Review on Criminalisation of Attempted Suicide and Marital Immunity for Rape

Mr Kok Heng Leun asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the outcome of the Government's review on the issue of marital immunity for rape; and (b) whether any legislative change will be introduced and, if so, when.

We set up this Committee in July 2016 to review the Penal Code. Some of the areas that are being looked at by the Committee include attempted suicide, marital immunity for rape, punishments for sex offenders and the need to create new criminal offences to deal with the changing crime environment. In that context, the feedback on these issues, both from Members of this House and outside, have been noted. They are being considered in the review.

In addition to these, the Committee is also undertaking a fairly fundamental review on the principles which underlie our penal laws, including elements of criminal liability, the required mental element, intention, knowledge, the scope of mental health defences, as well as some of the language used in the Penal Code. The Committee aims to complete its work later this year. We will then invite feedback from the public on the recommendations.

I thank the Minister for his reply. May I ask that when the Minister is doing the consultation, when he is asking for feedback, that more time be given for the stakeholders to actually have conversations with it? Because in some of my past experience, in terms of dealing with consultations, a lot of times, little time is given for us to actually work on it.

I will reflect it to my officials, but we work fairly quickly and stakeholders must also revert to us quickly. Enough time will be given for feedback but everyone has got to work quite hard on it.