Singapore to impose harsher penalties for certain sex crimes

Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said the prison terms for molestation and sexual activities in the presence of a minor will increase

This follows outrage over the perceived lenient sentence given to a National University of Singapore student for trying to strangle his ex-girlfriend

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Singapore's Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said an offender will not receive a lighter sentence simply because he has higher educational qualifications, or has better prospects in life. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:00pm, 5 Mar 2021Updated: 10:05pm, 5 Mar 2021

Singapore will increase penalties for some sex crimes, officials said on Friday, after an outcry over students at elite universities being given punishments criticised as too lenient for attacks on women.

Last year, a dentistry student at the National University of Singapore spent just 12 days behind bars for trying to strangle his ex-girlfriend. Another student from the same university was initially sentenced to probation for molesting a woman on a train.

Many were outraged at what they saw as light sentences and expressed concern the offenders were given lenient punishments because of their academic potential.

On Friday, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam told parliament that “you shouldn’t be able to come to court to say you have a bright future, you will go far and so on”.

“An offender will not receive a lighter sentence simply because he has higher educational qualifications, or has better prospects in life,” he added, announcing tougher penalties for some sex offences.

The maximum prison term for molestation will be raised from two to three years.

Such cases rose about 24 per cent in the past five years compared with the previous five-year period, Shanmugam said.