16th China-ASEAN Prosecutors General Conference 2026 - Speech by Attorney-General, Mr Lucien Wong S.C.

Distinguished Attorneys-General, Prosecutors-General, ladies and gentlemen.  Let me start by thanking our hosts for staging this excellent conference and the warm hospitality extended to us in Brunei Darussalam. It is my privilege to share with you Singapore’s experience in the combatting of crimes relating to the exploitation of children in the digital age.

The digital world and rapid advances in technology have inexorably opened doors to greater dialogue, closer collaboration and a shared humanity across borders. As of 2025, around 74% of the world’s population are active Internet users.^[1] In Singapore, two-thirds of our children aged between 7- and 9-years old use smartphones every day and are active on social media.^[2] At the same time, the digital age poses new challenges in detecting and deterring criminals seeking to exploit the particular vulnerabilities of children.

Digital advances have resulted in unprecedented reach and anonymity. In a recent report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), a staggering 1 in 5 of internet-using children – or around 20 million children surveyed – were sexually exploited or abused through digital means in a single year.^[3] About 60 per cent of this abuse happened on mainstream social media platforms. Fewer than one per cent reported their experience to the police, a social worker or a helpline. Now more than ever, our governments and legal systems must work together to mount a robust response to these challenges.

Before proceeding, I will say a brief word about the terminology. Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,^[4] a “child” is recognised as a person below the age of 18, unless the relevant laws recognise an earlier age of majority. Under Singapore’s laws, the age of consent for sexual activity is set at 16 years of age, with a higher age of 18 years set for commercial sexual activity. Our law recognises that persons below the age of consent may not be able to give informed and meaningful consent to sexual activity, and the danger of exploitation is real because of their young age. In addition to this, enhanced penalties generally apply to all offences committed against minors below 14 years of age.^[5] This enhanced penalty can be up to twice the maximum penalties prescribed for the base offence, and reflects our society’s opprobrium of crimes committed against such vulnerable victims.

Singapore’s efforts in combatting crimes relating to the exploitation of children in the digital age

Singapore takes a serious view of crimes targeting children and young persons, particularly in this digital age.

First, we employ a robust legal framework to combat crimes targeting the exploitation of children. This includes ensuring that our laws are reflective of modern realities and emerging crime trends. The punishment must also be effective in deterring would-be offenders, and my Chambers frequently argues for penalties befitting the crime and culpability of such offenders who target children.

In 2007 and 2019, we embarked on comprehensive reviews of our Penal Code and new offences were introduced. These included new sexual offences targeting emerging crime trends and better protecting minors from sexual predators in the digital age, and this includes:

(a) Firstly, criminalising the sexual grooming, communication or activities with minors under 16 years of age,^[6] which offences were introduced to deal particularly with the growing phenomenon of online sexual predators;

(b) Second, criminalising conduct relating to voyeurism and the possession, production, distribution or threatening to distribute intimate images or voyeuristic images; and

(c) Third, criminalising conduct relating to the production, distribution and possession of child abuse material, sometimes referred to as “child pornography”.

Prior to this, our criminal code did not have specific offences criminalising that conduct. We had to rely on a patchwork of laws to address such offences. Using the example of child abuse material, such conduct was previously prosecuted under a combination of the Films Act and the Undesirable Publications Act, which were generally punishable with maximum terms of only two years’ imprisonment. While these existing laws may go some way in addressing certain aspects of obscene material involving children, these laws did not differentiate between child abuse material and other types of obscene material and were not specifically designed to deal with it – child abuse material.

With the enactment of the new offences under the Penal Code in 2007 and 2019, we are better equipped to deal with concerns unique to the exploitation of children in the digital age. For example, an offender who is convicted today of an offence of distributing child abuse material would be punished with up to seven years’ imprisonment, and be also liable to a fine or caning. This change demonstrates Singapore’s commitment to dealing sternly with the scourge of child exploitation.

In an increasingly digital and inter-connected world, it comes as little surprise that criminals who seek to exploit and harm children frequently operate across borders. In recognition of such challenges, several of the child abuse material provisions in our Penal Code were expressly enacted to have extra-territorial reach.^[7] For example, any person in Singapore who causes or procures a child below 16 years old for the production of child abuse material, is liable to criminal sanction and prosecution in Singapore, even if the child was outside Singapore at the time the offence is committed.

Second, and relatedly, there must be an ethos of accountability. Digital platforms and internet service providers themselves bear a responsibility to ensure that their digital environments are sufficiently safe for children. New rules and levers are increasingly needed to combat criminal harms online.

Through amendments to our Broadcasting Act and the enactment of our Online Criminal Harms Act in 2023, the Government has powers to issue directions to social media services or internet service providers to disable Singapore users' access to child sexual exploitation and abuse material published online.

In Singapore, we have also introduced a Code of Practice for Online Safety for Social Media Services. Under this Code, designated social media services are required to minimise Singapore users' exposure to child sexual exploitation and abuse material on their services, including livestreams. They must put in place technologies and procedures to proactively detect and swiftly remove such material.

The Code additionally requires designated services to submit annual online safety reports to our Infocomm Media Development Authority (“IMDA”).  These reports detail their measures to combat harmful content, including child sexual exploitation and abuse material. These reports are published and accompanied by swift regulatory action, where warranted. For example, in the 2026 report, IMDA highlighted serious weaknesses in measures by X and TikTok to proactively detect and remove child sexual exploitation and abuse material.  Letters of Caution were issued and X and TikTok were placed under Enhanced Supervision, requiring them to provide regular progress updates on their rectification measures.

Third, even as we employ a robust legal framework to combat crime, we must equally invest in the human capital which makes up the “software” of our legal systems.  

The prosecution of offences involving children and other vulnerable victims is challenging. There is often difficulty in eliciting the relevant evidence from such victims. To this end, my Chambers has established a Special Victims Group (“SVG”) comprising prosecutors who are adept in dealing with vulnerable victims such as young children severely traumatised by abuse. Prosecutors in this group attend specialised courses conducted by leading experts in the field of child forensic interviewing, including experts from the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. 

Foremost in our priority is also ensuring that our prosecutors are – both emotionally and mentally – well-equipped to deal with this subject matter. Reviewing child abuse material is a difficult task. The materials frequently depict child victims who are subject to horrific and degrading abuse. This can be draining and traumatic. In my Chambers, we have established a dedicated taskforce of prosecutors to handle offences related to child abuse materials. Trainings are conducted for this group of prosecutors who are required to review such graphic materials. These trainings include practical safeguards that prosecutors can take when reviewing child abuse material, in order to safeguard their mental health. Additionally, since 2023, there has been an in-house psychologist appointed in my Chambers. All prosecutors, including members of the child abuse material taskforce, have ready access to our in-house psychologist.

International and regional cooperation remains a paramount consideration

The predators who seek to exploit and harm children frequently operate across borders. To better protect these young victims, we too must look beyond borders. Given the fluidity of digital platforms and the cross-border financial channels which facilitate such offences, it is not sufficient to focus only on domestic efforts in combating such crimes relating to the exploitation of children. Our strong law enforcement framework must be supplemented with international and regional cooperation.

In Singapore, our Police’s strong partnership with ASEAN and other regional enforcement agencies allows them to mount a coordinated response in combatting child exploitation in a systematic and expedited manner. The Singapore Police Force frequently collaborates with enforcement counterparts across the region to mount coordinated operations against child sexual exploitation. For example, in March and April 2026, a joint operation between the police forces of Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei Darussalam led to 326 arrests and 119 individuals being placed under investigation across the countries involved.

In addition, we remain strongly committed to capacity building and cross-training in this area. In 2024, my Chambers invited two Assistant Crown Attorneys from Ontario, Canada, who specialise in the prosecution of child abuse and exploitation cases to provide training to our prosecutors in Singapore. I understand that we had also extended an invitation to our counterparts in Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam, and we were delighted to have had two foreign prosecutors join us for the training. Such platforms for shared training provide meaningful opportunities for exchanging knowledge, discussing best practices and enhancing our collaborative efforts in responding to such crimes.

Concluding remarks

In this digital age, the challenge of protecting children continues to grow. As prosecutors, we are uniquely positioned to speak up for some of the most vulnerable members of our society. I have briefly shared with you some of the initiatives that Singapore has put in place and our strong stance against offenders who target the exploitation of children. Strong domestic efforts must also be complemented with regional and international efforts to combat such crimes.

In conclusion, I would like to thank the organisers and my distinguished counterparts for the privilege of sharing our experience in this regard. I look forward to the continued exchange of perspectives before the close of this Conference, and I am confident that the relationships we strengthen here will translate into meaningful progress for the children at the heart of our common purpose.

Thank you.

^[1] World Bank Group, “Individuals Using the Internet (% of Population)”, accessed 3 October 2026 at <https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS (opens in new tab)>.

^[2] The Straits Times, “Two-thirds of kids aged seven to nine use smartphones daily, many are on Facebook: Survey”, published 7 February 2021.

^[3] UNICEF, “Through Children’s Eyes: How Digital Technologies Enable Sexual Abuse” (published September 2026), last accessed at <https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/reports/through-childrens-eyes (opens in new tab)>. The 21 countries surveyed included, in the South East Asia region, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.

^[4] Convention on the Rights of the Child (“UNCRC”) (20 November 1989), Art 1 (entered into force 2 September 1990). Singapore is a State Party to and has ratified the UNCRC.

^[5] See, s 74B of the Penal Code 1871.

^[6] See, s 376E of the Penal Code 1871 (sexual grooming of minor below 16 years of age) introduced via the 2007 amendments, s 376EB (sexual communication with minor below 16 years of age) and s 376ED (sexual activity or image in presence of minor below 16 years of age) introduced via the 2019 amendments. These provisions are applicable where the offender is of or above 18 years of age.

^[7] See, s 377BO of the Penal Code 1871.