Written Answer by Minister for Law, Mr K Shanmugam, to Parliamentary Question on Reviewing Law on Imposing Death Penalty on Individuals under Age of 16

03 AUG 2021

03 August 2021 Posted in Parliamentary speeches and responses

Mr Yip Hon Weng (Member of Parliament for Yio Chu Kang)

Question

To ask the Minister for Law (a) whether there is any intention to review the law on minors in light of the River Valley High School incident; and (b) whether the current position of not imposing the death penalty on individuals under the age of 16 will be retained.

Written Answer:

  1. We should be careful not to draw premature conclusions from the tragic River Valley High School incident. It is best to wait for the investigations to be completed, and then see if there are specific actions necessary on legislation.
  1. Any decision to lower the age limit for the death penalty is a very serious one, and will require careful consideration.
  1. While we continually review our laws, we do not yet see any reason to lower the current age limit; nor do we anticipate that this will change.

Last updated on 03 August 2021