Singapore among top nations penalising corrupt officials: Survey

SINGAPORE: More than seven in 10 Singaporeans believe that corrupt government officials in the city-state will not be able to get away with their crimes, according to a recent survey.

The survey by the Washington-based World Justice Project ( WJP) showed that 73 per cent of Singaporeans believe that offenders, who misuse public funds, would be held accountable.

This placed Singapore at fifth out of 10 countries where the corrupt are strictly punished.

First was Botswana (88 per cent), followed by New Zealand (79 per cent), Norway (76 per cent) and Hong Kong (75 per cent).

Denmark and the UAE (with 70 per cent each) were sixth and seventh, followed by the US (65 per cent), the Netherlands (64 per cent) and Hungary (63 per cent).

Comparatively, the survey showed that a majority of people, 62 per cent of individuals worldwide, believe that such corrupt officials would escape punishment even where evidence of wrongdoing was strong and the matter was raised in the media, said WJP spokesperson Laura Cochran.

"The survey results suggest that consequence-free corruption is widespread, and is a corrosive force on governments around the globe," said Cochran.

More than 70 of the 99 countries surveyed scored lower than 50 per cent.

The worst performers included Uzbekistan, Argentina and Pakistan, where only three to 17 per cent of people thought the offenders would be held accountable.

WJP is an independent organisation that works to advance the rule of law around the world.