Generally the criminal law is used to respond to social
issues.
The reasons for criminalizing certain conducts can be split into
two broad categories; malum in
se and malum
prohibita, they mean acts wrong in themselves and acts that
are wrong because they are prohibited.
The use of safety belts are quite clearly the latter. It is a
response to the social wellbeing of the people. the response might
have come from the people, with post-accident groups saying they
would have worn a seat belt if they were told to, thus reducing the
severity of their injuries. In Singapore, it is more likely that
the law was introduced to bring it in line with the rest of the
deveoped world.
As for the argument that the invasion of private rights are for the
benefit of the State, it is most clearly seen in the criminal
offence of assualt. It used to be that if both parties consented to
the fight, neither would be criminally liable. However, the State
stepped in with the reasoning that maiming a person would deprive
the King of a capable person in defence of the Crown.
Also, the criminalzing of certain behaviour, such as sexual acts
and euthanasia is seen to be a way of protecting the moral fabric
of society. It serves to protect the young and easily influenced
from acts that are deemed to be in conflict with commonly held
moral values.
