Commencement of Amendments to the Penal Code and Other Legislation on 1 January 2020

1. Amendments to the Penal Code and criminal provisions in other legislation will come into effect on 1 January 2020. They comprise the majority of amendments introduced through the Criminal Law Reform Act (CLRA) and Protection from Harassment (Amendment) Act, which were passed by Parliament on 6 and 7 May 2019 respectively. These amendments keep our legislation up-to-date with emerging trends and enhance protection for vulnerable victims.
   Tackling Emerging Crime Trends

2. Advances in technology have facilitated the commission of sexual offences such as voyeurism and the distribution of intimate images without consent. To better tackle such cases, specialised offences were introduced to criminalise the:

3. A new offence of sexual exposure was also introduced. This offence criminalises the non-consensual exposure of genitals, whether in the physical or the virtual space, such as sending unsolicited images of genitals over an electronic medium to another person (also referred to as “cyber-flashing”).
   Enhanced Protection for Vulnerable Victims

4. The maximum punishment for the following offences was doubled:

5. New offences were introduced to:
   Updating the Penal Code

6. Attempted suicide is no longer a crime. To ensure that distressed persons are provided with the necessary assistance, the Police Force Act and Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act have also been amended to empower Police officers to intervene in cases of attempted suicide, to prevent injury or loss of life. However, the abetment of suicide or abetment of attempted suicide will continue to be a crime.

7. Marital immunity for rape is fully repealed.Sexual relations in any relationship should be based on mutual consent. This amendment ensures that all women are protected from sexual abuse.
   Amendments Taking Effect at a Later Date

8. The following amendments will be operationalised at a later date.

[1] The enhanced penalties apply unless the offender proves that the victim’s age/disability/domestic worker status (as the case may be) did not adversely affect the victim’s ability to protect himself/herself from the harm caused by the offence.

[2] The court will determine whether the offender was in an intimate relationship with the victim having regard to all the circumstances, including whether they shared the care and support of a child, were financially dependent on each other, or shared tasks and duties in their daily lives.

[3] Persons who are members of the same household and who have frequent contact with each other.

[4] The enhanced penalties apply unless the offender proves that the relationship did not adversely affect the victim’s ability to protect himself/herself from the harm caused by the offence.