SINGAPORE: Singapore police can now seize a person’s bank account if there is proof they are being scammed, according to legislation that came into force Tuesday.
The law, which passed in January, allows authorities to halt bank transactions if there is compelling evidence an account holder is about to transfer money to a scammer, even if willingly.
Previously, police were powerless to stop potential scam victims from transferring money even if it was clear they were being cheated.
The restriction will see the individual’s bank accounts, ATM access and credit facilities suspended, while still allowing them to withdraw funds for daily living expenses.
The law “enables the police to better protect targets of ongoing scams”, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement on Monday.
“The restriction order is necessary for the protection of the individual. (It) will be issued only as a last resort, after other options to convince the individual have been exhausted,“ it added.
The restriction had a time limit of 30 days that could be renewed a maximum of five times.
One example cited in parliament to support the law’s passage was the case of a 64-year-old woman who was duped into parting with Sg$400,000 ($315,000) by a supposed lover.
So-called romance scams have ballooned into a massive criminal industry.
Countries in East and Southeast Asia lost an estimated $37 billion to cyber fraud in 2023, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report.
Data cited in Singapore’s parliament during the debate on the law showed that “self-effected transfers” accounted for 86 percent of all scam reports and 94 percent of losses from January-September last year.
Eugene Tan, an associate professor of law at the Singapore Management University, told AFP in January that while the law could appear intrusive, the government saw scams as a “social menace that imposes a burden on society and the victim’s family”.
