The Minister for Law and Foreign Affairs, Professor S

The Minister for Law and Foreign Affairs, Professor S. Jayakumar said that Singapore's uncompromising approach to maintaining law and order had enabled it to have one of the lowest crime rates among cosmopolitan cities. He noted that dangerous drug traffickers and secret-society gang members could be detained without trial and that those who use guns while committing crimes faced the death penalty. He also stated, "We have to protect the society at large because it is not in our interest for these criminals to go free to terrorise our families."