Singapore creates purposeful endangerment offence with 15-year jail term

Singapore has enacted a new criminal offence targeting drivers who deliberately use a motor vehicle to endanger another person’s life or safety, carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment and lifetime disqualification from driving. The Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2026 (Act 18 of 2026) was passed by Parliament on 4 August 2026 and assented to by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on 24 August 2026, and was first published in the Government Gazette Acts Supplement No. 20 on 8 September 2026. The Act amends the Road Traffic Act 1961 and the Motor Vehicles (Third-Party Risks and Compensation) Act 1960, and comes into operation on a date the Minister appoints by notification in the Gazette.

New purposeful endangerment offence

The centrepiece is a new section 63A of the Road Traffic Act, creating the offence of “purposeful endangerment using a motor vehicle.” A person commits the offence when they drive a motor vehicle on a road in a manner that endangers the life or safety of any person, do so for the purpose of endangering a particular person, and death or grievous hurt is caused by the driving.

• Conviction carries imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 years, and the offender is additionally liable to a fine or to caning, or to both.
• The court must order disqualification from holding or obtaining a driving licence for life, unless for special reasons it orders a shorter period that is equal to or longer than 10 years.
• Any police officer may arrest a person for the offence without warrant.
• Despite the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, a District Court or Magistrate’s Court has jurisdiction to try the offence and impose the full punishment.

The Act also raises penalties under section 64 of the Road Traffic Act, increasing the maximum terms for repeat drink-driving and related offences from 5 to 7 years, from 10 to 13 years, from one year to 18 months, and from 2 years to 3 years and 6 months.

Stricter mobile-device and drink-driving rules

The Act tightens the rules on using mobile communication devices while driving. The heading of section 65B changes from “Use of” to “Holding” a mobile communication device, and the Act clarifies that a driver who touches a device secured in a mounting affixed to the vehicle, in the manner intended by the manufacturer, does not “hold” the device.

Drink-driving and drug-driving provisions are also strengthened. The prescribed alcohol limits are lowered from 35 to 15 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, and from 80 to 30 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood. New offences cover driving with a “specified substance” present in the blood, with a defence available where the substance was lawfully consumed under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973, the Tobacco and Vaporisers Control Act 1993 or the Intoxicating Substances Act 1987. Police are empowered to conduct passive breath tests using ambient air samples, and to require blood specimens in defined circumstances.

Enforcement and information duties

The Act overhauls the duty to give information about a driver. Owners of motor vehicles must, within 14 days of a notice, provide the identity, address and driving licence of the person driving at the time of an alleged offence. The Deputy Commissioner of Police may authorise a computer program to assess recorded images or video and issue such notices automatically, with a right to apply for revocation. Corporate owners, partnerships and unincorporated bodies must keep proper records of who is permitted to drive their vehicles, retained for at least 12 months, and face fines of up to $10,000 or up to 12 months’ imprisonment for providing false or misleading information.

The changes affect every driver in Singapore, from the new maximum 15-year term and lifetime disqualification for deliberate endangerment to lower alcohol limits and clarified rules on holding mobile devices. The Act also includes a saving and transitional provision allowing the Minister to prescribe transitional measures by regulation for two years after commencement.

Source: Republic of Singapore Government Gazette, Acts Supplement No. 20, 11 September 2026 (first published online 8 September 2026), p. 1 (official reference: Act 18 of 2026).