November 4, 2025
Canes, crypto, and chaos
Singapore to cane scammers as billions lost in financial crimes
Net erupts: tough love vs 'too far' as Singapore okays caning for scammers
TLDR: Singapore approved caning for scammers after victims lost US$2.9B since 2020. Comments split between cheering deterrence and warning of authoritarian overreach, with bankers saying regulators already scare them and skeptics doubting it stops overseas rings; everyone agrees victims need stronger protection.
Singapore just approved caning for scammers after police say victims have lost about US$2.9B since 2020 and scams now make up 60% of all crimes. Cue an internet pile‑on. The empathy camp is raw: “Families losing their life’s savings,” argued one user, insisting harsh penalties are overdue. Bank insiders chimed in with gallows humor—“Zero ****s given” about fines—saying Singapore’s regulators already scare bankers straight. On the flip side, political nerds dubbed Singapore “an autocratic, single party state,” blasting corporal punishment as too far and doubting it’ll stop overseas scam rings.
Memes flew: crypto folks joked “3AC first?” and someone photoshopped the Merlion wielding a rattan. Practical voices reminded everyone this isn’t a snap move—years of scam education, bank freezes, and new powers to throttle suspicious accounts are already in play, with nearly 20,000 cases and S$456.4M lost in just the past half‑year. The thread turned into a cage match: deterrence vs civil liberties, canes vs keyboards. Will a sting on the backside make a dent in the billions—or just make headlines? Either way, Singapore’s tough‑love brand is trending, and the comments are the real fireworks.
Key Points
- •Singapore’s parliament passed a measure to introduce caning as a punishment for scammers.
- •Scam victims in Singapore lost about S$3.8 billion (US$2.9 billion) since 2020, with a record S$1.1 billion last year.
- •Nearly 20,000 scam cases and S$456.4 million in losses were recorded in the first half of this year.
- •Sim Ann said scams account for 60% of all reported crimes in Singapore.
- •Authorities have implemented measures including banking/telecoms restrictions, police control of suspected targets’ bank accounts, and bank-police-central bank collaboration to detect and freeze scam-linked funds.