Tougher Stance on Drug Traffickers and Syndicates

The following question stood in the name of Mr Christopher de Souza –

9 To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether there is an upward trend of drug syndicates exploiting minors in the drug trade and how can our enforcement actions and statutory framework deter the syndicates from doing so.

10 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the Ministry’s position on the research paper entitled “Costs of Drug Crime: Literature Review and Methodology” which calculated the detriment drugs cause to Singapore society; (b) whether the findings provide further impetus for Singapore to advance its war on drugs; and (c) what will be done to ensure that a tough and deterrent stance is taken against drug traffickers who push drugs into and within Singapore.

Mr Speaker: Can someone ask the Question on his behalf?

Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng (Pioneer): Question No 9.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Home Affairs (Ms Sun Xueling) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Mr Speaker, with your permission, may I take Question Nos 9 and 10 together?

Mr Speaker: Yes, please.

Ms Sun Xueling: Drugs destroy lives and impose immense costs on individuals and society. Besides tangible costs such as physical injuries, lost productivity and cost of incarceration, there are also very significant intangible costs, in terms of lost lives, pain and suffering, and untold misery to families.

The research paper attempted to quantify the costs to Singapore of drug crime, both tangible and intangible costs. The researchers estimated costs of S$1.23 billion in 2015. This is almost certainly an underestimation, as there are other costs which were not included in the study, such as the number of workdays lost for victims of drug crimes. The report did not include this data because it has not been quantified.

The high costs drugs impose on society is one reason why we must maintain our firm stance against drugs. We have put in place tough laws, and maintain intensive enforcement. In 2019, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), together with other Home Team agencies, conducted close to 1,500 drug operations across Singapore. The estimated market value of the drugs seized was about S$6.3 million.

The CNB has not yet detected any trend of drug syndicates deliberately targeting young persons, be it selling drugs to children and young persons, or recruiting them into the trade.

Nevertheless, we take this risk very seriously. We have strengthened our legislative framework and enhanced our enforcement powers to better protect young persons from being exploited and becoming victims of drugs.

In 2012, the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) was amended to provide for an offence for any adult who causes or procures any young person to traffic or import drugs. The minimum punishment for such an offender is 10 years’ imprisonment and 10 strokes of the cane. In addition, adult traffickers who are found to be trafficking to young persons would face tougher penalties. If the trafficker was found to be trafficking a Class A controlled drug to a young person, the minimum punishment would be 10 years' imprisonment and 10 strokes, double the normal rates.

In 2019, the MDA was further amended to provide more protection to children below 16 years of age and young persons from the harms of drugs. It is now an offence for an adult who possesses illicit drugs, knowing that a child is likely to be present in a place, to knowingly or recklessly leave the drugs or drug utensils within easy access of the child. It is also now an offence for an adult to permit or not take reasonable steps to prevent a young person from consuming illicit drugs in the adult’s possession. We will continue to tighten our legislation as needed.

Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah): I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the response. The question is, in light of the statistic that the highest number of new drug abusers are below 35 and in light of the growing calls, at least around the world – not in Singapore but around the world – to legalise recreational drug use, and in addition to that, this cost of drug crime study, how can we use these statistics and facts to bolster our position against drug trafficking into Singapore? And in addition to that, to assist drug consumers to rehabilitate and not be recalcitrant? So, deterring both the supply and the demand, in light of these facts and statistics.

Ms Sun Xueling: I thank the Member for his questions. Indeed, the push for drug legalisation around the world is a cause for concern. As he may already know, in October 2018, Canada became the second country in the world, after Uruguay, to legalise the use of cannabis for recreational purposes. In January 2019, the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence also made six recommendations on the international scheduling of cannabis and cannabis-related substances.

We have now undertaken this study. We hope to add to the literature so that more are aware about what are the drug-involved crimes as well as drug-attributable crimes, and what the cost to society are. In time, the researchers are preparing for this paper for publication in international journals.

At the same time, we are also stepping up our education outreach. We understand that preventive drug education is definitely the first line of defence when it comes to drug control. The Member had mentioned some trends whereby young people are increasingly prone towards certain messages they may receive over social media about drugs. So, social media is a key platform for us to reach out to youths. The CNB has been developing content messages of strong deterrence, as well as evidence-based narratives on Singapore's drug policies through its social media accounts.

At the end of the day, what we are going to do is going to be guided by research. At the same time, we are also pushing out our education outreach efforts to make sure that for high-risk youths and persons of certain segments, we reach out to them actively with the anti-drug message.