NUISANCE TELEPHONE CALLS (Penalties)

Mr Hwang Soo Jin asked the Minister for Law whether the existing provisions under the law to punish those found guilty of making nuisance calls by telephone are adequate; and if not, whether he will review the provisions to ensure that the penalties are sufficiently heavy to act as a deterrent.

Prof. S. Jayakumar (for the Minister for Law): Mr Speaker, Sir, the term nuisance calls' can cover a wide range of telephone calls. They include calls to threaten, intimidate, annoy or insult the persons receiving the calls.

There are certain provisions in the Penal Code which can be invoked in dealing with nuisance calls. For instance, if the call amounts to criminal intimidation, section 506 of the Code provides that the offender may be punished with imprisonment of up to two years or with fine, or both, and for an aggravated form of criminal intimidation the punishment may extend to seven years' imprisonment.

If the call is made to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty, the offender can under section 509 of the Code be punished with imprisonment which may extend to one year or with fine, or both.

Further, under section 70 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the Court has the power to bind the offender over by requiring him to execute a bond to keep the peace.

Section 14(f) of the Minor Offences Act provides that any person who "uses any indecent, threatening, abusive or insulting words, or behaves in a threatening or insulting manner, or posts up, or affixes, or exhibits any indecent, threatening, abusive or insulting written paper or drawing with intent to provoke a breach of the peace, or whereby a breach of the peace is likely to be occasioned" shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $50. There are plans to revise the fine under this section upward. Further, the telephone line of the offending subscriber can also be terminated.

The real problem in dealing with nuisance calls is not necessarily the inadequacy of the punishments which may be invoked but rather the difficulty of tracing the calls in time, identifying the offender and of adducing evidence necessary for prosecution in Court.

I would like to assure the hon. Member that the Ministry of Law will liaise with the Ministries of Home Affairs and Communications to review both the adequacy of penalties as well as the procedures for investigation and prosecution.