SINGAPORE, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- The worsening global drug landscape and increasing scam cases became major threats to Singapore's social security last year, according to a report issued by the country's Ministry of Home Affairs Tuesday.
The increasingly permissive attitude to drugs in some countries, bolstered by misinformation about the harms of drugs, and mass production of drugs in some regions put people in Singapore, especially young groups, in a vulnerable position, the report said.
"We saw an increase in the number of drug abusers arrested in 2023, driven by an increase in new drug abusers. More than half of young drug abusers, those under 30 years old, were new abusers," the ministry said.
Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau dismantled 25 drug syndicates last year and will continue to combat drug offenses, the report added.
Scams continued to be a concern in 2023 as the number of scam cases reported continued to increase, said the ministry, adding that the top scam types were job scams, e-commerce scams, fake friend call scams, phishing scams, and investment scams.
The Singapore Police Force vows to work with other government agencies and community partners to engage and educate the public to build up their vigilance and resilience on scams, the report said.
Despite the challenges, the ministry said Singapore is still one of the top-ordered countries according to the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2023.
The two-year recidivism rate continues to be one of the lowest globally, and the five-year recidivism rate fell to the historical lowest 36.8 percent, the report said.
The ministry attributed such achievement to strong pro-social support and stable employment to the ex-offenders.
The number of employers who supported hiring ex-offenders has increased from 6,265 in 2022 to 6,516 in 2023, the report said. ■