Courts to consider reformative training or imprisonment as default sentences for young scam offenders

Parliament has introduced a new bill requiring courts to consider reformative training or imprisonment as default sentences for young scam offenders, aged 21 and below. This proposal, introduced by Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming, aims to prioritize deterrence over rehabilitation in cases involving scam-related offences.

The bill's introduction follows a High Court ruling in September 2026, which ruled that reformative training or imprisonment should not be the default sentence for young offenders who commit scam-enabling offences. The Ministry of Home Affairs emphasizes the need for swift and decisive deterrence to prevent scams from becoming more prevalent in Singapore, stating that if a deterrent approach is not taken, the country's scam and youth offending situation could deteriorate.

Brief written by urgent.news from Mothership's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.