Singapore outlaws revenge porn and cyber-flashing in clampdown on digital sexual offences
- People who distribute or threaten to distribute revenge porn, or send unsolicited images of their private parts, may face a range of punishments including jail time
- The law changes are a part of a major overhaul of Singapore’s penal code, which also saw the state criminalising marital rape, banning child sex dolls, and decriminalising suicide
Singapore’s parliament passed a bill on Monday that made distributing or threatening to distribute intimate images a crime. Perpetrators of “revenge porn” will be punishable by up to five years in jail, in addition to a fine and caning.
“Intimate images could become widely shared and on platforms, and may be impossible to completely remove. They have the potential to cause great harm to the victim,” said K Shanmugam, law and home affairs minister.
“Cyber-flashing” will be punishable by up to a year in prison or a fine. If the recipient is younger than 14, it is punishable by up to two years in jail, a fine or caning.
The changes are part of a major overhaul of Singapore’s penal code. Other new measures include outlawing marital rape, banning child sex dolls, and decriminalising suicide.
