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Government Laws

Penal Code - Overview

The Penal Code prohibits selling, buying, or obtaining possession of any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution either inside or outside the country. Punishment for the offense is a fine and imprisonment of up to 5 years.¹ Section 141 (5) of the Penal Code explicitly prohibits "traffic in women and girls." It provides that any person who buys, sells, procures, traffics in, or brings into or takes out of Singapore a woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution is to be punished by a fine and imprisonment for up to 5 years. Section 142 of the Code also prohibits importation of women and girls for the purpose of prostitution by false pretense, false representation, or fraudulent or deceitful means.²

These sections were extracted from the Singapore Penal Code document and reflect penalties for the crimes that relate to human trafficking. For a full description of the Penal Code please visit http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/

Women's Charter

Children and Young Persons Act

Immigration Act : a person will be considered a prohibited immigrant who is to be removed from Singapore if she or she is in prostitution.

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¹ Protection Project country report for Singapore 2002
² Protection Project country report for Singapore 2002