Penal Code 1871 - Singapore Statutes Online

Enhanced penalties for offences against domestic workers

73.—(1) Where an employer of a domestic worker, a member of the employer’s household or an employment agent of a domestic worker is convicted of an offence under this Code (other than an excluded offence) that is committed against that domestic worker, the court may sentence the person convicted to twice the maximum punishment that the court could, but for this section, impose for that offence.

[15/2019]

(2) This section does not apply where the offender (A) proves that, despite A being an employer of the domestic worker (B), a member of B’s employer’s household or an employment agent of B, the relationship between A and B did not adversely affect B’s ability to protect herself from A in respect of the harm caused by the offence.

[15/2019]

(3) Despite anything to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 —

(a)	a Magistrate’s Court has jurisdiction to try the offences in subsection (1), where no imprisonment is prescribed or where twice the maximum term of imprisonment prescribed for the offence does not exceed 5 years, and has power to impose the full punishment provided under that subsection in respect of those offences; and
(b)	a District Court has jurisdiction to try the offences in subsection (1) and has power to impose the full punishment provided under that subsection in respect of those offences. [15/2019]

(4) In this section —

“domestic worker” means any female house servant employed in, or in connection with, the domestic services of her employer’s private dwelling house and who is required to reside in her employer’s private dwelling house;

“dwelling house” means a place of residence and includes a building or tenement wholly or principally used, constructed or adapted for use for human habitation;

“employer”, in relation to a domestic worker, includes a person who has the same fundamental qualities as an employer of the domestic worker and whose orders the domestic worker has reasonable grounds for believing she is expected to obey;

“employment agency personnel” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Employment Agencies Act 1958;

“employment agent”, in relation to a domestic worker, means an employment agency personnel or a person who performs work similar to an employment agency personnel, and whose orders the domestic worker has reasonable grounds for believing she is expected to obey;

“excluded offence” means an offence —

(a)	under section 304B, 304C or 335A; or [Act 23 of 2021 wef 01/03/2022]
(b)	under this Code which is punishable with death or imprisonment for life;

“member of the employer’s household”, in relation to a domestic worker, means a person residing in the private dwelling house of the domestic worker’s employer at the time the offence was committed, and whose orders the domestic worker has reasonable grounds for believing she is expected to obey.

[15/2019]

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