Singapore:

Singapore on Monday passed a law to jail “dangerous criminals” indefinitely, even after they have completed their sentences.

The legislation applies to people over the age of 21 who have been convicted of offenses such as manslaughter, rape and sex with a minor and are considered to be at risk of re-offending upon release.

“Criminals who continue to pose a real danger to others should not be released,” Law and Home Affairs Minister Shanmugam said in a speech in Parliament.

He cited the example of a man in prison for raping his 6-year-old stepdaughter who, after his release, began sexually assaulting his sister’s 10-year-old granddaughter in 2015. In 2017, he sexually assaulted the girl’s 9-year-old sister.

“We must respond to such threats and protect our society,” Shanmugam said.

The new laws mean these offenders will not be automatically released after serving their sentences, but will instead need the Home Secretary to decide they no longer pose a risk to the public.

The minister will accept the recommendations of a review committee made up of experts including retired judges, lawyers, psychiatrists and psychologists, to which offenders and their lawyers can make representations. Those found unfit for release will have their cases reviewed annually.

Singapore estimates that the law affects fewer than 30 offenders each year.

Twenty U.S. states, the District of Columbia and the federal government have similar laws targeting sex offenders considered likely to reoffend.

In Singapore, the law passed with broad support, including from opposition parties, although some urged caution.

Opposition lawmaker Sylvia Lim from the Workers’ Party said it was difficult to accurately predict future violence and there was a risk of “over-detaining someone based on a false prediction of danger”.

Judges can already order consecutive sentences, which can keep offenders in jail for most of their time, a better option than “letting the executive decide when to release offenders,” Lin said.

The NGO Human Rights Watch said it opposed the continuation of detention laws because they violated due process rights.

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