Malaysia is reviewing tougher cybercrime punishments and possible refund routes for scam victims, according to a report by The Sun.
The review could include whether caning should apply to certain cybercrime offences and whether victims of online scams should have a clearer path to recover stolen funds.
The move reflects growing concern that many victims are left with little practical recourse once money has been transferred out of their accounts.
Azalina Othman Said, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Law and Institutional Reform, framed the exercise as both a punishment and victim-support review.
The Legal Affairs Division is handling the work, which will look beyond scams to wider digital offences and online harm cases.
Azalina noted that Malaysia’s legal framework is still largely built around enforcement and prosecution, rather than recovery or support for those affected by scams.
The overseas examples under review include Singapore’s use of caning for certain offences, the United Kingdom’s mandatory reimbursement rules for authorised push payment scams, and Australia’s developing framework for scam redress.
Malaysia has yet to put in place a bank-led refund model for such cases, with the matter still at the study stage.
Any proposal would still need to be assessed against Malaysia’s legal and regulatory framework before being taken further.
Azalina did not indicate when the review would be completed.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Malaysia, based on images by mkmult via Magnific and United States Embassy Kuala Lumpur via Flickr
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