SINGAPORE, March 7 — To plug an existing "operational gap” faced by police officers when they apprehend mentally disordered persons, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) tabled a Bill in Parliament today proposing to clarify when officers may search, restrain and use necessary force on such suspects.

Through the Law Enforcement and Other Matters Bill, the ministry is also seeking to amend several other laws, including the introduction of new offences that would criminalise the misuse of local SIM cards for scams and other criminal activities.

Other legal amendments proposed under the Bill include new offences on misusing symbols and corporate logos belonging to Yellow Ribbon Singapore for ill intent, as well as rectifying the "unintended coverage” of a law that effectively criminalises simulated phishing exercises meant to train people to guard against phishing attacks.

The tabling of the Bill follows a High Court case earlier this year, when a mentally disordered man was awarded S$20,000 (RM70,404) in damages as the court found he had been falsely imprisoned by the police.

The man successfully argued that two police officers had abused their powers when they arrested him. The court heard arguments that police officers had no authority to apprehend him under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act, also known as MHCTA, and also failed to take him to a medical practitioner right away.

MHCTA empowers authorities to detain persons with or suspected of having mental health conditions, and who may be a risk to self or pose a danger to others, in a designated psychiatric institution for psychiatric assessment and treatment.

The court ultimately ruled that one of the officers carried out the arrest because he disliked the man and not because he genuinely believed the man was a danger because of a mental disorder.

The Bill is set to be debated in the next parliamentary sitting, said Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim in Parliament, who introduced the bill on behalf of the Minister for Home Affairs.

Police powers on apprehending those with mentally disorders

MHA said in a statement that the law currently does not set out what powers are available to the police in situations where they may have to arrest a mentally disordered person.

For example, the police might receive a call for help about someone who had threatened to kill his family members, but at present, MHA said, the police officer cannot make an arrest under MHCTA unless actual harm is caused, even though the complaint is credible and the person making the threat has a history of mental disorder.

Without the proposed amendments, the MHCTA would not allow the police to apprehend a person with mental disorders as the threat of physical harm is not an imminent danger, MHA said.

The Bill thus proposes that police officers are empowered to apprehend the person if certain thresholds have been met.

It aims to do so by aligning the powers of apprehension under the MHCTA, as well as other laws that stipulate how people can be apprehended, with the powers of arrest under the Criminal Procedure Code.

"(These thresholds) includes clarifying that the danger to human life or personal safety posed by the person need only be reasonably likely to occur and need not be imminent, and that a police officer can arrest the mentally disordered person before any actual harm is caused,” said MHA.

Apart from this, the police may also decide not to take action in cases of non-arrestable offences under the Criminal Procedure Code if the Bill is passed.

MHA said that for the police to come to this decision, officers would have reason to believe that the case is not of a serious nature or there are insufficient grounds to proceed with the matter.

Currently, when a non-arrestable offence is reported, the police will need to either investigate or refer the informant to the Community Meditation Centre even if the case meets the above criteria, which the ministry said is not a good use of public resources.

Non-arrestable offences are offences that require the police to obtain an arrest warrant from the court first before officers can arrest the suspect.

Misuse of local sim cards

The Bill also proposes to criminalise those who misuse SIM cards, in a bid to deter criminals and scammers from carrying out their crimes.

In recent years, despite the Government’s efforts in blocking scam calls and text messages from overseas, authorities noted an increase in the illicit use of local SIM cards to circumvent these measures.

"Scammers have used local mobile lines to receive scam monies via PayNow and set up WhatsApp messaging accounts to perpetrate scams,” said MHA.

MHA noted that the number of local mobile lines involved in scams and other cybercrimes rose from 5,867 in 2021 to 23,519 in 2023, with losses tripling from S$137 million to S$384 million.

"The police have faced difficulties in prosecuting irresponsible registrants because current laws require proof that the individuals had the knowledge that the SIM cards would be given away or used for criminal activity,” said MHA.

If the Bill is passed, the following will become offences, among other possible scenarios:

• Buying, selling or renting a local SIM card that is registered in another person’s particulars. There is no need to prove criminal intent in this case

• Handing over SIM cards to someone else, or allowing others to sign up for a local SIM card using your particulars, when you know or have reasonable grounds to believe that the card will be used for a crime

• Receiving, supplying or possessing 11 or more SIM cards which are not registered to you, though employers holding on to SIM cards intended for employees are not liable as this is a legitimate reason

• Retailers who use someone else’s particulars to register for SIM cards without their knowledge, despite knowing that the SIM cards would be used for scams

The proposed penalty for such irresponsible registrants is a jail term of up to three years or a fine of up to S$10,000, while those who commit offences of receiving, supplying and possessing local SIM cards and facilitate fraudulent registrations could face a combination of such jail terms and fines.

Those who commit a second or subsequent offence can face a jail term of up to five years or a fine of up to S$20,000, or both.

The ministry said the Bill also proposes how heavier punishments can be imposed directly on retailers, including prison sentences for senior management or employees, if they were involved in fraudulent transactions. — TODAY