Old and a crook: The rise in Singapore’s silver criminals

Number of seniors jailed has risen over last six years, with upward trend mirroring that in other countries

Over the past six years, there has been a rise in the number of people aged 60 and above who were sent to prison – a trend that experts have picked up on. We look into the possible reasons and what can be done.
Observers noticed that over the last six years, the number of criminals aged 60 and older has climbed. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
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Updated
Jun 04, 2019, 06:27 PM
Published
Jun 03, 2019, 05:00 AM
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By the time he was sent to prison in 2010 for drug offences, Peter (not his real name) had already been in and out of prison at least eight times.

He was 65 years old at the time and, by his estimate, one of the oldest in the Changi Prison block.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 03, 2019, with the headline Old and a crook: The rise in Singapore’s silver criminals. Subscribe

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