Singapore has introduced a bill that would make jail or reformative training the normal punishment for young scam mules, instead of probation, in response to a High Court ruling that favoured rehabilitation.

What the Court Decided

In September, the High Court allowed appeals from four young offenders who had been sent to reformative training, and placed them on probation for between one and 18 months. All four committed their offences before the age of 21. Probation lets offenders serve their sentences in the community, with conditions such as curfews, without a criminal record. Reformative training involves detention in a centre with strict routines, and does leave a record. The court also dismissed the prosecution’s appeal against a 17-year-old who received a short detention order and community service. The judges said that reformative training or jail should not be the default for young scam mules.

What the Bill Proposes

The Ministry of Home Affairs said the bill restates Parliament’s intention that young people aged 21 and below who commit scam offences should face reformative training or jail as the main option, unless there are exceptional circumstances. The ministry argued that without a deterrent approach, Singapore’s scam and youth offending situation could worsen. The law would apply to offences committed before, on or after its start date. Sentencing guidelines drawn up with the Sentencing Advisory Panel say imprisonment or reformative training should be considered for all offenders, except those dealt with in the Youth Court.

Cases Not Affected

Two other appeals, involving offenders treated as adults, were dismissed. One man, aged 20 to 22 at the time, received 14 weeks’ jail for cheating, and a woman aged 27 received seven months and two weeks’ jail and a $500 fine for three offences. The decisions in these cases are final and will not be changed by the new law.

The Scale of the Problem

Scam victims in Singapore have lost more than $4 billion since 2019, including $913.1 million in 2025, after a record $1.1 billion in 2024. Police receive around 90 scam reports a day, with losses of about $2 million, in the first half of 2026. Cheating offences by young people rose by 37 per cent, from 814 in 2024 to 1,114 in 2025, and most of those cases involved scam mules.

Earlier Laws

Parliament has passed several laws since 2023 to tackle scams, including measures on money mules, Singpass account sales, SIM card misuse, caning for scammers and syndicate members, and online accounts used in scams. Parliament has also previously changed the law when court rulings did not match its policy intent, as it did after the City Harvest Church case in 2018.

This summary is based on the Straits Times report of 3 November 2026 and the Ministry of Home Affairs statement it quotes. The bill has not yet been passed.