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Malaysia considers whipping for online scammers, victim compensation study underway
🇲🇾 Malaysia /Crime & Justice

Malaysia considers whipping for online scammers, victim compensation study underway

From Utusan Malaysia · () Malay

Translated from Malay, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified New plan
  • Malaysia is considering whipping sentences for online scammers as part of a review to tighten cybercrime laws.
  • The government is studying examples from Singapore, which already imposes caning for online fraud, and examining compensation mechanisms for victims.
  • The proposed changes aim to improve victim support and potentially recover lost funds, addressing current legal limitations that focus mainly on punishing perpetrators.

Malaysia is exploring the possibility of introducing whipping sentences for online scammers, a move inspired by Singapore's strict approach to cybercrime. The Malaysian government is currently studying the feasibility of this and other measures to strengthen its cybercrime laws.

In Singapore, for example, there is a whipping sentence for offenders, whereas in our country, the punishment is more focused on fines and imprisonment.

— Datuk Seri Azalina Othman SaidMinister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) explaining the difference in punishments between Malaysia and Singapore.

Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), stated that the Legal Affairs Division is conducting a comprehensive study. This review includes examining practices in countries like the United Kingdom and Australia, which have different strategies for combating cybercrime. The focus is not only on the criminal act itself but also on the broader impact of online harm and digital crime.

We want to conduct a more in-depth study on the issue of victims in cybercrime, not only in the element of cybercrime but also online harm and digital crime.

— Datuk Seri Azalina Othman SaidMinister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) on the scope of the ongoing study.

"In Singapore, for example, there is a whipping sentence for offenders, whereas in our country, the punishment is more focused on fines and imprisonment," Azalina explained. Beyond potential physical punishment, the study also considers mechanisms for compensating victims of online fraud, similar to systems in the UK and Australia. This would involve exploring ways for victims to recover their lost money, potentially through financial institutions or insurance-like schemes.

If we keep money in Australia and the UK, when we become victims, we can get our money back. In Malaysia, that is not yet available, and that is why we need to study it.

— Datuk Seri Azalina Othman SaidMinister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) on the potential for victim compensation.

Azalina highlighted that current Malaysian laws primarily focus on punishing offenders, often through the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code. However, she noted that victims frequently struggle to recover their lost funds. The proposed updates aim to address this gap by enhancing victim protection and support, a concern also raised by Members of Parliament during recent cybercrime bill debates.

Our laws largely punish the perpetrators. But victims often just make a report, and in many cases, the lost money cannot be recovered.

— Datuk Seri Azalina Othman SaidMinister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) on the current limitations of victim support in Malaysian law.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Utusan Malaysia in Malay. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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