$39.9m SkillsFuture fraud gets over 13 years' jail". Channel News Asia. MediaCorp. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  40. ^ Samsuri, Sufiyan (31 May 2023). "S$40m SkillsFuture fraud: Last syndicate member to be sentenced gets over 13 years' jail". TODAY. MediaCorp. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  41. ^ Chua, Nadine (19 July 2022). "Interpol alerted as couple go missing after allegedly failing to deliver $32m of luxury goods". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  42. ^ Alkhatib, Shaffiq (2 February 2023). "Phishing scams involving OCBC customers: Teen ordered to undergo reformative training". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  43. ^ Tang, Louisa (20 February 2022). "7 youths aged 19 to 22 charged over recent OCBC phishing scams; 6 others under probe". TODAY. MediaCorp. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  44. ^ Chelvan, Vanessa (30 January 2022). "OCBC says S$13.7 million lost in phishing scams, up from S$8.5 million". Channel News Asia. MediaCorp. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  45. ^ "MAS Imposes Additional Capital Requirement on OCBC Bank for Deficiencies in Response to Spoofed SMS Phishing Scams". Monetary Authority of Singapore. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  46. ^ Alkhatib, Shaffiq (18 February 2017). "Man gets 10 years in jail for role in $6 million car import scam". AsiaOne. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  47. ^ "Woman cheated victims of S$1.39 million in investment scams, evaded police for 10 years". Channel News Asia. MediaCorp. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  48. ^ Lam, Lydia (12 October 2023). "Woman scammed 10 people of S$880,000 including lover who cheated parents of life savings for her". Channel News Asia. MediaCorp. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  49. ^ Alkhatib, Shaffiq (25 August 2023). "Jail for scammer who cheated multiple victims, including neighbour and friend, of nearly $714k". The Straits Times. SPH Media. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  50. ^ Dolmetsch, Chris (13 March 2021). "S'pore resident previously convicted over Google pre-IPO scheme faces fraud charges in New York". The Straits Times (proxy). Bloomberg. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  51. ^ "Singapore Resident Charged In Manhattan Federal Court With Fraudulent Pre-IPO Stock Scheme". United States Attorney's Office Southern District of New York. United States Department of Justice. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  52. ^ "Man cheated 62 victims from at least 12 countries of $383k in one of S'pore's largest rental scams". The New Paper. SPH Media. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  53. ^ Lam, Lydia (25 October 2023). "Man behind one of Singapore's largest rental scams, with S$383,000 cheated from 68 victims, jailed". Channel News Asia. MediaCorp.
  54. ^ Devaraj, Samuel (6 April 2023). "32 months' jail for renovation business owner who scammed 40 victims of over $160,000". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  55. ^ "Jail for man who scammed boyfriends and mentally ill woman, filed false rape reports, forged S$1 trillion cheque". TODAY. MediaCorp. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  56. ^ Alkhatib, Shaffiq (23 May 2023). "Scammer offering electronics on Carousell gets jail for cheating 128 people of nearly $148k". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  57. ^ Alkhatib, Shaffiq (31 August 2022). "5 years' jail for man behind 'largest e-commerce fraud by an individual' in Singapore". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  58. ^ "Multi-level Marketing and Pyramid Selling (Prohibition) Act (Chapter 190)". Ministry of Trade and Industry. Government of Singapore.
  59. ^ "Company Listing". Direct Selling Association of Singapore. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  60. ^ Chen, James (27 May 2023). "Ponzi Schemes: Definition, Examples, and Origins". Investopedia.
  61. ^ a b "17th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime - Singapore Country Statement by Assoc Prof Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of National Development". Ministry of Home Affairs. Government of Singapore. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  62. ^ Sun, David (31 August 2023). "Well-educated S'poreans among people trafficked to work in scam centres: United Nations report". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  63. ^ "13 arrested over rental scams that cheated victims of S$1.3 million". Channel News Asia. MediaCorp. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  64. ^ Sim, David (10 May 2023). "Home rental scams rose fivefold in 2022, public should view homes physically and not pay in advance". The Straits Times. SPH Media.
  65. ^ Mujibah, Fatimah (19 February 2023). "Transnational syndicate scamming S'poreans crippled after joint operation with Malaysia police". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  66. ^ Leo, Lakeisha (16 August 2023). "13 people arrested as Singapore, Malaysia police bust syndicates linked to various scams". Channel News Asia. MediaCorp.
  67. ^ "Singapore ranked 17 out of 139 countries on rule of law, dropping three positions" (PDF). World Justice Project. 14 October 2021.
  68. ^ "Rule of law index 2022". The Straits Times. SPH Media.
  69. ^ "About The Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI)". Z/Yen Group Ltd.
  70. ^ Lim, Debby (July 2019). "Financial crimes in Singapore – an overview". Financier Worldwide Magazine.
  71. ^ Ang, Wilson; Low, Charis (16 May 2023). "Singapore toughens laws to combat financial crime and money laundering". Norton Rose Fullbright.
  72. ^ "Masterminds Behind Singapore's Largest Stock Market Manipulation Jailed". Monetary Authority of Singapore. 28 December 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  73. ^ Tang, Louisa; Yeoh, Grace (6 February 2023). "Keppel corruption case: Lack of sufficient evidence to prosecute 6 ex-employees, says Indranee Rajah". Channel News Asia. MediaCorp.
  74. ^ Tan, Janice (12 January 2023). "Six former Keppel O&M staff issued stern warnings for bribery-related offences". Business Times. SPH Media. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  75. ^ "Singapore fines Standard Chartered $4 million over money laundering breaches". CNBC. 19 March 2018.
  76. ^ Leong, Grace (30 May 2017). "1MDB-related probe: How things unfolded in Singapore". The Straits Times. SPH Media.
  77. ^ Sun, David (19 May 2023). "S'pore says it will not hesitate to take action after UN report flags shipments to Myanmar military". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  78. ^ a b Chua, Nadine (3 October 2023). "S'pore money laundering case among world's largest with assets seized worth over $2.8b". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  79. ^ Orie, Amarachi (17 August 2023). "Ten foreigners arrested as $735 million in cash and assets seized in Singapore". CNN. Warner Bros Discovery.
  80. ^ a b "Key Drug Statistics 2022" (PDF). Central Narcotics Bureau. Government of Singapore. 26 May 2023.
  81. ^ Devaraj, Samuel (9 February 2023). "11 judicial executions in 2022; none in previous two years". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  82. ^ "Human trafficking in Singapore". Hagar International. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  83. ^ "Singapore Inter-Agency Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons". Ministry of Manpower. Government of Singapore. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  84. ^ "Combating Trafficking in Persons". Ministry of Home Affairs. Government of Singapore. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  85. ^ a b c d "2022 Trafficking in Persons Report: Singapore". United States Department of State. 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2023.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  86. ^ "Singapore's Crime Index". Global Organized Crime Index. Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.
  87. ^ "Foreign workforce numbers". Ministry of Manpower. Government of Singapore.
  88. ^ "Singapore: Helping the migrant workers who pay to get jobs". BBC News. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  89. ^ Harrigan, Nicolas; Chiu, Yee Koh; Amirruddin, Amirah (June 2017). "Threat of deportation as proximal social determinant of mental health amongst migrant workers". Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. 19 (3): 511–522.
  90. ^ "Migrant workers in Singapore "vulnerable to forced labor, including debt bondage", says US TIP 2017 report". TWC2. 14 July 2017.
  91. ^ Moiz, Azmeen; Mohamad, Halijah (September 2006). "Beyond Borders: Sex with Children - Implementing Exta-Territoria Legislation for Singaporeans" (PDF). AWARE.
  92. ^ "Help those in need". Ministry of Social and Family Development. Government of Singapore. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  93. ^ Ang, Shermaine (11 April 2022). "Child abuse cases in Singapore continue to rise after hitting decade-high in 2020". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  94. ^ "Child Abuse Investigations". Ministry of Social and Family Development. Government of Singapore. 11 January 2023.
  95. ^ Ang, Shermaine (4 April 2022). "Elder abuse on the rise, but no increase in higher-risk cases: Sun Xueling". The Straits Times. SPH Media.
  96. ^ "Dormitory warns foreign workers to think of loved ones before committing crimes like molest and robbery". The Independent News & Media Pte Ltd. 26 February 2016.
  97. ^ Jakkula, Swathi (December 2020). "Public attitudes towards migrant workers in Singapore" (PDF). International Labour Organization. United Nations Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
  98. ^ Deveraj, Samuel (29 March 2021). "Average of 270 maid abuse reports made each year from 2017 to 2020". The New Paper. SPH Media.
  99. ^ "10 Common Traffic Offences and Their Penalty". IRB Law. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  100. ^ Wong, Andrew (11 June 2023). "Road accidents linked to drink driving up again with return of nightlife activities". The Straits Times. SPH Media. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  101. ^ Louisa, Tang (14 July 2023). "Cyclists fined for first time since new group size rule introduced". Channel News Asia. MediaCorp. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  102. ^ "Failure to report a Crime". ARLC Legal.
  103. ^ "Campaign Posters". Scam Alert Singapore. National Crime Prevention Council (Singapore). Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  104. ^ "Your Scam Story is Important to Us!". Scam Alert Singapore. National Crime Prevention Council (Singapore). Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  105. ^ "Neighbourhood Watch Zone". Singapore Police Force. Ministry of Home Affairs. Archived from the original on 17 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  106. ^ Lee, Denise (15 December 2014). "Citizens on Patrol members commended at Community Policing System roll-out". Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  107. ^ Root, Rebecca. "Singapore faces criticism for use of death penalty and allegations about prisoner treatment". International Bar Association. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crime_in_Singapore&oldid=1231924132"