Prosecution and Convictions under Organised Crimes Act
Ministry of Home AffairsSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the enforcement of the Organised Crime Act (OCA) raised by Mr Murali Pillai regarding convictions, prevention orders, and the value of confiscated assets. Minister for Home Affairs Mr K Shanmugam responded that forty persons have been convicted and ten groups have been investigated for offences including gambling and drug trafficking. He clarified that while proceeds and items have been seized, the authorities do not track the total dollar value of these confiscated assets. The Minister also noted that no Organised Crime Prevention Orders or Financial Reporting Orders have been issued by the Court to date. Additionally, Minister for Home Affairs Mr K Shanmugam stated that the authorities have not yet utilised the levers under the Act's Civil Confiscation Regime.
Transcript
38 Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) to date, how many persons have been convicted under the Organised Crimes Act; (b) how many organised crime prevention orders or Financial Reporting Orders have been issued; (c) what is the dollar value of benefits from organised crime activities confiscated; and (d) how many organised crime groups have been crippled.
Mr K Shanmugam: The Organised Crime Act (OCA) was enacted in 2015 to strengthen the ability of our law enforcement agencies to deal with criminal syndicates. To date, the authorities have investigated 10 organised crime groups for offences involving remote gambling and public gaming, and those under the Computer Misuse Act (CMA), the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) and the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes Act (CDSA). Forty persons have been convicted for offences under OCA so far.
For the organised crime groups which we have investigated, we have seized or confiscated cash and crime proceeds related to the crimes, as well as other items related to unlawful gambling and drug offences. We do not track the total dollar value of the items seized.
Under OCA, an Organised Crime Prevention Order (OCPO) may be granted by the Court to prevent, restrict or disrupt the activities of persons involved in organised crime groups. This imposes restrictions on a person's activities, such as the premises to which he may have access and how he may associate with others. OCA also empowers the Court to grant a Financial Reporting Order, which requires a person to furnish financial reports. To date, no OCPO or Financial Reporting Orders have been issued.
OCA also provides for a Civil Confiscation Regime, which enables the civil confiscation of benefits from organised crime activities. To date, we have not used the levers under the Civil Confiscation Regime.