SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Ministry of Social and Family Development ( MSF ) on Monday ( Dec 30 ) said it would postpone the implementation of legal amendments to expand rehabilitative support for older youth offenders, from Jan 1, 2025 to later in the year.
The amendments are in line with the Children and Young Persons Act ( CYPA ), and they were passed in 2019 to make it easier for offenders between the ages of 16 and under 18 to have their cases heard in the Youth Courts as opposed to being tried in the State Courts.
Situations involving older students who are repeat offenders or who commit severe acts should still be transferred to the State Courts or High Courts in order to preserve public health and deter crime.
These major crimes include critical sexual offences, unregistered moneylending and drug smuggling.
However, MSF and the Ministry of Home Affairs “assessed that the parliamentary rules governing the transfer of situations from the Youth Courts do not thoroughly achieve this meant policy,” according to MSF in a discharge.
The amendments, it continued, “do not supply the State and High Courts enough freedom to impose tougher sentences on older children offenders where stronger punishment is required.”
In response to queries from CNA, MSF elaborated that under the 2019 amendments, the courts ‘ powers to implement firmer punishment- quite as corrective training, imprisonment and caning- “are more constrained than intended”.
In an illogical situation, for instance, a 17-year-old sexually assaults a minor under the age of 16 and is found innocent by the High Court but is not destructive or unruly.
Therefore, according to MSF, he never been ordered to supervision or a juvenile rehabilitation facility like Boys ‘ House, which is significant to the severity of the murder. He can only be ordered to probation or a juvenile treatment facility.
The Singapore Prison Service oversees corrective education and places an emphasis on structure and discipline. Youth criminals are able to continue their education or group work through parole orders.
Thus, more legislative changes are necessary to ensure that the State Courts and High Court can continue to implement firmer words in more severe cases and provide complete effect to the 2019 CYPA modifications, according to a spokeswoman from MSF.
These will be made after in 2025,” content to several factors including the schedules of parliament proceedings”, said the government.