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Singapore's crime number slightly increases

Xinhua, February 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

The law and order situation in Singapore continues to be favorable, although there was a slight increase from 2014 due to a significant increase in online crimes, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday.

Apart from online crimes, almost all other crime classes registered a fall. Violent/serious property crimes and housebreaking and related crimes have dropped to the lowest levels in 20 years. The number of unlicensed moneylending harassment cases continues to decline and is the lowest in 10 years, said MHA.

The drug situation remains stable and the number of immigration offenders arrested continued to remain low. There was also a decrease in fire incidents, with fire fatalities remain low, under 0.1 percent per 100,000 population in the last 10 years.

However, MHA also pointed out several trends that remain of concern. Online crimes rose sharply, especially scams, and this has been the trend since 2013, MHA noted. The number of new drug abusers, in particular those aged below 30 years old, continued to rise. And the number of arrested harborers and employers of immigration offenders has also increased.

Unauthorised change of use of premises and illegal fire safety works continue to cause the highest number of fire safety violations.

"While our law and order situation remains positive, Singapore continues to face various threats, the most significant being terrorism," MHA said, adding that the Home Team will do its utmost to protect Singapore against terrorism, and the public can also play a major role by being alert to potential dangers and warning signs of terrorism.

The ministry also noted that the Home Team is facing increasing work load in many areas, with the number of emergency ambulance calls increasing at a rate of about 5 percent a year over the last five years.

"This trend will worsen as our population continues to age," the ministry said, asking the public to give their support and understanding.

"Our officers will continue to work round-the-clock to minimise inconvenience to the public, with the foremost priority of keeping Singapore and Singaporeans safe," it said. Enditem