Crime rates in Singapore are some of the lowest in the world, with petty crimes such as pickpocketing and street theft rarely occurring, and violent crime being extremely rare. Penalties for drug offences such as trafficking in Singapore are severe, and include the death penalty.
In 2022, Singapore ranked first as the safest country or area in the Global Law and Order Index. It was also ranked the third safest city in 2021 by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and 24th safest out of 136 countries in the Global Organized Crime Index by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
Criminal & civil proceedings
Singapore has indoctrinated strong rule of law and their civil and criminal justice systems have consistently performed well over the years. In the World Justice Report 2021 by the World Justice Project, it was ranked 17th out of 139 countries (scoring 8th place in civil justice, 7th place in criminal justice, 4th place in regulatory enforcement and 3rd place in absence of corruption).
Statistics The total number of physical crimes remains low in 2023. The total number of cases tracked down from 25,633 cases (2018) to an average of 19,750 cases (2020–2023).
Categories 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023Theft & Related Crimes No of Cases 12,196 11,128 7,437 6,843 7,878 8,572Per 100,000 population 216 195 131 125 140 145Housebreaking & Related Crimes No of Cases 328 281 210 160 163 191Per 100,000 population 6 5 4 3 3 3Violent/Serious Crimes1 No of Cases 210 153 305 469 60 63Per 100,000 population 4 3 5 9 1 1Crimes against persons2 No of Cases 5,031 4,349 4,602 4,878 4,869 4,673Per 100,000 population 89 76 81 89 86 79Commercial Crimes3 No of Cases 9,416 12,710 17,123 25,871 3,2603 2,921Per 100,000 population 167 223 301 474 58349Miscellaneous Crimes4 No of Cases 5,945 6,494 7,596 7,975 3,963 3,546Per 100,000 population 105 114 134 146 70460Physical Crimes5 No of Cases 25,633 23,980 19,498 19,343 20,193 19,966Per 100,000 population 455 420 343 355 358 337Scams/cybercrimes No of Cases 6,234 9,545 15,651 23,933 33,669 50,376Per 100,000 population 111 167 275 439 597 851
2023 On a year-on-year basis, physical crime cases decreased (1.1%) from 20,193 cases (2022) to 19,966 cases (2023). The crimes of concern were shop theft, theft in dwelling, outrage of modesty and voyeurism. Shop thefts and voyeurism were among the cases that showed an uptrend. The rise in shop theft came after the widespread adoption of self-checkout counters in supermarkets. Most of the voyeurism and outrage of modesty cases were perpetrated by persons known to victims, in residential and public settings. Physical Crime Cases2021 20222023Outrage of Modesty 1,474 1,610 1,528 % Change — +9.2% -5.1%Voyeurism 467 424 476% Change — -9.2%+12.3%Shop Theft 2,652 3,244 3,939% Change — +22.3%+21.4%Theft in Dwelling 1,359 1,729 1,695% Change — +27.2%-2.0%Rioting 46 60 —% Change — +30% — Others 13,345 13,126 —% Change — — —Total 19,343 20,193 19,966% Change — +4.4% -1.1% For traffic related offences: Traffic Related Offences20212022Red Light Running Violations 44,745 43,687% Change — —Speeding Violations 139,276 125,189% Change — —Red Light Running resulting in Accidents 136 132% Change — —Speeding resulting in Accidents 984 1,124% Change — +14.2%
Scams Scams and cybercrime continue to be a key concern in the city state. From 2016 to 2023, the number of reported scam cases experienced an eight-fold increase from 5,300 to over 46,000 cases. As a crime of concern, the Singapore Police Force has separated scams from its annual crime number statistics. Scams/cybercrimes201820192020202120222023No of Cases 6,234 9,545 15,651 23,933 31,728 46,563% Change — +53.1%+64.0%+52.9%+32.6% +46.8%Losses ($Mil) 151.4 170.8 265.7 632.0 660.7 651.8% Change — +12.8%+55.6%+137.9%+4.5% -1.3%
Since 2022, the majority of crime reports has been attributed to scams. On a year-on-year basis, there were 46,563 reported scam cases in 2023, up from 31,728 cases in 2022 (46.8% increase). Since 2019, more than S$2.3 billion has been lost to scams. Annual losses of more than $650 million were recorded in both 2022 and 2023.
The top five reported scams by number of cases were related to jobs (9,914 cases), e-commerce (9,783 cases), fake friend call (6,859 cases), phishing (5,938 cases), and investment-related (4,030 cases). The phishing scams often involve malware installed on victims' Android devices to steal banking credentials.
The top five reported scam cases in terms of monetary losses were related to investment ($204.5 million), job scams ($135.7 million), government impersonation ($92.5 million), internet love ($39.8 million), and malware enabled ($34.1 million).
In the first three months of 2026, The Straits Times reported more than 7,800 scam cases and losses exceeding S$144.4 million, including phishing scams involving fake buyers on online marketplaces in January, e-commerce pre-order scams in February, and impersonation scams involving educational institutions in March.
Countermeasures To combat the rising incidence of scams, the Singapore authorities had implemented various counter measures to combat scams and reinstating money back to victims.
In 2019, the Anti-Scam Centre was formed under Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) in 2019 and was reorganised into the Anti-Scam Division in 2021. In March 2022, the Anti-Scam Command (ASCom) was formed to include the Anti-Scam Centre and three Anti-Scam Investigation Branches. ASCom also oversees the Scam Strike Teams managed by the seven Police Land Divisions.
Other initiatives and measures include the following: Amended the Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA), Computer Misuse Act (CMA) and introduced Online Criminals Harm Act (OCHA) in 2023 Launched and refreshed the anti-scam campaign Collaborating with law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong, Macau and Malaysia to deal with transnational scams Launched ScamShield app for iOS and Android phone users Deploying bank staff to expedite the process of identifying and freezing fraudulent transactions and accounts Maintaining a SMS Sender ID Registry under the Infocomm Media Development Authority to flag potential scam messages Prescribed a shared liability framework (with financial and telecommunication companies) to manage losses incurred by phishing scams
Notable cases High-profile scam cases in Singapore include the following:
Subject Period Perpetuators #Victims DescriptionNickel Investment Fraud Scheme2017-2021Ng Yu Zhi, (conspirators: Keeran Marcus Phang Guan Wei, Alvin Oey Wei Zhong & Ding Kuon Chwo)$1.5 billion300Alleged ponzi scheme touted at 15% quarterly gains with fake nickel transactions through the incorporated companies "Envy Global Trading" and "Envy Asset Management". Ng faces 105 criminal charges and is currently awaiting trial.Sunshine Empire Ponzi2006-2007James Phang Wah, (conspirators: Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat & Neo Kuon Huay)$190 million20,000MLM and ponzi scheme touted at multi-X% returns that marketed lifestyle packages through the incorporated company "Sunshine Empire".Maxim Trader Compensation Plan2013-2015Andrew Lim Ann Hoe, Chin Ming Kam & Goh Seow Mooi>$50 million2,000MLM and ponzi scheme touted at 6-8% returns with fund management services in leveraged foreign exchange through the incorporated (New Zealand) company "Maxim Capital".OneCoin Promotion2015-2019Terence Lim Yoong Fook & Fok Fook SengUnknown2,349MLM and ponzi scheme that marketed educational packages bundled with OneCoin mining tokens through the incorporated company "OneConcept".Training Grants2017Ng Cheng Kwee, Sim Soon Lee, Lee Lai Leng, David Lim Wee Hong & eight other operatives$39.9 millionSyndicate that submitted fraudulent claims for training grants to SkillsFuture Singapore through nine shell companies when no training has been conducted between April and August 2017. S$21.3 million of public funds was laundered away and remains unaccountable.Tradenation Luxury Goods2021-2022Pi Jiapeng & Pansuk Siriwipa$32 million180Alleged cheating through the falsified consignment sales of luxury watches and handbags. The couple were arrested while on the run and are currently awaiting trial. The companies "Tradenation" and "Tradeluxury" were incorporated to trade in luxury goods in April 2021 and the former was registered as a precious stones and precious metals dealer in April 2022.OCBC Bank Phishing2022Suspected overseas syndicates, (conspirators: Brayden Cheng Ming Yan, Kong Jia Quan, Jovan Soh Jun Yan, Roy Peh Yong Rong, Muhummad Khairuddin Eskandariah, Lim Kai Ze & Leong Jun Xia)$13.7 million469,790Spoofed SMS to collect online banking log-in credentials through phishing websites. Money was laundered to suspected overseas syndicates by conspirators. The bank made reparations on goodwill basis. The MAS imposed additional capital requirements on the bank amounting to S$300 million.Car Deposit Scam 2014Koh Chek Seng, (conspirators: Alvin Loo Mun Yu, Jason Koh Chi Kang)$6.2 million182Collected deposits for falsified sales in parallel imported cars through the incorporated company "Volks Auto". To keep up the charade, several luxury cars were put on display in the showroom.Investment Fraud Scam2011-2021Low Mood Chay$1.39 millionUnknownCheated several acquaintances through fake investment schemes that touted high dividends.Relationship Scam2016-2021Joselyn Kwek Sok Koon, (conspirator: Lai Sze Yin)$880,00010Cheated various people through ruses and deceits including the promise of romantic relationships.Stock Scheme2014-2020Rafiq Shamoon Omer$714,0003Cheated acquaintances with stock schemes (2014–2018) and credit card charges (2020). He is a Dutch-national S'pore resident with prior US wire fraud conviction (2004) and further alleged to have defrauded millions from US investment firms with pre-IPO share offers (2020).Airbnb Rental Scam2022Gibson Zeng Xianfu$383,00068Collected deposits for fake rental listings with victims from at least 12 countries.Renovation Scam2020Huang Ruixiang$160,00040Misappropriated money for renovation projects after doing partial renovation work through the incorporated company "SG Venture Furnishing". Also duped victims through a fake investment scheme.Sg Tinder Swindler2018-2021Jerald Low Jing Yong>$150,00010Fabricated an image of wealth and opulence to cultivate trust from friends and associates, thereby inducing them to give him money.Carousell Scam2021-2022Nicholas Ong Chang Hui$148,000128Collected deposits for fake pre-orders of Apple laptops, iPhones and PlayStation consoles as well as the fake sale of a Rolex watch.Carousell Scam2019Caine Poh Zhenglong$108,000396Collected proceeds from false sales of various items, most of which were tickets to attractions. Fraudulent Carousell accounts were created by duping jobseekers.
Multi-level marketing schemes Multi-level marketing (MLM) or pyramid selling are illegal under the jurisdiction unless approved by the Direct Selling Association of Singapore, after having met specific exclusion criteria to protect consumers and participants. A MLM may evolve into a ponzi scheme where the "new income", generated by attracting new or successive participants to provide funds, are marked as "profits" and used to provide "returns" for the older or preceding participants.
Transnational crimes The key transnational crimes affecting Singapore and the region are driven by scams and cybercrime, illicit drug trafficking and terrorism. Over the years, the police have carried out various operations against transnational crime syndicates. Self-radicalised individuals involved in terrorism are dealt with under the Internal Security Act. There have also been reports of Singaporeans abducted by criminal gangs to work in scam centres in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines and Thailand with the lure of overseas job postings.
Operations