SINGAPORE — To plug an existing "operational gap" police officers face when they apprehend mentally disordered persons, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) tabled a Bill in Parliament, 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 SIM cards for mobile devices here 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 on Thursday (March 7) came after a High Court case last year, when a mentally disordered man was awarded S$20,000 in damages, as the court found that 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 and also failed to take him to a medical practitioner right away.

For people with mental health conditions or suspected of having these conditions, and who may be a risk to self or pose a danger to others, the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act empowers the authorities to detain them 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 that the man was a danger because of a mental disorder. 

Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Minister of State for Home Affairs, introduced the Bill on behalf of Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam and said that it is set to be debated at the next parliamentary sitting.  

POLICE POWERS ON APPREHENDING THOSE WITH MENTAL 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, the police officer cannot make an arrest under the law 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 Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act would not allow the police to apprehend a person with mental disorders since the threat of physical harm is not an imminent danger, MHA said.

The drafted law 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 Act, as well as other laws that stipulate how people can be apprehended, with the powers of arrest under the Criminal Procedure Code.

"(These thresholds) include 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," MHA said.

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.

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 a magistrate or 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 SIM CARDS

The Bill also proposes to criminalise people who misuse SIM cards in mobile devices, 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, the authorities have noted an increase in the illicit use of SIM cards here 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," MHA said.

It noted that the number of Singapore 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," MHA said.

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

• Buying, selling or renting a SIM card in Singapore 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 SIM card here 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 that are not registered under your name, though employers holding on to SIM cards intended for employees are not liable since this is a legitimate reason
• Retailers who use someone else's particulars to register for SIM cards without their knowledge, despite knowing that the 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 the SIM cards and facilitating fraudulent registrations could face a combination of jail terms and fines.

Anyone who commit a second or subsequent offence can be jailed for up to five years or be fined up to S$20,000, or both.

The ministry said that 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.