SINGAPORE ADDS TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS-RELATED

UNCLAS SINGAPORE 001610

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

INL/HSTC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM PHUM ELAB KWMN ETTC EFIN SN
SUBJECT: SINGAPORE ADDS TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS-RELATED
CRIMES TO SCHEDULE OF SERIOUS OFFENSES

REF: SINGAPORE 1578


1. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs has expanded its
"Schedule of Serious Offenses," adding 108 new categories of
offenses including several crimes under the Children and
Young Persons Act (CYPA),the Women's Charter (WC),and the
Immigration Act (IA) that are related to trafficking in
persons. (Note: Other crimes related to trafficking under
the Penal Code have been included on the list since its
creation in September 1999.) The schedule already included
child abuse and trafficking in women and children, but the
amended version, which entered into force on May 8, now also
includes:

-- sexual exploitation of a child or young person (CYPA
Section 7);
-- unlawful transfer of custody of a child (CYPA Section 12);
-- Importation of a child by false pretenses (CYPA Section
13);
-- Living on the earnings of a prostitute (WC Section 146);
-- Keeping or managing a place of assignation for
prostitution (WC Section 147);
-- Keeping or managing a brothel (WC Section 148);
-- Abetting unlawful entry or departure (IA Section 57.1.aa &
57.1.b); and
-- Engaging in the business of conveying prohibiting
migrants, which includes prostitutes (IA Section 57.1.c).


2. Sections 146, 147, and 148 of the Women's Charter are
among the most common charges brought against "third-parties"
caught encouraging or abetting another person's prostitution,
and are often used against suspected or alleged traffickers
when a legal case of trafficking can not be made. The
inclusion of the Immigration Act offenses appears to support
Singapore's recently stepped-up efforts to identify women who
are entering -- or being brought -- into Singapore to engage
in prostitution.


3. The Schedule of Serious Offenses has two functions.
First, it serves as a list of predicate offenses for
Singapore's Corruption, Drug Trafficking, and Other Serious
Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act of 1999 (CDSA). The
CDSA criminalizes the laundering of proceeds from the 292
categories of crimes listed in the Schedule of Serious
Offenses, and allows the government to seize all proceeds
from these crimes, regardless of whether or not the crime
itself was committed in Singapore. The schedule also
identifies the offenses that Singapore authorities may
investigate in cooperation with law enforcement officials
from other countries under Singapore's Mutual Assistance in
Legal Matters Act, which significantly restricts Singapore
officials' ability to share law enforcement information
regarding crimes not listed in the schedule.


4. Comment: Singapore's expansion of the serious crimes list
to include several key trafficking-related crimes is a step
forward in Singapore's efforts to combat trafficking in
persons. The move increase the penalties for these crimes by
allowing the government to seize profits and prosecute
money-laundering related to these crimes whether the criminal
activity occurred inside Singapore or abroad. In addition,
the new schedule opens the door to closer law-enforcement
cooperation with its neighbors in investigating and
prosecuting these trafficking related crimes.
HERBOLD