Chua Sian Chin
Singapore
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise to speak on this Bill as a person who had been in Government for many years and before that in legal practice for more than eight years and now back in legal practice. While I was in Government, I had cognizance of the shortcomings of the legal profession.”
“It is 62 members out of a total of 1,335 practising lawyers. This has brought about a situation which no responsible government can let it pass in the public interest. The Government has good reasons to deal with this situation firmly. In fact, the present amendments have only made a small inroad in self-regulation.”
“At the same time, a minority group of activists has also chosen to take on the Government by calling an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Law Society to pass fierce resolutions against the Government. This group comprised only 62 members.”
“Though he has only limited Constitutional powers and acts on the advice of the Cabinet, he is the symbol of the unity, loyalty and aspirations of the people of Singapore.”
“- to hold classes for children of his constituents. What right has he got? The PAP MPs equally have no such rights. It is the right of the Government, if they think so, to have such classes. In fact, through the People's Association, they have been holding kindergarten classes in the community centres.”
“It is the Government who says that, and the Government has the right to say it because they are responsible for the Government of Singapore. And it is not what I say or what you say. Let me turn to the Member for Potong Pasir. He also produced some exhibits which are equally bogus.”
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“00 pm and 4.00 pm on week-days specifically against vehicles road hogging along the expressways. This operation is still in progress and to-date 4,848 motorists have been booked and 1,085 warned for the offence of road-hogging. Sir, there has been some improvement as a result. Heavy vehicles now generally keep to the left when travelling on expressways. There are, however, still some motorists who feel that as long as they are travelling at a speed limit of 80 kmh they are entitled to travel in the outer lane. This is, of course, incorrect. Motorists should only use the outer lane for overtaking and return to the lane on the left so that the other vehicles, particularly ambulances and other public service vehicles which need to travel faster on emergencies can do so safely. About the complaint that the Traffic Police have been sneaky and hide behind bushes with their speed traps to catch those speeding motorists, may I say that the Traffic Police have given strict instructions to their speed enforcement teams that they should not set up speed traps behind bushes to catch unwary motorists. If the hon. Member can give specific instances where Traffic Police speed enforcement teams hid themselves to detect speeding motorists, this information should be passed on to the Commander, Traffic Police. There are, however, certain specific instances when it is necessary for the Police to conceal themselves in order to bring to book dishonest motorists. Most specifically the motorists referred to are those who reverse against the traffic flow in order to sneak into the restricted zone without having the area licence.”
“Sir, in reply to the Member for Telok Blangah, first on the speed warning device. The speed warning device comprises a light on the top of the vehicle and a buzzer within the cabin of the vehicle. When the vehicle exceeds a speed limit, the light on the vehicle flashes and at the same time the buzzer within the cabin buzzes. This is to warn the driver that he has exceeded his speed limit. However, the flashing light provides only an indication to the Traffic patrol officer that the vehicle is speeding beyond its authorized speed limit. However, we cannot prosecute the driver on the mere evidence of flashing light on the top of his vehicle because such evidence is not considered conclusive by the courts. The officer has to clock the speed at which the vehicle is travelling before the driver can be prosecuted. Nevertheless, for the year 1983, 16,392 light goods vehicles have been booked and 1,848 warned for speeding. The Traffic Police will continue to take prosecutive action against such drivers. With regard to expressways, the Traffic Police have commissioned brochures containing information on how expressways should be used, including the do's and don'ts and they have been distributed by the Traffic patrol officers to drivers of vehicles seen using the expressway in an incorrect manner. Many press statements have also been issued. A special booth indicating how expressways should be used was set up at the Road Traffic Exhibition as far back as 1982. A filmlet on road-hogging was made and this was telecast by SBC on numerous occasions. The Traffic Police also mounted enforcement operations against the errant drivers who have not heeded the advice. The Traffic Police have also mounted operations at off-peak periods, that is, between 10.00 am and 12.00 noon and between 1.”
“Sir, as far as the case of the Central Supplies Department selling imitation goods is concerned, I give the assurance that in future such incidents will not happen.”
“Infringed items are seized, marked and retained by the Police for subsequent prosecution in court on behalf of the Singapore Phonogram Association by their solicitors. In 1983, 166 raids were conducted in connection with pirated cassette tapes and imitations and 125 persons have been prosecuted in court. The Police together with the manufacturers and agents of genuine products will continue to take action against the manufacturer and distribution of pirated tapes and imitation goods in Singapore. For the year 1983, 164,575 tapes were seized and destroyed. Seventy-five persons were prosecuted in court. I believe there was some press coverage of the huge number of tapes being set on fire by the owners of the copyright tapes.”
“15 pm Once a complaint is received the Police will require the manufacturer or agent to produce a certificate of registration of trade marks issued by the Registrar. In other words, this item of goods is registered and the manufacturer owns the trade mark of this particular item. The manufacturer or agent is also required to hand over samples of genuine and imitation products and to point out the differences between them. With this information, the police investigator will obtain a search warrant from the court to search the suspected premises. The raid will be conducted together with the manufacturer or agent. All goods found in the premises that have been identified as imitation products by the manufacturer or agent will be seized by the Police. These are then sent to the Department of Scientific Services for analysis together with the samples of the genuine products. Only with sufficient evidence will the Police be able to prosecute the offender. With regard to the pirated cassette tapes, to take action the Police must also depend upon the owner of the copyright or his agent to initiate it since only the owner or his agent will know whether any copyright has been infringed. Because how do you know whether it has been infringed? Since 1972, action against infringement of copyrights has usually been initiated by members of the Singapore Phonogram Association through their solicitors. Having secured the necessary evidence, the Association's solicitors applied to the Subordinate Courts for the issue of search warrants. These warrants are similarly executed by the Police in the company of the Association's representatives who identify to the Police the tapes that are pirated.”
“Sir, in reply to the Member for Alexandra, may I make it clear to him that offences relating to imitation goods are governed by the Trade Marks Act (Chapter 206). Whereas offences relating to pirated cassette tapes are governed by the Copyright (Gramophone Records and Government Broadcasting) Act (Chapter 188). As far as imitation goods are concerned, what actions are the police taking? May I inform the Member that the Police will take action only on receipt of a complaint, in most instances made by the manufacturer of the genuine product or its agents. This action on the part of the manufacturer or its agents is necessary because, firstly, not all of them are in favour of Police taking action as subsequent publicity may affect the confidence of their clientele and thus the sale of the genuine product. Secondly, as a member who runs a very successful watch business himself knows, nowadays to detect imitation from genuine products requires a highly specialized skill and expertise. Some of the imitations may look more genuine than the genuine product. I understand that they call them "genuine imitations" as compared to other not-so-good imitations. Perhaps the Member for Toa Payoh who has been running a multi-purpose cooperative will know all these things better than myself. Therefore the Police cannot be expected to possess such expertise to detect the imitations from the genuine products, the characteristics of which are also known only to the manufacturers or agents. In other words, the Police will not know whether it is a genuine imitation or not-so-genuine imitation. It must get the manufacturer to tell them because they have the expertise. 5.”
“Sir, I am indebted to the Member for Anson when he said that, unwittingly he has admitted that he had no permission from the HDB to use the frontage, the open space, to assemble the procession. As a lawyer he should know that he has committed a breach of the condition. It is he who should tell me or the House whether he has got a permit to do so. And he says, "where can we assemble the children or the supporters for the procession?" If you want to have them assembled or gathered in front of somebody else's open space, surely, as a lawyer, he should know that he should ask for permission. It is not for me to tell him whether the HDB has complained. It is for him, who has committed a breach of the condition to tell us whether he has obtained the permission from the HDB to use the place to assemble. He is a lawyer, he should know better.”
“Well, I would not call him that. And yet he says that he has not breached this condition; and for that he is protesting that he should have been warned. Sir, that incident, far from indicating that the Police have been biased in the enforcement of the law, they have been very even-handed. Not only have they given a warning to the person who through ignorance organized a function without a permit; but they have also warned that they could also prosecute the Workers' Party for their default in keeping up with the conditions of the permit. They could have prosecuted the Workers' Party.”
“With regard to the application by the Member or through his Chairman, Mr Wong Hong Toy, to hold the lantern procession, it was granted but he should have studied the permit which granted him permission to hold the lantern procession. In the permit it is quite clearly stated that one of the conditions is that permission has to be obtained from the HDB authority for the use of void decks, car parks, public areas and gardens which come under the jurisdiction of HDB. The Police reported that there was evidence that the Workers' Party lantern procession assembled in an open space outside the Member for Anson's office without obtaining the permission of the HDB, Do you deny that you did not obtain the permission of the HDB? And he appears to be a law-abiding underdog type of MP - An hon. Member: Mangy dog.”
“It does not matter whether I have the name or not.”
“It is quite open. This man has been warned. I have not got his name but I know whom I am referring to.”
“It is part of the answer, Mr Speaker, Sir. This is again a smear on the Police officers who have no opportunity or avenue to answer the Member. I think it is atrocious behaviour on the part of the Member for Anson. With regard to the incident about a member of the moon cake lantern procession which he brought up as an instance that he has been discriminated against by the Police officers, the Police has given him the facts. They have said that the other lantern procession did not have a permit. They have not refused to reveal the fact and they have stated that the other party is wrong and that they have given a warning to the other party. Even in his allegations he has made a smear that it was organized by, and I believe he means, a PAP member. But in fact the organizer of this lantern procession is not a PAP member. He is just an RC member who organized it in his individual capacity.”
“May I say that he has been convicted in court for defrauding creditors and he has appealed?”
“I am not saying anything sub judice. I am just stating a fact. It has been reported. It is a fact.”
“I am not saying anything sub judice. I am stating a fact - that he has been convicted in court for defrauding creditors. That is a fact. It is not sub judice.”
“Hypocritically sympathize with the Police officers that they are taking political directives from the Minister without having a shred of evidence. Then at the end of it, he asks: "Is the Minister aware of it?" Why does he ask me such a question, "Is the Minister aware of the situation?" when he himself has asserted that the Minister has been giving political directives to Police officers? And he hypocritically says that the Police Force is falling into disrepute. I think he is doing it by making allegations that the Police officers are taking political directives in law enforcement without evidence in this House and when the Police officer concerned has no right or no avenue to defend himself. That is a charge, is that not so, that they are not doing their duties professionally? And as a lawyer, and I hope as a respectful citizen, he should not make such charges about Police officers, OC Division, who have no opportunity to defend themselves. He says that the Workers' Party has been harassed by Police officers under political instructions. Has he got any shred of evidence to prove it? If he has, please bring it up here. They are just doing their duty. The whole world knows that the Member for Anson has been charged for defrauding creditors and he has been convicted. Is he saying that the court also had directives?”
“Why do you interrupt me? Are you afraid that I may expose you?”
“Look, I am speaking. I have not interrupted you. Why are you so afraid that I should speak and expose you?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I have heard a tirade from the Member for Anson and it all consists of smears. Is there any evidence? If he has any evidence that the Police have been acting slavishly under a political directive in the enforcement of the law, he should bring it up now, give instances, and not make insinuations.”
“These reservists will be useful organizers and instructors in the civil defence programme. In addition, the Civil Defence Force has also introduced two additional schemes to improve its manpower position. The first is to appoint part-time instructors on its staff strength. These part-time instructors have relevant civil defence training, like fire-fighting, nursing and so on and so forth. T e second scheme is for keen and enthusiastic civil defence volunteers who are qualified, in such skills either in their civilian occupation or have obtained a proficient standard in training like fire-fighting, rescue work and so on, to serve as auxiliary instructors.”
“However, as there are pressing demands for similar activities in various constituencies where civil defence is increasingly becoming an important community activity, close coordination between the constituency leaders and the Civil Defence Force headquarters will be necessary to ensure that activities are supported in a timely manner. I also agree with the Member for Boon Teck that with so many activities at high ear and with the current pace, the civil defence staff situation in the constituencies is rather tight. Therefore, the long-term solution is to recruit more regular civil defence officers and provide them with the necessary training to undertake more arduous tasks. Even now in-service officers are undergoing courses to upgrade their professional and leadership skills. With better trained officers and more officers being recruited, the momentum of the civil defence programme can be further stepped up. We have taken up with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service Commission the problem of more and better manpower for the Civil Defence Force and the introduction of an improved scheme of service to improve the recruitment efforts. Further, the Government has recently announced that the reservist service will be made a life-long commitment under the concept of total defence. In this regard, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Home Affairs are working out arrangements to transfer to the Civil Defence Service trained SAF reservists who will be posted to the Civil Defence Units to serve as organizers and instructors in the community civil defence effort. Most of these reservists, unlike the present ones, have undertaken several years of military and other training which have civil defence application.”
“With regard to his comment that in each constituency there is only one civil defence officer and it is inadequate, may I clarify that this officer's job is to provide liaison between the Civil Defence headquarters and the grassroots leaders and the volunteers for recruitment, training and other related civil defence activities in the constituency. He also undertakes routine instructions for civil defence volunteers as well as coordinates the organization of civil defence exhibitions and demonstrations in the constituency. However, as it will be impossible for one civil defence officer to undertake the various activities of civil defence in the constituency, including demonstrations, he is able to call upon the personnel and logistics support from the Civil Defence Division, which is the next level of command, whenever required. Each Civil Defence Division coordinates the activities of approximately nine constituencies. We have eight such Divisions organized along lines similar to the Police Divisions which take into account controlling boundaries and resident population concentrations. Now, where a large event needs to be organized, the Civil Defence Division can also call upon the Singapore Civil Defence Force headquarters to give the necessary personnel and logistics support. If the Member for Boon Teck wishes to bring civil defence to the doorsteps of the people, the Singapore Civil Defence Force will ensure that the necessary support will be provided to bring this about.”
“Other volunteers have also been on visits to Government emergency and essential services and civil defence related organizations to broaden their perspective of Civil Defence, such as visiting the Blood Transfusion Service or the Accident and Emergency Departments of General Hospitals and so on. With regard to simulated exercises, we have involved the civil defence reservists and the residents together. But this can only be conducted when there are sufficient numbers of trained volunteers. Over the past year, simulated exercises had been conducted in 31 constituencies. To inject an element of realism and to emphasize further the importance of Civil Defence, we have also introduced survival exercises, such as water distribution in case during an emergency there is no water supply, and blood donation and collection to involve the trained civil defence volunteers. However, such exercises have only been conducted in five constituencies on a pilot basis. We do not want to do it in all the constituencies before we have a pilot project so that we can learn by our mistakes and gain experience. So far, four blood collection exercises and one water distribution exercise have been conducted. During such exercises the civil defence volunteers applied their civil defence skills and also played an important role in coordinating and organizing fellow residents in such efforts. In the near future, a food rationing and distribution exercise will also be held to test registration procedures for food distribution.”
“30 pm I come now to the comments on Civil Defence brought up by the Member for Boon Teck. May I say that it is very encouraging to note that the residents of Boon Teck are equally enthusiastic towards the civil defence plan as the Neighbourhood Police Post system. The Member for Boon Teck, I think, has the right idea when he stated that he wanted civil defence to be brought to the doorstep and also to sustain interest and enthusiasm of the volunteers by way of regular simulated exercises. In fact, these are the primary objectives of the civil defence plan and strategy. However, since we launched the civil defence plan some months ago - I believe 16 months ago, in November 1982, we have been concentrating on recruitment and training of these volunteers. To-date we have introduced civil defence training in 31 constituencies and another 18 constituencies are in a state of recruitment of volunteers, altogether 49. Another 40 constituencies will be introduced to civil defence this year. 102 Residents Committee zones have volunteers undergoing training. Out of the 14,767 volunteers recruited, 2,547 volunteers have already completed the full basic civil defence training. Another 2,779 have completed the supplementary programme for housewives, the senior citizens and youth groups. A further 2,425 are presently on basic civil defence training. Now, to sustain the interest of the volunteers and to upgrade the civil defence skills, advanced training courses have been planned and will be conducted later this year. In order to maintain rapport among the volunteers, week-end camps and familiarization visits have been organized.”
“The waters outside the port limit, on the other hand, are the responsibility of the Republic of Singapore Navy. Compared to the Land Division, the number of offences dealt with by the Marine Division is small. On the average, one case is reported every two days. This is because the islands under the jurisdiction of the Division are sparsely populated and crime aboard the ships is infrequent, that is, in port limits. It is quite different from incidents which happen outside our territorial waters.. That is another matter. In 1983, a total of 25 cases of intrusion by foreign vessels were detected by the Marine Police patrol boats in the course of their patrols. All the intrusions were effectively dealt with. For effective coverage, the area covered by the Marine Police is divided into 25 patrol sectors. The boats are deployed from four bases, namely, the Kallang, Jurong, Lim Chu Kang and Seletar bases and the target response time to calls is 20 minutes and the Marine Police have on the average been able to respond to calls in a fast time of 17 minutes. The authorized strength of the Marine Division for regulars is 610. This is supplemented by the full-time national servicemen. The manpower is sufficient to effectively undertake the responsibilities. The marine fleet is made up of 66 patrol boats and one work barge. These comprise wooden hull, fibre-glass, aluminium hull boats and we also have new PT boats. Steps are being taken to replace the boats which are more than 10 years old. The new patrol crafts of the PX and PT classes are equipped with radar and they are armed with an array of weapons, including submachine guns and the general purpose machine guns. The equipment is therefore sufficient. 4.”
“This is a good indication that the recruitment problem that the Force once faced had been overcome and that there should not be much difficulty in meeting the recruitment demands for the next 10 years over which the implementation of the NPP is to take place. With regard to retaining the police officers, I do not think I should repeat what I have said in answer to the question by the Member for Delta with regard to the career development programmes that we will be having not only to retain the police officers but also to upgrade their professionalism and to have better trained and better qualified police officers. That is in respect mainly of the senior police officers. But for the junior police officers, we have implemented an accelerated promotion programme for the better junior officers who are considered for promotion to higher ranks up to inspectors in a much shorter period. To help to improve their academic qualifications, more junior officers have been sponsored to attend day-release and part-time 'A' level classes and for those who do well in the 'A' level examination we have training award schemes and a bursary-cum-study loan scheme for them to study at the National University of Singapore. In addition to these academic schemes, we also send junior officers to attend technical courses conducted by the VITB. Some of them are also sent for a one-year non-graduation course. I suppose the Member for Serangoon Gardens would have met some of them attending these courses. With regard to the Marine Police, as Members know, the Marine Police is responsible for maintaining law and order within the port limits of Singapore, an area of some 820 sq km of sea and islands.”
“The Police will solicit the help of various community organizations in the constituency. They include residents' associations, Volunteer Special Constabulary, NPCC Cadets, People's Association Youth groups, boy scouts, girl guides, auxiliary forces, Cisco, the Auxiliary Police Force personnel who reside in these constituencies, including the Singapore Council of Women's Organization. In fact, many of them have already started spearheading the formation of these groups. Within the Police Force, the bicycle patrols, which we are increasing within these private housing estates, are making house-to-house visits to further promote the Neighbourhood Watch Group. With regard to Police manpower, the Member for Serangoon Gardens has asked: How do you retain police officers and what incentives do you give them? First of all, may I say that hitherto we have some recruitment difficulties, apart from retaining them. However, the situation has improved following the revision of salary scales in 1982 and the subsequent intensive recruitment drive in schools, junior colleges and universities. In December 1982, there were 449 vacancies in the Police establishment of 7,215. These were reduced to 246 in December 1983 despite an increase of an additional 124 posts created in the year for the NPP project and the attrition of 236 officers through resignation, retirement, etc. In other words, the Force was able to recruit more than 560 officers in 1983 despite the fact that it had raised the minimum entry qualifications for police constables from three 'O' level passes to four 'O' level passes. In fact, we recruited five and six 'O' level passes and 'A' level passes as well.”
“The presence of such mobile police patrols is not easily perceived by the residents. Hence perhaps the complaint. However, the Police has already increased bicycle patrols in his constituency. What about the situation of constituencies which have to wait for the implementation of the NPP system? What can we do about it? I would like to urge Members that constituencies which are waiting for their NPP system to be introduced should implement the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme in the meantime. The aim of the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme is similar to that of the NPP system in that it fosters a sense of community responsibility towards security by encouraging mutual assistance among neighbours with the help of the police. The Neighbourhood Watch Scheme will thereby smooth the way for the implementation of the Neighbourhood Police Post system when it comes. The Scheme which, in fact, has a role to play, is similar to that of the NPP system. For the information of the House, the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme has been introduced in all 70 constituencies that have Residents Committees. Of course, Serangoon Gardens has no Residents Committee because there is no HDB estate. Nevertheless, in the private housing estates, 379 Neighbourhood Watch Groups involving 1,763 residential units have been formed. To-date, 51 out of an estimated 454 private housing estates have joined the scheme. The Member for Serangoon Gardens would be happy to note that Serangoon Gardens is one of the 51 with 80 Neighbourhood Watch Groups currently within his constituency and 479 participating members in the scheme. In the absence of Residents Committees in private housing estates, how do Police go about forming Neighbourhood Watch Groups.”
“Secondly, the implementation plan must take into account the HDB building programme and the shift of population concentrations. Priority has therefore been given to Police Divisions which have a more settled population. Telok Blangah constituency is in the Queenstown Division and, according to the implementation plan, it would have its NPP system in about two years. In the second phase which is due for implementation this year, nine NPPs will be built - five in Paya Lebar Division and four in Jurong Police Division. Serangoon Gardens constituency is under the Paya Lebar Police Division. As there are no HDB estates in his constituency, a plot of vacant land near the Serangoon Garden hawker centre has been designated as the proposed NPP site. The Thomson NPP in the Toa Payoh Police Division was built to serve the private housing estates in the Thomson constituency. Thus the remarks made by the Member for Serangoon Gardens that the building of NPP is only confined to HDB estates is not correct. As for his remarks about the lack of police presence in Serangoon Gardens in the past four months, almost 60,000 man-hours of uniform and plain-clothes patrols were deployed in the constituency, though it is not an area of high crime rate. This represents, for his information, 6% of the total man-hours available for such duties in Paya Lebar Police Station which covers a total of 13 constituencies was deployed in his constituency. Private residential estates, such as Serangoon Gardens, normally has a low population density and policing on foot is not as effective as it is in a public housing estate. The patrols have to be mobile due to factors such as the distances to be covered and the response time.”
“I am glad to inform the House that the home visits have been a great success. Since we launched it in September last year, NPP officers have visited all the 52,400 households in the Toa Payoh Division which were occupied at that time. The residents are pleased with the visits by police officers. We have also received many favourable comments on the visits from the residents as well as the grassroots leaders. To date, no resident has objected to the visits. The second series of home visits has already commenced. We can now say that the NPP system has been very well received. Since the establishment of the NPP, the officers have received 94 ground reports on matters raised by residents on housing, social, traffic and crime problems. 84 residents have expressed appreciation to the NPP officers for assistance rendered. NPP officers have also assisted residents on matters such as road/address guidance, referral services, change of addresses, lost and found properties, registration of death and engraving of property. 4.15 pm In answer to the Member for Serangoon Gardens and the Member for Telok Blangah as to when their respective constituencies will have the NPP system implemented, the House will recall that I have stated in 1982 that a network of 91 Neighbourhood Police Posts would be built to ensure adequate police coverage throughout the Republic. Each constituency will have at least one police post. The larger ones would have more than one. We have an implementation plan for the 91 police posts to be built over a period of 10 years. The first phase, as you know, commenced in Toa Payoh Division. However, the implementation of the NPP system has to be phased because, firstly, there is a constraint of manpower and police officers have to be recruited and trained.”
“This is a clear indication that there has been close rapport between the residents and the NPP officers. Some of these reports are information of great operational value to the Police, such as information on the presence of suspicious strangers in the neighbourhood or the existence of criminal activities in the area. However, I must say that to examine the impact of these information on the clearance rate of criminal cases, in a short period of eight months is premature. Nevertheless, many of these reports have alerted the Police to take early preventive measures and in some cases the reports have led to arrest of criminals. However, with regard to the crime rate, I can say that the figure showed that serious crime in the Toa Payoh Division has decreased after the implementation of the NPP system. There were 561 cases reported for the period June 1983 to January 1984, as compared to 597 cases reported in the eight-month period October 1982 to May 1983. This represents a 6% increase. The crime situation in Toa Payoh also compared favourably with the whole of Singapore. The monthly average number of serious crime at the national level increased by 13.7% as compared with the monthly average before June 1983. On the other hand, the monthly average number of serious crimes for the Toa Payoh Division has dropped 7.4%. Another important aspect of the NPP system is the home visits. This is another indicator. These visits help the Police to get to know the residents personally and give the police officers an opportunity to listen to their problems and suggestions. I remember last year some Members in the House, including the Member for Boon Teck, voiced some reservation about the home visits, and rightly so.”
“Sir, first, I would like to thank the Member for Boon Teck for complimenting to Police for the excellent work they have done in implementing the NPP system in their Toa Payoh Division and, in particular, in his Boon Teck Constituency. He said that when the NPP officers visited the households even the dogs wagged their tails. I believe these include mangy dogs! This will certainly give tremendous encouragement to the police officers, both senior and junior, who are responsible for the planning and implementation of the scheme. Sir, we started implementing the NPP system in the Toa Payoh Police Division in June 1983. A total of eight police posts have been built and are functioning well. We have been closely monitoring the system. In answer to the Member for Serangoon Gardens, we shall be having an evaluation exercise to be completed by June 1984. I am in a position to give preliminary assessment that, on the basis of observations made by the NPP officers, the indications are that the scheme has been a success and that our major objectives have been fulfilled. One of the main objectives of the NPP system is to elicit the confidence and trust of the public through better police-community cooperation. Once mutual trust is established, members of the public would be willing to volunteer information or make reports to the Police on matters of police interest. What are the indicators? In the first eight months there were a total of 24,630 reports received. This is 50.7% increase over the more than 16,000 reports received by the Toa Payoh Police Division in the eight months prior to the implementation. Some 21% of the total number of reports were received at the Neighbourhood Police Post.”
“It depends on the situation. If the situation necessitates it, then they will be opened accordingly. That is why the Police have to monitor the situation.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, on the first question, I think the Member for Alexandra has not heard me correctly. I said in the first instance, only five gantry points were opened but subsequently when the flood worsened, all the gantry points were opened.”
“Therefore, since some of the major roads were impassable to traffic due to floods at the Bukit Timah/Dunearn Roads, the traffic diversion to other roads caused normal peak hour congestion on these other roads to worsen and, as the Member for Alexandra said, traffic came to a standstill. Further, because of the heavy downpour, many vehicles broke down and were causing obstruction. I believe the Member for Alexandra would have experienced that even on the PIE, you only need to have one car breakdown to cause a tremendous jam. This is not during a heavy downpour and floods but during normal peak hour periods. You need just one car to break down, and it causes a tremendous traffic jam. Therefore, I say that in spite of the impossible circumstances, the Police have done what they could to alleviate the situation. I believe that by 1 o'clock the situation became normal. From the experience we gained on that Saturday, of course, the Traffic Police will improve the situation and plan for the next big flood. The Member for Whampoa made the point that there is no Ministry of Home Affairs' report or Police report. In fact, reports on whatever the Ministry of Home Affairs has done or the Police have done, I think they are quite well publicized. If any Member, including the Member for Whampoa, wants any information about the Ministry and what they have done and so on, he can ask for the information in Parliament and it will be supplied to him. With regard to drugs, my Minister of State for Home Affairs will reply.”
“The restrictions at five CBD gantry points were lifted to ease the traffic flow. This was subsequently extended to all the gantry points, The traffic diversion plan was also implemented, but it took some time to be effective as adjustments had to be made to the planned deployment. This was because the diversion plan was based on known flood areas before. But the recent flood was an extraordinary flood. The pattern of flooding had changed because there was flooding in areas where hitherto there were no floods. For the information of the Member for Alexandra, we had a big flood in 1978. In the recent flood, there were 20 areas which were flooded and which were not flooded in 1978. I have got a list of these areas here, but I will not read it as I do not want to waste the time of the House. If the Member is interested, I will give it to him. 3.45 pm Despite the efforts of the Police to divert traffic away from the flooded areas, there were massive traffic jams that morning, not only because there were more areas that were flooded but also because between 1978 and that morning there has been an increase in the volume of traffic. In fact, the number of cars had increased by 53.9% since 1978. Unfortunately, the flood happened during the peak hour, the Saturday morning period. Even under normal peak hour conditions, there are traffic congestions along certain roads particularly roads surrounding the CBD and at some sections of the PIE such as Bukit Timah/Farrer Road junction and at the junction of Whitley Road/PIE going to Anak Kaki Bukit.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, may I just reply to the Member for Alexandra. He was caught in a flood two weeks ago on a Saturday morning. Many of us were in the same position. He asked whether the Police or the Ministry of Home Affairs has got a plan in case we have a flood as we did two Saturdays ago. Well, we have. The Police all the time have an operation plan on floods which serves as a guide for police action in a major flood situation. The plan is implemented in phases. The flood situation is first monitored. If necessary, the Police will request SBC to broadcast at regular intervals the areas affected by flood so that the motoring public can avoid these areas. If the flood situation gets worse, the plan for road diversions and, if necessary, for evacuation of flood victims, will be implemented. Should floods occur during hours of restrictive entry into the Central Business District, the Police will also lift the restriction to enable the motorists to go through the gantry points and thus avoid flood areas. Now, what action was taken during the last flood two Saturdays ago? Police officers were deployed to flooded areas to provide feedbacks on the flood level as well as to render assistance to persons who were trapped. For the information of the Member for Alexandra, the SBC was informed of the situation as early as 4.00 am on Saturday, 3rd March, 1984. The first broadcast by the SBC on the flooded areas came on the air at 6.00 am. If the Member for Alexandra had turned on the radio in his car (I presume he has a radio in his car), he would have heard the flood warnings from the SBC broadcast. By 8.00 am, both the flood and the traffic situation had worsened due to the exceptionally high tide which coincided with the heavy downpour.”
“Mr Rohan bin Kamis asked the Minister for National Development if he has ascertained the cause or causes that led to the landslide behind Block 111 Depot Road on Saturday, 3rd March, 1984; what steps will be taken to prevent it from recurring and when these steps will be implemented; and if he can give an assurance that no damage has been done to the structure of Block 111 and that it is still safe.”
“Their career development is closely monitored by the Career Development Committee in my Ministry. The primary objective of the Committee is to develop every officer to his fullest potential. This is done through a systematic staff appraisal system. Through this, the Committee is able to identify the potential of the officers, chart out their career path and plan and monitor their training, postings and promotion. The Career Development Committee identifies and selects suitable officers for training courses based on their potential for development. Besides the scholarships and bursaries, there are a number of overseas and local training courses designed to prepare Police officers for higher appointments and to upgrade their professional competence. Amongst the courses are the Senior Command course, Criminal Investigation course and Instructor Training course conducted in the United Kingdom; the FBI course and the Computer Related Crime Investigation course conducted in the United States; the Crime Prevention course conducted in Japan; the Corporate Crime Investigation course conducted in Australia; the Executive Development Programme conducted by the Canadian Police College and the Non-Graduating course conducted by the National University of Singapore. In the same manner, postings of Police officers are closely monitored to ensure better deployment. Depending on the individual's aptitude, inclination, performance and potential, postings are planned to give them maximum exposure to enable them to assume higher responsibilities. Those who do well and show good potential for further development are recommended for promotion. LANDSLIDE BEHIND BLOCK 111 DEPOT ROAD 2.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, there are basically four types of scholarship and bursary schemes for Police officers. They are as follows: (a) The Singapore Police Force Scholarship Scheme which, together with the Singapore Armed Forces scholarship scheme, is among the most prestigious scholarships awarded by the Public Service Commission. A total of 15 awards have been made under this scheme since it was introduced in 1979. (b) The Undergraduate Training Award Scheme for serving Police officers tenable at the NUS, introduced in 1982. No award has yet been made under this scheme as the academic requirements are stringent. (c) The Undergraduate Bursary cum Study Loan Scheme for serving Police officers tenable at the NUS, which was introduced in 1982. A total of seven awards have been made under this scheme; and (d) The Commissioner of Police Pre-University Studies Bursary Scheme which was introduced to help the serving junior officers upgrade their academic qualifications. A total of 52 awards have been made under this scheme in the last five years. In addition, the Public Service Commission also awards Overseas Merit Scholar- ships, Local Merit Scholarships and Local Merit Bursaries to those who wish to take up a career in the Police Force. Under these schemes, the award holders are appointed as senior Police officers when they complete their University studies. So far, two awards have been made under the Overseas Merit Scholarship Scheme for Police which was introduced last year. In addition, 24 awards have been made under the Local Merit Scholarship and Local Merit Bursary Schemes for Police during the last five years. Altogether, 59 serving officers have benefited from the above schemes in the last five years. There is a career development programme for Police officers.”
“Sir, the present penalty for the offence of operating an employment agency without a licence is a fine not exceeding $500 for a first offence and a fine not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment not exceeding six months or both for a second or subsequent offence. This penalty is inadequate to deter illegal employment agents, particularly those who may wish to continue operating illegally to avoid payment of the security deposit. Clause 2 of the Bill enhances the penalty to a fine not exceeding $5,000 for a first offence and a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both for a second or subse. quent offence. Clauses 3 and 5 of the Bill seek to enhance the penalties for the other offences under the Act and offences under the rules. These penalties were set when the Act was enacted in 1959 and are no longer adequate in the present context. Finally, I wish to remind the House that the Government is firm in its decision to phase out foreign workers. Exceptions will be made on the basis of those who have skills of value to contribute to our economic development. Employers should not therefore misconstrue the passage of this Bill as a signal of relaxation of policies governing recruitment of foreign workers. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed. 3.18 pm”
“The main concern of the Government then was to protect job seekers, especially those looking for clerical and secretarial jobs, from being exploited by bogus employment agencies. However, the labour market situation today is marked by full employment that we have to supplement local supply with foreign workers. Government has made it clear that this is transitional and by certain dates the foreign workers will be repatriated. Our experience has shown that most employers are not familiar with the recruiting procedures in foreign countries and have been using unscrupulous illegal agents to recruit foreign workers for them. These illegal agents are prepared to take the risk of operating without a licence, as the penalty for the offence is very light. In some instances, foreign workers particularly those from the non-traditional sources were cheated by these illegal agents and left stranded here without any employment. In this light, the present provisions of the Act relating to licensing will be amended to provide for more effective control over employment agencies which will now be licensed to recruit foreign workers. These changes will ensure that licensed employment agencies comply with the provisions of the Act as well as the Government's policy on the issue of work permits. Under the amendments, the Commissioner for Labour, who is the licensing authority, can require an applicant for a licence to furnish a security deposit before a licence is granted and to impose conditions for this licence. The licence can be revoked if the licensee contravenes any of the provisions of the Act or fails to comply with the conditions of his licence or carries on an employment agency in a manner detrimental to the interest of his clients.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, with regard to the first point, what about the owner? The Member for Toa Payoh wants the owner also to be responsible. In fact, I have already explained that we have a provision in the amendment to the law that any person who caused such a vehicle to be driven on the road is equally guilty and will be charged under this section. Therefore, the question of the owner being responsible has already been taken care of in the Amendment Bill. As far as parking offence committed by the drivers of heavy vehicles is concerned, the Member for Toa Payoh wants a heavier penalty to be imposed on them. Well, we will consider the matter. Question put, and agreed to. Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House, The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Chua Sian Chin]. Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES (AMENDMENT) BILL Order for Second Reading read. 3.12 pm The Acting Minister for Labour (Prof. S. Jayakumar): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Sir, the Bill seeks to amend the Employment Agencies Act in two main respects:- (1) to confer powers on the Commissioner for Labour to ensure effective con- trol over licensed employment agencies; and (2) to enhance the penalties for offences under the Act and the rules made there-under. Sir, the Employment Agencies Act was enacted in 1959 at a time of high unemployment. The purpose of the Act at that time was to license employment agencies and to enable certain types of workers to secure employment through such agencies.”
“Disqualification on a second or subsequent conviction will be for a period of not less than two years effective from the date of his release from prison. The fines and imprisonment will also extend to whoever is in charge of the heavy motor vehicle or cause it to be driven on the road. The Bill further provides mandatory imprisonment of up to six months and 13 fine not exceeding $1,000 for the offence of giving false information in connection with the overall height of a vehicle in applying for a police permit. Sir, I beg to move. Question proposed.”
“Overhead bridges are built to enable pedestrians to cross roads safely and we have mounted campaigns to encourage everybody to use them. There are now some 200 overhead pedestrian bridges in Singapore, most of which are situated close to schools. In the event of a vehicle with a high load hitting a pedestrian overhead bridge at a time when school children and other pedestrians are crossing the bridge, it could result in a great. loss of lives and injury to many people. Such a disaster would surpass the cable car tragedy manifold. The recklessness of some inconsiderate drivers and owners must be curbed without delay. It would be too late to punish them after the harm is done. In view of the grave danger to public safety, it is necessary to provide for strict deterrent measures and heavy penalties to prevent the occurrence of another incident of a vehicle with a high load hitting a pedestrian overhead bridge. This Bill therefore seeks to make it a specific offence for any heavy motor vehicle, whose overall height including any load carried thereon exceeds 3.2 metres, to travel on our roads without a permit authorising the journey and route to be taken; or where a permit has been obtained, the vehicle exceeds the stated height or the vehicle takes a different route. The penalty for a first offence will be a fine not exceeding $2,000 and a mandatory imprisonment term of between one and three years. Upon conviction the court shall order the accused to be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for a period of not less than 12 months from the date of his release from prison. The penalty for a second or subsequent offence will be both a fine not exceeding $5,000 and an imprisonment term of between two and five years.”
“Again the incident was given publicity by all our newspapers which drew attention to the dangers posed to public safety by such irresponsible behaviour on the part of drivers and owners of heavy vehicles. Despite that, a third incident happened on 8th November, 1983. An empty oil tanker mounted on a lorry hit a pedestrian overhead bridge along Paya Lebar Road. One of the two bottom chords of the bridge which provide structural support to it was damaged. The driver has been charged in court. The case is still pending. The Traffic Police also stepped up their checks on heavy vehicles carrying high loads and booking those which exceeded he height limit and had no permit. However, all these measures again went unheeded. In yet another incident on 26th December, 1983, a prime-mover conveying a front-end loader hit a pedestrian bridge at Upper Serangoon Road. This bridge was so badly damaged that it had to be dismantled. The total cost of the damage came to about $200,000 comprising installation of a new bridge and expenses incurred in dismantling the damaged bridge. After the incident, the driver ran away. Police investigation is still proceeding on this case. It is clear that some drivers and owners of motor vehicles which carry loads of excessive height are not concerned with the dangers that they pose and the damage that they could cause with their irresponsible behaviour. It is also evident that the present penalties provided under our existing legislations are insufficient to deter such behaviour. It was fortuitous and fortunate that no one was hurt in all the four incidents I have recounted. However, we cannot rely on such good fortune and allow pedestrians to be constantly exposed to such risks until somebody has been hurt.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time." Recently there has been an increasing number of incidents of heavy vehicles with high leads colliding with our pedestrian overhead bridges. Between late September and December last year, there were three such incidents and one near-miss. On 23rd September, 1983, a motortrailer carrying piling machinery hit the bottom part of a pedestrian overhead bridge along Upper Thomson Road. The impact dented the vital framework and caused a crack in the pavement it the side between the bridge's two supporting concrete pillars. The incident was given wide publicity by our newspapers with prominent headlines and pictures. The driver was subsequently charged in court for inconsiderate driving under the Road Traffic Act and for carrying a load of excessive height under the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Rules. He was fined $350 for the first offence and $200 for the second offence. Following upon the incident, the Traffic Police on 7th October, 1983, issued a warning to all operators and contractors that court action will be taken against those who do not take out permits to carry loads above 3.2 metros in height from the road and for false declaration of the height. Despite the warning and the wide publicity given to the dangers posed to the public, the second incident occurred on 23rd October, 1983, when a motor-trailer carrying a cylindrical bulk failed to clear an overhead bridge along Marymount Road. Investigations by the Traffic Police ascertained that the owner of the motor-trailer had given false information with regard to the height of the trailer when he applied for a permit from the relevant authority. The owner was convicted under section 177 of the Penal Code and was fined $750.”
“If those are the words which are recorded in Parliament, I would say that I have no objections.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, before I can say yes, I certainly would like to see the contents of that letter. In what way is the letter phrased? I repeat my answer - I have no control over the actions of Interpol, neither have I control over the actions of the Member for Anson. Is that not an obvious and clear answer?”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, we do not represent Interpol. And we also do not control the freedom of action of the Member for Anson. So my answer is quite obvious. He can write to Interpol if he likes. How can the Government of Singapore or the Singapore Police Force interfere with his freedom of action? An hon. Member: He wants your approval!”