新加坡毒品威胁日益猖獗，如何应对？

尚穆根先生（内政部长）：谢谢议长先生。先生，多年来，我们的禁毒政策不断发展，以应对毒品威胁不断变化的性质。

我发表这份部长声明，阐述我们的政策框架、政策制定的原因以及我们打算采取的更多措施。现在发表这份声明的原因是：我们有严格的国家禁毒政策；这是必要的、有效的，而且得到了新加坡人的大力支持。我稍后会说明这一点。

但我们的做法受到了一些帮助囚犯滥用法律程序的人的批评。法院表示，他们试图阻挠法律程序，阻止执行惩罚。我将阐述这一情况的更广泛背景——说明这些批评是如何毫无根据的。我还将阐述我们打算对那些滥用法律程序的企图采取哪些措施。

我将在本声明中涵盖四个方面。首先，我将讨论全球和区域毒品形势。其次，我将谈论毒品贸易的威胁以及我们应对这一威胁的方法。第三，我将谈论一些传播错误信息并试图破坏我们毒品政策的企图。我还将表明，尽管存在这些企图，但公众仍然强烈支持我们的方法和政策，包括死刑。第四，我将阐述我们进一步加强毒品管制政策的计划。

议长先生，先生，如果您允许，我要求在我发言时在 LED 屏幕上显示一些幻灯片和照片。

议长先生：请继续。[幻灯片已向各位议员展示。]

尚穆根先生：首先，我来谈谈全球毒品形势。世界上每个地区都受到毒品的影响。

我从欧洲开始。欧洲国家，第一世界国家，受到的打击非常严重。欧洲港口被一家大型周刊描述为“毒品枢纽”和“毒品安全地带”。它还说，在欧盟，一半的凶杀案和超过四分之一的非法枪支缴获都与贩毒有关。因此，各位议员可以想想，究竟有多少人因此丧生。

让我们来看看一些具体的国家。在荷兰，仅 2023 年，荷兰海关就缴获了超过 60,000 公斤的可卡因。我在幻灯片上列出了一些荷兰高层人士的言论。在港口城市鹿特丹，一些年仅 14 岁的儿童被招募为“可卡因收集者”，从海运集装箱中收集毒品。

今年 1 月，阿姆斯特丹市长Femke Halsema表示，荷兰有可能成为一个“毒品国家”，非法毒品交易变得“更加有利可图、更加专业化和更加残酷暴力”。想想欧洲一个大城市的市长这样说会有什么影响，以及这意味着什么。荷兰最大警察工会主席Jan Strujis表示，该国有一个由犯罪集团、枪击和杀戮控制的平行经济。前司法和安全部长Grapperhaus表示，对政客、律师和记者的“过度暴力”“不再是禁忌”。

瑞典被认为是世界上最安全的地方之一，但也受到毒品和帮派暴力的严重影响。自 2013 年以来，致命枪击案的数量增加了一倍多。2022 年，发生了 391 起枪击事件、90 起爆炸事件、101 起用爆炸物未遂袭击事件。这些都与犯罪团伙之间争夺毒品和武器有关。

时任警察局长Thornberg说：“公民感到害怕，不安全感正在增加。”瑞典年轻人的生命正在被这种毫无意义的暴力摧毁。2022 年，30% 的帮派暴力嫌疑人年龄在 15 至 20 岁之间。一位为青少年枪击案受害者和嫌疑人提供代理服务的律师告诉 BBC：瑞典的孩子们正在用他们自己的书包，我引用他的话说，“不是用来装书，而是用肩膀扛起瑞典的毒品市场。”

再看比利时，去年，在安特卫普（Antwerp），一名 11 岁女孩在自己家中被枪杀。这与一起与毒品有关的帮派纠纷有关。在过去十年中，安特卫普发生了数百起此类事件：枪击、手榴弹袭击、火灾和爆炸。许多事件都与帮派暴力有关，他们试图从可卡因交易中分一杯羹。

安特卫普市长巴特·德·韦弗 (Bart De Wever) 称，这种情况比 2016 年布鲁塞尔爆炸案的威胁“大得多”。布鲁塞尔爆炸案成为全世界的头条新闻。当恐怖分子袭击时，它就成了大新闻。但毒品暴力却被忽视了，尽管毒品暴力的规模更大、威胁更持久，影响到更多的人，而且确实应该更加认真对待。

去年，比利时海关缉获的可卡因数量创下了纪录，超过了全美国的海关和边境官员。他们在比利时的焚化炉无法快速焚烧所缴获的毒品，因此这些被没收的毒品被称为 "可卡因山"。

海关官员现在对媒体说，他们永远不会赢得与贩毒集团的战争。那么，大家可以扪心自问，为什么一个第一世界国家的官员会这样说：他们无法赢得与贩毒集团的斗争？

在英国，巴罗因弗内斯（Barrow-in-Furness） 的例子显示毒品如何严重破坏一个地方。在过去十年中，该镇一直饱受毒品使用和毒品相关死亡事件的困扰。2018 年，与鸦片相关的死亡人数是全国平均水平的两倍。它被称为全国 "最臭名昭著的棕色小镇"。去年，毒品犯罪案件与前一年相比激增了近 50%。

这里的情况令人沮丧：镇里的建筑大多被木板封住，遭到破坏，街道上散落着破碎的家具，窗户被砸碎。企业和居民表示，如果情况不改变，他们可能别无选择，只能离开小镇。从 2011 年到 2021 年，小镇人口减少了 2.4%，而同期英格兰人口却增加了 6.6%。

我还应该补充一点，在比利时，司法部长，也就是我的同行，不得不住在安全屋外，因为警方无法保证他的安全。

让我们看看南美洲，联合国毒品和犯罪问题办公室（禁毒办）说，21 个国家中有 18 个现在是可卡因的主要过境来源。

厄瓜多尔曾经被视为一个和平的国家。如今，它已被毒品和暴力摧残得支离破碎。从 2018 年到 2022 年，厄瓜多尔的凶杀率增长了四倍，凶杀率目前位居世界第八。斩首、汽车爆炸、暗杀警察、枪杀儿童的报道不绝于耳。在一个贩毒集团的藏身处，警方发现了一批毛绒玩具。据说，帮派利用这些玩具吸引幼童，然后招募他们成为毒贩，交给他们武器，强迫他们从事毒品交易。

在墨西哥，由于贩毒集团之间的地盘争夺战，谋杀、绑架和强迫失踪几乎每天都在发生。自 2006 年以来，已有近 45 万人被杀害，其中相当一部分被认为与毒品和毒品交易有关。

我们来到北美洲。近年来，一些地方选择将毒品非刑罪化。他们的立场是，吸毒是个人选择，应该去污名化，并在一定条件下允许吸毒。另一些地方则认为问题已经失控，他们的解决办法是在所谓的 "安全 "条件下允许吸毒。例如，他们将个人持有低于一定限度的毒品非刑罪化。结果如何呢？

以旧金山为例。2014年，该市通过法律，将持有毒品的罪行从严重罪行降低为轻罪，并对其进行行政处理。你知道警方会怎么做吗？他们降低了优先级，决定不再严厉打击公开吸毒和小规模藏毒行为。十年后的今天，任何人到访这座城市，都会看到人们生活在主要街道两旁贫民窟般的环境中，寻找下一次吸毒的机会。去年，旧金山因吸毒过量导致的死亡率创下历史新高。是美国全国平均水平的两倍多。

一些选择毒品合法化的地方已经意识到，结果并不像承诺的那样，并已经改变了政策。

2020 年，美国俄勒冈州将吸食和持有少量可卡因、冰毒和海洛因等大多数毒品非刑罪化。俄勒冈州 58% 的选民对此表示支持。他们认为这是解决问题的办法。这样警方就可以专注于其他工作，吸毒者会感到不那么受歧视，并会寻求治疗。

但俄勒冈州的人们很快就看到了这一政策的结果。从 2019 年到 2022 年，因吸毒过量死亡的人数增加了一倍多，从约 600 人增加到约 1300 人。人们在街上感到不安全，企业开始撤离，情况变得非常糟糕。到去年 2023 年 8 月，俄勒冈州大多数人希望废除这项措施，而今年— 2024 年，他们又改变了政策，重新将持有毒品定为刑事犯罪，即使是少量的毒品。

让我再举一个例子。去年，加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省将毒品非刑罪化，试图降低吸毒过量率。结果，吸毒过量致死的人数比前一年增加了5%以上。公众也对公开吸毒表示强烈反对。

今年早些时候，该省政府试图限制人们可以吸毒的公共场所。但最高法院阻止了这一措施，称其可能（我引用一下）对吸毒者造成 "无法弥补的伤害"。法院说，吸毒者独自面对吸毒过量的风险，因为他们可以吸食毒品和聚集的公共场所会减少。

不列颠哥伦比亚省一个城市的市长Brad West表示，法院脱离了公众，阻止了这项措施，我引用他的话说，"允许在公共场猖獗吸毒，忽视了对他人造成的伤害"。

上个月，英国广播公司报道说，不列颠哥伦比亚省当局正在紧急行动，重新将在公共场所使用吸毒定为犯罪。我想对各位议员说的是，当他们试验这样的法律时，他们实际上是在试验人们的生命，包括无辜幼童的生命。 

这些政策和政策的转变会对一代造成长期的影响，而且这种影响是难逆转。如果父母和监护人成为瘾君子、无家可归者和失业者，那么孩子们也会受到相应的影响。

让我们看看一个在美国长大的孩子的亲身经历，他的母亲是一名可卡因滥用者："从 7 岁到 12 岁，我们几乎都是自己一个人生活。有时，我们会被单独留在家里好几天。我们没有灯、水，也没有暖气。晚上，我们会围着火炉取暖。情况越来越糟，我们开始把母亲的钥匙藏起来，以防她去毒品窝点。

2021 年，盖洛普报告称，约有 32% 的美国人说吸毒是他们家庭麻烦的根源，占美国总人口的三分之一。自 1999 年以来，这一比例几乎翻了一番，当时为 17%。

儿童和下一代才是真正的受害者。一项研究估计，2017 年，美国约有 220 万儿童和青少年的父母患有阿片类药物使用障碍，或者他们自己也受到阿片类药物的影响。该研究预计，到 2030 年，这一数字将上升到 430 万，几乎翻了一番。

这些儿童往往没有一个合适的成长环境，没有可以学习的榜样，也没有稳定的环境来支撑他们的成长。没有基本的支持，他们的教育成果较差，更有可能患上药物使用障碍，并提前出现慢性疾病。

如此循环往复。真的，我们不禁要问：谁来为这数百万儿童的人权发声？

在东南亚，缅甸、泰国和老挝三国交界的金三角地区是毒品的主要产区。联合国毒品和犯罪问题办公室在 2022 年报告称，东亚和东南亚的冰毒 "简直可以游泳"。仅在 2022 年，该地区就缉获了 151 吨冰毒。

在供应委员会上，我谈到了泰国的情况。当大麻合法化后，几乎在任何地方--餐馆、便利店甚至学校附近--都能立即买到大麻。

 在大麻合法化后的六个月内，上瘾者人数增加了四倍。一些青少年和儿童食用了添加大麻的饼干、糖果和甜食--他们认为这些都是普通的零食--但最终不得不住院治疗。泰国政府最近宣布，计划在今年年底前重新禁止娱乐性使用大麻。原因不难理解，但要做到这一点并不容易，因为如果部分大麻合法，部分大麻不合法，那么执法工作就绝对不会轻松。

无论如何，投资该行业的企业可能会大力反击，而那些现在已经对毒品上瘾的人将会发现很难戒掉毒瘾，他们需要得到医疗系统的支持。在许多情况下，后果可能是不可逆转的。

无论如何，投资该行业的企业可能会大力反击，而那些现在已经对毒品上瘾的人将会发现很难戒掉毒瘾，他们需要得到医疗系统的支持。在许多情况下，后果可能是不可逆转的。影响将非常持久。

如果你看看马来西亚，大麻缉获量从 2021 年的 3，700 公斤跃升至 2022 年的 6，200 公斤，这只是一个令人担忧的统计数据，还有许多其他数据。

The Minister for Home Affairs (Mr K Shanmugam): Thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir. Sir, our drug control policies have evolved over the years, to meet the changing nature of the threats from drugs. 

I make this Ministerial Statement to set out the framework of our policies; the reasons for our policies; and what more we intend to do. The reason for making this Statement now is this: we have a strict national drug control policy; it is necessary, it is effective and it is well-supported by Singaporeans. I will show that later.

But our approach has been criticised by some who are helping inmates to abuse the legal process. The Courts have said that they try and frustrate the legal process and prevent the penalties from being carried out. I will set out the broader context for the situation – show how these criticisms are without merit. I will also set out what we intend to do about those attempts to abuse our legal process.

I will cover four areas in this Statement. First, I will discuss the global and regional drug situation. Second, I will speak about the threat from the drug trade and our approach to that threat. Third, I will speak about some attempts to spread misinformation and try and undermine aspects of our drug policies. I will also show that, despite these attempts, there is strong public support for our approach and policies, including the death penalty. And fourth, I will set out our plans to further strengthen our drug control policies.

With your permission, Mr Speaker, Sir, I ask to display some slides and photos on the LED screens as I speak.

Mr Speaker: You may proceed. [Slides were shown to hon Members.]

Mr K Shanmugam: Let me begin by speaking about the global drug situation. Every region, every region in the world is being affected by drugs.

I start with Europe. European countries, first world countries, have been very hard hit. Europe's ports have been described by a major weekly as "drug hubs" and "safe terrain for narcotics". It also said that in the European Union (EU), half of all homicides and more than a quarter of illegal firearms seizures were linked to drug trafficking. So, Members can consider just how many lives have been lost.

So, let us look at some specific countries. In the Netherlands, a record of over 60,000 kilogrammes of cocaine was seized by Dutch Customs in 2023 alone. I have set out on the slides, some of the quotes from senior people in the Netherlands. In the port city of Rotterdam, children, some as young as 14 years old, are being recruited as "cocaine collectors" to get the drugs from shipping containers.

In January this year, the Mayor of Amsterdam Femke Halsema said the Netherlands risks becoming a "narco-state". The illegal drugs trade has grown "more lucrative, professional and ruthlessly violent". Think of a Mayor of a major European city saying that and what the implications are. The chief of the largest police union in the Netherlands Jan Strujis has said the country had a parallel economy controlled by crime groups, shootings and killings. A former Justice and Security Minister Grapperhaus has said that "excessive violence" against politicians, lawyers and journalists was "no longer taboo". 

Sweden, considered one of the safest places in the world, has also been seriously affected by drug- and gang-related violence. Since 2013, the number of fatal shootings has more than doubled. In 2022, there were 391 shootings, 90 explosions, 101 attempted attacks with explosives. These were linked to fights between criminal gangs over drugs and arms.

The then-police chief Thornberg said and, I quote, "citizens are afraid, insecurity is increasing". Young lives in Sweden are being destroyed by this senseless violence. In 2022, 30% of suspects for gang-related violence were between 15 and 20 years old. A lawyer who represents teenage shooting victims and suspects told the BBC: children in Sweden are using their, and I quote, "own bags, not to carry books, but they carry the drug markets of Sweden on their shoulders." 

Turning to Belgium, last year, in Antwerp, an 11-year-old girl was killed in a shooting in her own home. It was linked to a drug-related gang dispute. In the last decade, there have been hundreds of such incidents in Antwerp: shootings, grenade attacks, fires and bombings. Many were linked to gang-related violence trying for a piece of the cocaine trade.

The mayor of Antwerp Bart De Wever has described the situation as being a "much bigger" threat than the 2016 Brussels bombings. The Brussels bombings made headlines around the world. When terrorists attack, it becomes big news. But with drug violence, it gets ignored even though it is much bigger and a more continuous threat which affects many more people and, really, this should be taken more seriously. 

 Last year, the Belgian customs seized a record amount of cocaine more than the customs and border officials in all of the United States (US). Their incinerators in Belgium were not able to burn the seized drugs quickly enough and the confiscated stash has earned the nickname "cocaine-berg".

Customs officials now tell the media that they will never win the war against the cartels. So, Members can ask themselves why are officials in a first-world country saying this: that they cannot win the fight against the narcotic gangs?

In the United Kingdom (UK), the example of Barrow-in-Furness shows how drugs can seriously damage a place. In the last decade, the town has been plagued by drug use and drug-related deaths. In 2018, its opiate-related deaths were double the national average. It became known as the country’s "most infamous brown town". Last year, there was an almost 50% jump in drug offences compared to the previous year. 

The situation is dismal: town buildings mostly boarded up and vandalised, broken furniture strewn on the streets, windows smashed. Businesses and residents say that they may have no choice but to leave the town if things do not change. From 2011 to 2021, the town population decreased by 2.4% while England's population increased by 6.6% over the same period. 

I should have added in Belgium, the Justice Minister, my counterpart, has to live out of safe houses because the police cannot guarantee his safety.

Let us look at South America, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said that 18 out of 21 countries are now the main sources of transit for cocaine.

Ecuador was once seen as a peaceful country. It has become wrecked with drugs and violence. From 2018 to 2022, its homicide rates increased by four times and the homicide rates are now the eighth highest in the world. There are reports of beheadings, car bombings, assassinations of police officers, children being gunned down. In one hideout used by the drug cartels, the police uncovered a collection of stuffed toys. Gangs are said to have used the toys to attract young children and then recruited them as drug pushers and handed them weapons and forced them into the drug trade. 

In Mexico, murders, abductions, forced disappearances are almost daily occurrences due to turf wars between drug cartels. Since 2006, nearly 450,000 people have been killed, a significant number of these killings are believed to be linked to drugs and the drug trade.

We move to North America. In recent years, some places have chosen to decriminalise drugs. They take the position that drug use is a personal choice and it should be destigmatised and allowed under certain conditions. Others say that the problem has gotten out of control and their solution is to allow drug abuse under so-called "safe" conditions. For example, they have decriminalised personal possession of drugs below certain limits. And what are the results?

Consider San Francisco. In 2014, it passed laws to reduce the offence of drug possession from a serious offence to a misdemeanour which is to be dealt with administratively. And you know what police would do then? They de-prioritised, decided that they will not deal strictly with open-drug use and small-scale possession. A decade later, anyone visiting the city now will see people living in slum-like conditions along major streets, looking for their next fix. Last year, San Francisco's death rate from drug overdoses reached a record high. It was more than double the US national average. 

Some places, which chose to legalise drugs, have realised that the results were not as promised and have reversed their policies.

In 2020, the US State of Oregon decriminalised use and possession of small amounts of most drugs, including cocaine, meth and heroin. Fifty-eight percent of voters in Oregon supported it. They thought this was the solution. Police can then focus on other work and abusers would feel less stigmatised and abusers will seek treatment. 

But people in Oregon soon saw the results of this policy. From 2019 to 2022, the number of drug overdose deaths more than doubled from about 600 to about 1,300. People felt unsafe on the streets, businesses started leaving and the situation got very bad. By August 2023, last year, a majority of people in Oregon wanted to repeal the measure and in 2024 this year, they reversed course. They re-criminalised possession of drugs for even small amounts.

Let me give another example. Last year, the Canadian province of British Columbia decriminalised drugs to try and reduce its overdose rates. Instead, the number of drug overdose deaths increased by more than 5% from the year before. There was also public backlash against the open drug use.

Earlier this year, the provincial government tried to restrict the public places where people could consume drugs. But the Supreme Court blocked the measure, saying it could, and I quote, "cause irreparable harm" to drug users. The Court said that users were at risk of overdosing alone, since they would have fewer public places to consume drugs and where people would be present.

Brad West, a mayor from a British Columbian city, said that the courts were out of touch with the public and blocking the measure, and I quote, "ignored the harm that occurs to others by allowing rampant public use". 

Last month, the BBC reported that the authorities in British Columbia were working urgently to re-criminalise the use of hard drugs in public places. My view to Members – when they experiment with laws like this, they are actually experimenting with the lives of people, including the lives of innocent young children.  

The policies and u-turns have a long-term impact on the next generation and the impact cannot be easily reversed. Parents and guardians, if they become drug addicts, homeless and unemployed – it is the children who would suffer this proportionately. 

Let us look at a sobering personal account of a child who grew up in America with a mother who was a cocaine abuser: "From the ages of seven to 12, we were pretty much on our own. Sometimes, we would be left alone for days at a time. We would not have lights, water or heat. At night, we would huddle around the stove for warmth. It got so bad that we started hiding our mother's keys just to keep her from going to the crack house." 

In 2021, Gallup reported that about 32% of Americans say that drug use has been a cause of trouble in their family, one-third of all Americans. That is almost double the proportion since 1999, when it was 17%.

Children and the next generation are the real victims. A study estimated that in 2017, about 2.2 million children and adolescents in the US had a parent with an opioid use disorder or were affected by opioids themselves. The study projected that by 2030, this number would go up to 4.3 million – nearly double.

These children often do not have a proper home to grow up in, no role models to look up to and no stability to anchor their development. Without basic support, they have poorer educational outcomes, increased likelihood of developing substance use disorders and early emergence of chronic diseases.

The cycle will keep repeating itself. Really, one has got to ask: who speaks for the human rights of these millions of children?

Closer to home, in Southeast Asia, the Golden Triangle, where the borders of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet, is a major drug producing region. The UNODC reported in 2022 that East and Southeast Asia are "literally swimming" in meth. In 2022 alone, 151 tonnes of meth were seized in the region.

At the Committee of Supply, I spoke about the situation in Thailand. When cannabis was legalised, it was available immediately almost anywhere you looked – restaurants, convenience stores and even near schools.

 Within six months of legalisation, the number of addicts went up four times. There were young teens and children who consumed cannabis-infused cookies, candies and sweets – they thought these were ordinary snacks – but ended up having to be hospitalised. The Thai government recently has announced plans to reimpose a ban on recreational cannabis use by the end of this year. One can see why but it is no longer going to be easy to do because if part of it is legal and part of it is not legal, then, enforcement is never going to be easy.

In any event, businesses which have invested in the industry will likely push back strongly and those who are now addicted to the drug both will find it very difficult to kick off the habit and will need to be supported by the healthcare system. The consequences, in many cases, can be irreversible. The impact will be very long-lasting.

If you look at Malaysia, cannabis seizures jumped from 3,700 kilogrammes in 2021 to 6,200 kilogrammes in 2022, just one worrying statistic – and there are many others.