Singapore proposes to keep “dangerous criminals” in prison indefinitely, even after serving their sentences, according to a bill introduced in the country’s parliament on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

The provisions of the legislative project will apply to persons who have reached the age of 21 and have been convicted of such crimes as murder, rape and maintaining sexual relations with minors. The Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs called the possible passage of the law a “harsh sentence” but said it would “better protect the public from dangerous criminals”.

The ministry also said that as a guarantee, the courts will decide whether the offender falls under the law.

In its argument for the bill, the Singapore government cited the case of a man convicted in 2020 of sexually abusing his 12-year-old stepdaughter over a two-year period and raping his 11-year-old niece.

Singapore’s government says penalties are not harsh enough for dangerous criminals

“We want to ensure that such dangerous and high-risk offenders are not released back into society until they no longer pose a threat to public safety,” the Department of Justice and Home Affairs said in a press release.

“Current sentencing options are insufficient to deal with such non-countable crimes,” it added.

Although the government says it will leave the courts with the right to sentence offenders to such sentences, the draft law stipulates that they can only be released after serving their sentences after the relevant ministry determines that they no longer pose a threat to public safety. .

The ministry said that while the bill would de facto allow offenders to remain in prison for life, they would benefit from regular case reviews.

The bill is scheduled to be debated later, but is likely to pass given the ruling party’s majority in the legislature.

PHOTO Article: Jpldesigns | Dreamstime.com.