Review of statutory penalties and additional deterrence measures for major sexual offences against children and young persons

Question:

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether statutory penalties for major sexual offences against children and young persons, such as rape, penetrative sexual assault and outrage of modesty, will be reviewed in view of recent increases in reported cases; and (b) whether the Ministry has evaluated pharmacological anti-androgen treatments and a sex offender register as additional measures to increase deterrence and reduce recidivism.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Senior Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs:

1. The Government takes a serious view of sexual crimes and imposes stiff penalties, in particular when the victims are minors. Rape, or penetrative sexual assault, involving a minor under the age of 14 without consent is punishable with a mandatory imprisonment term of not less than eight years and up to 20 years, with minimum 12 strokes of the cane. Outrage of modesty against a minor under the age of 14 is punishable with up to five years’ imprisonment, fine and caning. If the minor was hurt or restrained during the commission of the offence, there will be a mandatory minimum imprisonment term of three years, which may extend up to 10 years, and mandatory caning. These are heavy penalties, which send a strong signal to deter such offences.

2. Over the years, we have introduced several legislative amendments. These include introducing a new offence of exploitative sexual penetration of minors between 16 and below 18 in 2019, increasing the maximum imprisonment term for outrage of modesty in 2021, and more recently, commencing the Sentence for Enhanced Public Protection (SEPP) on 31 July 2026.

3. The SEPP deals with offenders who have committed serious violent or sexual offences, including rape and sexual penetration of minors, and who pose a substantial risk of reoffending. Under the SEPP regime, an offender will be detained for a minimum term of between five and 20 years, as determined by the court. An updated risk assessment will be conducted by a psychiatrist, and the offender will only be released if the Minister for Home Affairs assesses him or her to no longer pose a threat to the public.

4. We remain open to considering measures including pharmacological anti-androgen treatments, also known as chemical castrations, if it is clear that such measures are effective in bringing down crime rates. So far, the evidence is not conclusive on that.

5. The Member also asked about introducing a sex offender register. Today, the Police maintains a non-public record of persons convicted of serious offences, including sexual offences. The Police share these records with selected agencies, including the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and the Ministry of Education (MOE), when screening individuals applying to roles involving sustained contact with children and young persons. This approach balances the need to safeguard our children and the rehabilitation and reintegration efforts of ex-offenders.

6. To further strengthen safeguards for children, the Government has been considering the possible expansion of the scope of screening to cover more types of roles involving contact with children and young persons, including whether to introduce voluntary screening for unregulated sectors. We will share more details when ready.