Singapore Parliament: Law proposed where convicts of serious sexual or violent crimes can be detained indefinitely
Under the proposed change, these offenders will be released from prison only if they are found to no longer pose a threat to public
Chia Han Keong
·Editor
Updated Wed, 10 January 2024 at 7:18 am GMT·4-min read
FILE PHOTO: Getty Images
SINGAPORE — A harsher sentencing option, targeting high-risk offenders who commit serious sexual and violent crimes such as rape or culpable homicide, was proposed in Parliament on Wednesday (10 January).
Under the Sentence for Enhanced Public Protection (SEPP), introduced as part of the Criminal Procedure (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, these offenders must serve a minimum jail term of five to 20 years, and will be released from prison only if the Minister for Home Affairs finds they no longer pose a threat to the public.
If found unsuitable to be released, they could be further detained indefinitely, and even up to life. Currently, such offenders must be automatically released after a certain point, regardless of the threat they pose to others.
CNA reported Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam saying during a media briefing on the Bill on Monday that the proposed amendments are "very substantive".
"There will be a proper assessment. Is (the offender) mentally and psychologically fit to be released, or is he going to continue to be a menace to society? If he continues to be a menace to society, he can be kept in,” he is quoted as saying.
Current sentencing options are 'inadequate': ministries
In a joint media release by the Law and Home Affairs ministries on Wednesday, both ministries said that Singapore's current sentencing options in dealing with "egregious offending" are inadequate."The government has been looking at ways to better protect the public from such dangerous offenders, who pose a substantial risk of serious physical and/or sexual harm to others, especially to those in our society who are vulnerable," the ministries said in the media release.
"We want to ensure that such dangerous and high-risk offenders are not released back into the community until they no longer pose a threat to public safety.
"Our current sentencing options are inadequate to deal with such egregious offending. For offences that do not attract life imprisonment, the available sentencing options all presently require an offender to be released automatically after a certain point, regardless of the threat they pose to others."
These offences – to be prescribed in a new schedule under the Criminal Procedure Code – include culpable homicide, attempted murder, voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous means, aggravated molestation, rape, and sexual penetration of a minor. The ministries added that safeguards will be put in place to ensure the sentence is fair.
How the proposed SEPP will be applied
The SEPP will apply to those aged 21 and above, and will not just be for recalcitrant offenders, but for first-time offenders as well. If sentenced under the SEPP, offenders can be detained between five and 20 years, and they will not get remission, which is a discount on their sentences.At the end of the jail term, if the offender is found suitable to leave prison, he will be released on licence – meaning that he would have to comply with certain conditions, such as e-tagging. The offender will then be subjected to a review every two years and can be unconditionally discharged, bringing the sentence to an end.
However, if they are not found suitable to be released on licence, they can be detained for as long as required - up to life - for public safety. This will be reviewed yearly.
This differs from imprisonment, corrective training or preventive detention, where an offender must be released after serving their sentence.
The Bill will be debated in Parliament at a later sitting.
Separate SPP to target repeat offenders
Separately, the Criminal Procedure (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill also proposes to introduce the Sentence for Public Protection (SPP), which is aimed at repeat offenders aged 21 and above. It differs from an SEPP in that the sentence will be a fixed term of between five and 20 years as determined by the courts.The SPP is proposed as an amended version of the preventive detention regime, which applies to offenders aged 30 or above who commit serious crimes, and whom the courts assess need to be detained for a substantial period of between seven and 20 years.
The Law and Home Affairs ministries also proposed to repeal the corrective training regime, which applies to offenders aged 18 or above. These offenders receive a prison term of between five and 14 years and can also be released early, subject to supervision.
The ministries said a review of both the regimes, which are for recalcitrant offenders who commit serious offences that did not justify life imprisonment at the outset, was “necessary” as such offenders are sentenced to a fixed term but may still be a threat to the public, and would have to be released after serving their time.
