Singapore: New law will imprison 'dangerous offenders' for indefinite period

Singapore enacted legislation on Monday that permits the detention of “dangerous offenders” long after their jail terms are up. The law is applicable to adults over 21 who have been found guilty of crimes like rape, culpable homicide, and having sex with minors and who are thought to be at risk of reoffending after their release. In a speech in parliament, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said: “An offender who continues to pose a real danger to others should not be released.” He used the case of a guy convicted of raping his 6-year-old stepdaughter as an example. The man was released from prison and went on to sexually abuse his sister’s 10-year-old granddaughter in 2015. He molested the girl’s nine-year-old younger sister in 2017. “We have to deal with these kinds of menace and protect our society,” said Shanmugam. According to the new rule, criminals who have served their sentences in prison will now require the home affairs minister to declare them no longer a threat to the public before they can be freed from custody. A review board including retired judges, attorneys, psychologists, and psychiatrists would provide advice to the minister. The offender and his attorneys might present their case to the board. Every year, the cases of those deemed unfit for release will be reexamined. According to Singapore, less than thirty offenders will be impacted by this law annually. For sexual offenders who are deemed likely to commit new crimes, the federal government, 20 states, and the District of Columbia have similar laws. Despite some cautionary advice, the bill in Singapore was passed with broad support, including from the opposition party. Legislator Sylvia Lim of the Workers’ Party, an opposition party, stated that it was difficult to forecast future acts of violence and that there was a chance of “over-detaining someone based on a wrong prediction of dangerousness.” According to Lim, judges already have the authority to impose consecutive terms, which can keep criminals incarcerated for the majority of their lifetimes. This is a better alternative than “leaving it to the executive to determine when an offender should be released.” Human Rights Watch, an NGO, stated that it is against policies that prolong detention because they infringe on the right to due process. (With agency inputs)