Desmond Tan
Singapore
“Here, I would like to thank MOM and our tripartite partners for their attention to maintaining workplace fairness, particularly their focus on seniors.”
“And he went on to say that, "as unionists of unions affiliated with NTUC Singapore, we have never flinched from raising our concerns and advocating for our members' rights for better wages and for better work prospects and welfare.”
“As shared by Mr Lee Kuan Yew at a mass rally in Geylang Serai in 1959 and, thereafter, repeated at the NTUC’s 50th Anniversary Dinner in 2011, and I quote, “In Government, I have never forgotten that it is in the interests of workers and their unions that we must strive for growth and development.”
“Mr Speaker, we have not detected an uptick in unlicensed moneylending, or UML, cases since October 2021. Between October and December 2021, there were 917 cases of UML and UML-related harassment cases reported. This was an 8% decrease, compared to the same period in 2020. The Police take a tough stance against UML activities.”
“There are approximately 13,000 households who have electricity accounts in arrears and 150,000 households who have water bills in arrears. Of these 150,000 households, about 1,200 have arrears of at least $250.”
“I thank the Member for the suggestion. Indeed, the Police do monitor the current trends, but I would like to, first of all, say that we think the current situation of unlicensed moneylenders is under control.”
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“We need to structure this offence as a strict liability offence to allow for more effective prosecution. Illegal gambling operators who send such inducements will often claim that they had unintentionally sent an inducement to underaged individuals. However, on the other hand, it is not our intention to cover scenarios where sending the inducements do not benefit the accused and are not sent in the course of business. What this means, for example, is that a person without any links to the illegal gambling operator could have forwarded a screenshot of gambling inducement to a Whatsapp group with underaged individuals inside and he does it as an educational or warning material to warn the group members on the harms of illegal online gambling. Hence, the defence clause allows the accused to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that he or she did not benefit from the inducement or the messages that were sent out. Mr Yip Hon Weng and Mr Gerald Giam asked how chance-based loot boxes in online games will be regulated. In particular, Mr Yip Hon Weng asked about how our laws on gambling advertisements will apply to activities with an optional gambling element, such as loot boxes, in online games. Currently, our laws and regulations do not consider chance-based loot boxes as gambling as long as there are no in-game monetisation facilities. So, as long as they do not have these facilities that allow players to exchange virtual prizes for real-world payouts, such as money or merchandise. This position is set out in IMDA's 2015 advisory on the scope of the Remote Gambling Act. It does not matter whether the loot box is optional or intentional. Correspondingly, the prohibition on gambling advertisements would not apply if these online games are not considered illegal gambling.”
“Individuals should exercise personal responsibility in deciding whether to allow underaged individuals to engage in such activities. Mr Yip Hon Weng and Mr Louis Chua both asked how the amendments to gambling legislation would impact the management of cross-border online gambling and illegal online gambling. Similar to the Remote Gambling Act, the Gambling Control Bill will cover situations where the facilities are outside or partially outside of Singapore. A key part of our strategy to combat illegal online gambling is our blocking measures for illegal online gambling websites as well as advertisements that can be accessed in Singapore, as well as the payment services that are linked to illegal online gambling. GRA will continue to have the powers to carry out these blocking measures if necessary. But no blocking measures are foolproof, as the Members also highlighted. Hence, the blocking regime has to be complemented by strong enforcement by the Police on illegal online gambling activities which happen in Singapore and allowing Singapore Pools to offer legal online gambling services which, in turn, allows us to have better control of the services provided. As for the text messages promoting illegal gambling activities cited, for example, for illegal football betting by Mr Louis Chua, Police will continue to take enforcement action against them. Members of the public can also help by reporting them through the Police i-Witness portal. Mr Louis Ng asked about the defence in clause 34 on inducement to underaged individuals to gamble. The offence of inducement to gamble in clause 34 has strict liability. This means that a person commits an offence once he sends out any inducement to gamble and with no need for the prosecution to prove the intent to induce.”
“Mr Speaker, first, let me thank Members Mr Louis Ng, Mr Gerald Giam, Mr Louis Chua and Mr Yip Hon Weng for their support for the two Bills. Parliamentary Secretary Eric Chua has addressed Mr Louis Ng's and Mr Gerald Giam's questions and suggestions on social safeguards and public education efforts. Let me now address the remaining comments and queries. Mr Gerald Giam asked about the exemption on physical social gambling. As Mr Gerald Giam pointed out, currently, physical social gambling is already not disallowed. Such activities are commonplaces amongst many Singaporeans, such as playing mahjong at home, especially during the Chinese New Year festival, and law-and-order concerns in this aspect are low. The exemption will regularise this current practice and provide clarity to the public that social gambling is allowed when it is with family and friends at home. This includes social gambling with minors. Social gambling will only be allowed in a person's home and will not be allowed in places like hotels and chalets, which Mr Louis Chua was asking about, and since covering non-residential places under the exemption could be exploited by criminal elements. The exemption on social gambling does not change the Government's approach towards gambling. In fact, we are tightening. And why is this so? Today, physical social gambling is not disallowed. So, we see in commonplaces people playing mahjong and card games. But with this Bill, we are actually making it clear that social gambling is allowed, subject to conditions. And these conditions, as I have mentioned earlier on, are currently not present in law. Actually, these conditions, if you think about it, act as social safeguards.”
“We propose to expand the CRA today to form GRA as the single regulator for all forms of gambling, to pool and optimise resources and expertise across the Government. I will outline the pertinent aspects of the GRA Bill. Part 2 of the Bill establishes GRA as a body corporate similar to other statutory boards. Clause 5 outlines GRA's functions, which include regulating gambling activities in or affecting Singapore to ensure that it is conducted honestly and free from criminal influence and exploitation; fostering responsible gambling and minimising harms caused by gambling; and setting and maintaining standards and accountability for the conduct of gambling. Parts 3 to 6 of the Bill contain the corporate governance provisions of GRA, aligned with the Public Sector (Governance) Act. Part 7 of the Bill contains provisions for the administration and enforcement of the Bill. Part 8 of the Bill makes consequential and related amendments to other Acts, including the Casino Control Act and the Gambling Duties Act and the Singapore Totalisator Board Act. Part 9 of the Bill provides saving arrangements in ensuring continuity of matters despite the renaming of CRA and the amendments to the Casino Control Act. Mdm Deputy Speaker, the Gambling Control Bill and GRA Bill aim to consolidate and update our gambling regulation and laws. These Bills are necessary to ensure that we continue to address the law-and-order and social concerns arising from gambling and also to keep pace with the evolving gambling landscape. I beg to move. [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]”
“] Singapore adopts a strict but pragmatic approach towards gambling. With the advancement of technology, unlawful gambling activities have been moving rapidly online. Criminal syndicates have also increasingly made use of various platforms, such as online games, shopping, and betting websites to induce people to spend irrationally. As illegal gambling can cause serious societal problems, we need to adjust our laws to tighten our regulation control and enforcement over such activities. We are making several adjustments to gambling legislation. First, the Government continues to take a stern view of unlawful gambling. We will be raising the penalties for participating in, promoting, and conducting unlawful gambling. Police will not hesitate to take stern enforcement action against such activities. Second, we will exempt social gambling amongst family and friends in homes. However, Police will take a stern enforcement stance against abuses and illegal gambling operators who take advantage of this exemption. Lastly, private establishments with gambling activities for their members will be required to apply for licences from the Gambling Regulatory Authority. In the past year, we had consulted the relevant stakeholders, and are heartened by their understanding and support. In the upcoming transition period, we will work closely with them to implement this licensing regime. (In English): Mdm Deputy Speaker, I will now move on to the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) Bill. Gambling regulation in Singapore is currently overseen by various Government agencies. These are CRA, the Gambling Regulatory Unit in MHA headquarters, the Singapore Totalisator Board, the Police and MSF.”
“We will also introduce an entry ban by law enforcement agencies and GRA in Part 6 Division 1 to ban individuals who pose law-and-order or regulatory concerns from entering fruit machine rooms and accessing Singapore Pools' online gambling products. Advertising. Currently, the Remote Gambling Act, the Betting Act and the Common Gaming Houses Act criminalises advertising and promoting unlawful gambling. However, the threshold for proving an advertising and promotion (A&P) offence, or an A&P offence, for unlawful online gambling today is lower than that for unlawful physical gambling. For online gambling, the offence can be made out as long as there is A&P for gambling, without the need to prove that the promoted site actually provides gambling. However, for physical gambling, there is a need to link the A&P offence to actual unlawful physical gambling. This sets a higher bar and imposes enforcement difficulties. Hence, to address this difference in thresholds, clause 85 introduces an offence for advertising unlawful gambling where we will apply the threshold that we currently have for online, to physical gambling. Hence, for physical gambling, there is no need to link the A&P to actual unlawful physical gambling. While this lowers the threshold for physical unlawful gambling, we have provided defences in clause 86, such that any person would not be guilty of an offence if they can prove that they established or they published the advertisement as an accidental or incidental accompaniment to the publication of another matter and did not receive any benefit from the A&P. GRA will also be empowered in clause 87 to order corrective measures on persons advertising unlawful gambling. Mdm Deputy Speaker, in Mandarin please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.”
“To better protect underaged persons, we will also criminalise gambling with underaged individuals, with the exception of social physical gambling, in clause 30; inducing underaged individuals to engage in gambling that is not social physical gambling in clause 34; and employing underaged individuals to conduct gambling in clause 35. Currently, exclusion orders are issued under the Casino Control Act by NCPG, Commissioner of Police and the Casino Regulatory Authority, or CRA. The Casino Control Act provides that exclusion orders issued by NCPG prevent persons from entering the rooms to mitigate the harm of gambling to the excluded persons and their family. In addition, individuals under NCPG's exclusion orders are also prevented from entering fruit machine rooms or accessing Singapore Pools' online gambling services using operators' exemption or permit conditions, that is, they are barred administratively instead of through provisions in the gambling legislation. That is today. [Deputy Speaker (Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo) in the Chair] Exclusion orders issued by Commissioner of Police and CRA also prevent persons from entering the casinos as these persons pose law-and-order or regulatory concerns. However, there are no legislative provisions to allow Commissioner of Police and CRA to prevent persons from entering fruit machine rooms or accessing Singapore Pools' online gambling services. Clause 134 codifies the current exemption or permit conditions in law, to allow NCPG to issue exclusion orders to persons to prevent them from entering fruit machine rooms and from betting on Singapore Pools' online gambling products, in addition to being excluded from the casinos.”
“Unlike Police officers, the power to arrest can only be exercised in specific situations, such as in approved gambling venues. Clause 123 provides for the appointment of compliance officers by GRA with the approval of the Minister. GRA employs these outsourced private sector experts to assist with compliance audits. We have tightly scoped the powers conferred on these individuals, to only obtaining information for their assessment in clause 110. Clauses 117, 118 and 120 detail the access blocking and payment blocking regimes related to unlawful online gambling activities, similar to the Remote Gambling Act. Mr Speaker, I will now explain the provisions that enhance social safeguards. The minimum age for gambling will remain at 21 years old, except for gambling at Singapore Pools' physical outlets, which will remain at 18 years old, as set out in clause 13. Related to this, we will introduce three sets of offences pertaining to underaged individuals. Clause 31 criminalises gambling by underaged individuals. This sends a strong deterrent signal to underaged persons that they should not be gambling. Clause 32 criminalises entering gambling areas by underaged individuals, for example, when an underaged person enters a fruit machine room. Singapore Pools' physical outlets are excluded from this offence, as it is impractical to implement entry checks for these outlets. We will also criminalise opening of an online gambling account with Singapore Pools by underaged individuals.”
“The offence will only apply to casinos and fruit machine rooms where the law-and-order and social concerns are higher, but not to other gambling settings like Singapore Pools' outlets. For example, in 2018, an individual who was bankrupt and excluded from the casino asked his wife to gamble in the casino on his behalf. We were unable to take them to task at that time, as proxy gambling was not criminalised previously. Part 3 of the Bill sets out the evidence and presumptions to aid Police and authorised officers in effecting arrests and initiating investigations. Many of the presumptions are present in existing gambling legislation. We have included a new presumption clause 46 in relation to inducement to gamble. A person who is referred to in the inducement for payment or further information is presumed to have sent the inducement unless he proves his lack of consent and involvement in the sending of the inducement. In the case of inducement of underaged students in schools through direct marketing materials, the sender is presumed to have known that the students receiving them were already underaged, unless he proves otherwise. This will allow for more effective prosecution of such persons. Part 9 of the Bill grants powers to Police and authorised officers, defined in clause 122, to take enforcement actions for gambling-related crimes. These powers include requiring a person to furnish information, as well as the powers of entry, inspection and seizure. Clause 112 confers powers of arrest without warrant to an authorised officer, such as a GRA officer, over any individual reasonably believed to have committed an arrestable offence under this Act.”
“Persons who are exempt under current laws can continue providing the gambling service for a fixed period of five to 12 months, instead of two to five months as stated. Let me move on to the provisions that update and harmonise gambling legislation. We have rationalised the offences and penalties across existing gambling legislation. Part 2 of the Bill sets out the offences pertaining to gambling operations, gambling places, gaming machines and others. All gambling activities will be prohibited unless they are licensed or exempted, regardless whether it is conducted online or physically. Unlawful gambling activity will be an offence for all persons involved – from the gambling operators, to the agents and the individual punters. We will apply a three-tier penalty structure for unlawful gambling offences, differentiating between the operators who set up the unlawful gambling activity; the agents who facilitate the conduct of the activity; and the punters who participate in the activity. The highest penalties will be imposed on operators, as their culpability is highest, followed by agents and then punters. We will enhance the penalties for unlawful gambling to send a strong deterrent signal to criminal syndicates. The Bill imposes mandatory imprisonment for operators and agents of unlawful gambling activities, similar to existing Acts. We will impose higher penalties for repeat offenders who facilitate and operate unlawful gambling services. We will also criminalise proxy gambling in fruit machine rooms and casinos, in clauses 28 and 135(1) respectively. Proxy gambling occurs when an individual gambles on behalf of another person, thereby circumventing entry checks which is meant to screen out persons specially under entry bans.”
“Currently, private establishments do not need to apply for a licence in order to have gambling on their premises. They are legally allowed to provide gambling in games, such as mahjong, for their members within their premises through an exemption regime, so long as they meet stipulated conditions, such as the type of games allowed and the number of participants. While this arrangement has worked well over the years, we are concerned with signs of illegal gambling taking root in private establishments. To address this, we propose to move to a licensing regime. Once the Bill comes into force, private establishments will have to apply for a licence. This will allow us to screen key personnel of their suitability to hold a gambling operator licence. We will also introduce surveillance requirements for the purpose of enforcement to these licensed private establishments. That said, MHA will continue to adopt a risk-calibrated approach to address the risk of criminal exploitation. Part 4 Division 2 introduces a class licence regime for GRA to regulate lower-risk gaming or gambling products, including mystery boxes, online games with gambling elements and business promotion lucky draws. A class licence regime differs from a licensing regime in that an operator does not need to apply for a licence. The class-licensed operator can operate as long as the stipulated conditions, to be specified in subsidiary legislation, are met. Clause 140 and the Second Schedule contain the saving and transitional provisions for existing permits and exemptions under the current legislation. We would like to highlight a typographical error in the Explanatory Statement.”
“Second, the participants must be members of the same family or know each other personally. Third, the activity must not be conducted for the private gain of any person who is not participating in the gambling or in the course of any business; and no participant should be able to obtain a benefit other than winning. For example, no commission, charge or fee should be imposed or sought from the participants. Online social gambling will continue to be disallowed. It is difficult, if not impossible, to establish whether participants are socially acquainted online. Police will be practical in enforcing social gambling breaches but will be firm against criminal syndicates that exploit the exemption to conduct illegal gambling. We will continue to allow some forms of gambling in a controlled and safe environment. Parts 4 and 5 of the Bill provide for licensing persons providing gambling services and regulating associated aspects, such as the gambling venues, games and gaming machines. The licensing regime will replace the various gambling permit and exemption regimes under today’s gambling legislation. Part 4 Division 1 of the Bill allows GRA to issue licences to gambling operators for certain gambling products. These are fruit machines for recreational clubs, Singapore Pools’ products and gambling among members at private establishments, such as recreational clubs and societies. In granting or renewing licences, GRA will consider the factors set out in clause 54. To mitigate law-and-order concerns, clause 55 allows GRA to screen operators and their management to assess their suitability. In particular, MHA will introduce a new licensing regime for gambling among members at private establishments, such as social clubs and clans.”
“Mr Speaker, I will now highlight the main clauses of the Gambling Control Bill. Part 1 of the Bill introduces the fundamental concepts and the purposes of the Bill. We will amend the definition of gambling to make it technology-neutral to cover existing and emerging gambling products. Clause 4 defines gambling as betting, gaming activity and participating in a lottery, similar to the Remote Gambling Act. Clause 5 expands the definition of betting from the Remote Gambling Act to go beyond horseracing and sporting events, to also include the outcome of a race, competition, sporting event or other event or process; the likelihood of anything occurring or not occurring; or whether anything is or is not true. Clause 5(2) excludes products that MHA has no intention of treating as gambling products, such as investment in financial products already regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. To address the transnational nature of online gambling activities, clause 11 states that the definition of remote gambling covers situations where the facilities are outside of Singapore whether in part or in full. The prohibition and offences apply even if the offenders reside overseas, as long as their customers are in Singapore, similar to the Remote Gambling Act. Currently, physical social gambling is not disallowed under the Common Gaming Houses Act and the Betting Act. Such activities are commonplace amongst many Singaporeans, such as playing mahjong at home. Law-and-order concerns are low. Clause 12 defines “social gambling” and exempts physical social gambling, as long as it meets the following key conditions. First, the gambling activity must be conducted in an individual’s home. This excludes public places, such as void decks, coffee shops, hotels and chalets.”
“Businesses have also adapted by introducing gambling elements in products that were traditionally not perceived as gambling, such as mystery boxes. To keep pace with this evolving gambling landscape, we will amend gambling legislation to establish the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore, or GRA, as the single regulator for all forms of gambling. GRA will continue to work with MSF and the National Council on Problem Gambling, or NCPG, to protect Singaporeans from the harms of gambling. The Singapore Police Force will continue to be responsible for enforcement against illegal gambling activities. Sir, allow me now to go through each Bill in turn. First, the Gambling Control Bill. The Bill consolidates the existing laws regulating gambling outside the casinos. It replaces the Betting Act (1960), the Common Gaming Houses Act (1961), the Private Lotteries Act (2011) and the Remote Gambling Act (2014), which will all be repealed. The Bill makes consequential and related amendments to the Casino Control Act (2006) and other Acts. The Bill seeks to achieve three key objectives. First, we want to address emerging trends and products, like mystery boxes and loot boxes in video games. Second, we want to ensure consistency in our regulatory treatment of different products. As mentioned, our current regulatory mechanisms for gambling are presently distributed across legislation enacted over 64 years and they are organised along the gambling products and the modality of gambling. Third, we want to enhance social safeguards. In formulating the Bill, we took in feedback from stakeholders engaged between April 2020 and August 2021, including social service agencies, religious groups, industry groups and also the wider public.”
“Mr Speaker, on behalf of the Minister for Home Affairs, I beg to move, "That the Gambling Control Bill be now read a Second time". Sir, the Gambling Control Bill is related to the next Bill, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Singapore Bill. With your permission, I would like to propose that the substantive debate on the two Bills be taken together now. This will allow for a more efficient and holistic debate and enable Members to raise questions or express their views on both Bills at the same time. Mr Speaker, Singapore adopts a strict but pragmatic approach towards gambling. Gambling is prohibited unless licensed or exempted. The Government does not encourage gambling, but allows some forms of gambling in a controlled and safe environment. Total prohibition will drive gambling underground and cause more law-and-order and social issues. These two Bills will not change this approach, which has worked well for Singapore. Gambling-related crimes remain low and the problem gambling situation remains under control with robust social safeguards. That said, two emerging trends can have a significant impact on the gambling landscape. First, technology has changed the way people gamble. People can now gamble anywhere and anytime through their smart phones and electronic devices. This has led to an increase in online gambling. The percentage of online turnover for Singapore Pools’ sports betting has grown in the past five years from 30% to 80%. Second, the boundaries between gambling and gaming have also blurred, which may normalise gambling behaviour, if unchecked. We see new forms of gambling emerging. The younger generation prefers products with an element of skill, compared to just purely based on chance.”
“I thank the Member for the question. The short answer to the Member is yes, SFA will continue to keep abreast with the latest technology and also review our regulations to keep pace with what is coming up. But I have also mentioned in my speech that because novel food does not have a history of safe consumption, we are paying a bit more attention on the safe implementation before it reaches our consumption market. And I just also want to highlight on the stepping up on safety, companies can also collaborate with Future-ready Food Safety Hub. In short, we call it FRESH which is a partnership between SFA, A*Star and NTU to conduct their food safety assessments. And, thereafter, these food safety assessments are then rigorously reviewed by SFA's Novel Food Safety Expert Working Group. So, we have put in place some of the structure. One is to ensure that we monitor the progress and advancements in technology for novel food and, at the same time, to ensure that these are safely assessed and before they are implemented to the Singapore consumer market.”
“PUB will support households to make informed choices and raise awareness on water consumption at home, for example, through the Smart Water Meter Programme. PUB has commenced the roll-out of the first phase of the programme in Tampines Central in January 2022 and will be installing some 300,000 smart water meters in new and existing residential, commercial and industrial premises, target to complete by 2023. Water conservation starts with every Singaporean. I hope every individual can play their part to save water to ensure our water supply continues to be sustainable. I also want to thank Mr Murali for his suggestion to plug the existing gaps with enforcing foreign vehicles that have idling engines. There are practical challenges, but I want to assure Mr Murali that we will be studying this proposal. Mr Chairman, I thank Members for their support of the work done by MSE, PUB and SFA to ensure food security and water sustainability, and ask that you continue to help us build a sustainable, resilient, liveable and vibrant Singapore.”
“For example, we have transformed our waterbodies into recreational sites for all to enjoy and protect under the Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters, or ABC Waters programme. I am pleased to update Mr Gan Thiam Poh that 50 ABC Waters projects have been completed since it was launched in 2006 and seven more will be completed over the next two years. Beyond our local waterways, we are also inspiring collective action to safeguard our marine environment from the threats posed by marine litter. I am pleased to update Ms Nadia Samdin that the Government is on track to publish Singapore's first National Action Strategy on Marine Litter in June 2022. The Strategy will describe Singapore's comprehensive approach to address the sources of marine litter. Ahead of the launch of the Strategy, we organised a public engagement session to seek feedback on measures to address marine litter and to galvanise 3P efforts to improve the situation in Singapore. Miss Cheryl Chan and Ms Hany Soh asked how we can improve water conservation. The COVID-19 pandemic saw water consumption shift from the non-domestic sector to the domestic sector. In 2021, non-domestic water consumption fell by 6% while domestic water consumption increased by 6% compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. In per capita terms, household water consumption increased from 141 litres per day in 2019, to 158 litres per day in 2021. This was largely due to more time spent at home because of work-from-home and home-based learning arrangements, as well as more frequent hand washing, showering and cleaning by households to maintain higher hygiene standards as what Ms Chan and Ms Soh have pointed out.”
“In 2020, we announced that work had already begun on Tuas Nexus, Singapore’s first integrated solid waste and used water treatment facility, comprising NEA’s Integrated Waste Management Facility (IWMF) and PUB’s Tuas Water Reclamation Plant (TWRP). Mr Shawn Huang asked about the Tuas Nexus project and an update. To date, more than $4 billion worth of contract works have already been awarded by NEA and PUB. The Tuas Nexus is set to complete in phases from 2025. The electricity generated by IWMF will be sufficient to sustain the operations of Tuas Nexus, and excess electricity will be exported to the national grid. When fully operational, the excess electricity exported to the grid by IWMF will be able to power up to 300,000 four-room HDB flats. This is just the beginning. We will continue to explore such synergies across various infrastructure facilities across the Government. Mr Chairman, the Deep Tunnel Sewerage system will transform the way Singapore transports our used water. This is essential in land-scarce Singapore and, when completed, will result in a 50% reduction in the land take for used water infrastructure. This is a multi-year $6.5 billion project that showcases our commitment towards forward planning. I am glad to update Mr Sitoh Yih Pin that for the Phase 2 tunnel contracts which began in 2017, more than 80% of the tunneling works have already been completed. The overall project, including Tuas Water Reclamation Plant, is scheduled to be ready by 2026. 6.30 pm Mr Chairman, Singapore's water story has been a success not just because of our infrastructural achievements, but through fostering community stewardship among Singaporeans towards our water resources.”
“From the end of 2022, SFA will launch new sea space tenders on lease. From next January onwards, SFA will also reduce the licence fee for sea-based farms to ensure that the fees are more appropriate. We will share more details in the coming months. To achieve our 3-by-30 goal, besides Government support and funding, we hope that Singaporeans can also play a part by supporting local produce. SFA launched a set of three logos in February this year to help Singaporeans better identify local produce. I hope Singaporeans can buy and support fresh local produce more and achieve a more secure future together. (In English): Mr Chairman, I would now like to speak about our other basic need, which is water. We will continue to strengthen water security by developing weather-resilient sources like NEWater and desalinated water and I am happy to announce that Singapore’s latest plant, Jurong Island Desalination Plant, will be operational in Apr 2022. This plant is co-located with Tuas Power’s existing Tembusu Multi-Utilities Complex (TMUC). It taps on the cost and operational synergies in the water-energy nexus by sharing infrastructure, such as the seawater intake and the substation, with the TMUC. As pointed out by Miss Cheryl Chan, Mr Gan Thiam Poh and Ms Poh Li San, weather-resilient sources are energy-intensive. Since 2002, PUB and stakeholders have committed more than $800 million in R&D into technologies, such as biomimetic membranes and blue energy, to improve energy efficiency of NEWater and desalination processes. The energy to produce one cubic metre of desalinated water could, potentially, be reduced from 3.5 kilowatt hours to less than two kilowatt hours by 2025.”
“To help Singaporeans better identify local produce, SFA launched a set of three logos to integrate branding for local produce in February 2022. These are the updated SG Fresh Produce logos you see on the screen to identify, first of all, local farmers – you see the first one on the left with one star; and logos to differentiate farms certified under the Good Agricultural Practice scheme for quality assurance – and they get two stars at the bottom; and Clean & Green scheme for sustainable production, which is the three-star logo. By choosing local produce, everyone can contribute to our food security. Whether you are buying groceries for your family or for your restaurant, choosing local produce will support our local farmers, helping them not just to survive but to flourish by becoming more productive and sustainable. So, let me remind everybody to try and support our local produce. Mr Chairman, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Chairman, to ensure Singapore's food security, SFA announced the 30-by-30 goal in 2019. We hope that by 2030, we can satisfy 30% of Singaporeans' nutritional needs through local production. Today, sea-based farms need to renew their sea space lease very year. This has made it hard to attract aquaculture businesses that require large upfront investments. After the reviewing the policy on the lease of sea space, I am glad to announce that we will offer long-term leases to all sea-based farms to help attract investors to develop the local aquaculture industry. To help existing farms ease into this arrangement, we will start with yearly renewable temporary occupation licences from 1 January 2023. This will give farms sufficient lead time to consider longer-term investment decisions.”
“SFA has received a total of 32 applications as of end of last year and eight applications have already been approved, while the rest are being processed and evaluated. Going forward, we will also expand the scope of the ACT fund to allow more food types that are commonly consumed in Singapore to also benefit from higher co-funding quantum. This includes fruited vegetables, mushrooms and shrimp. More farms can now benefit from the higher co-funding support to invest in their farming solutions. Prof Koh Lian Pin asked if the Government plans to calibrate our food imports as we increase local food production in order to minimise waste. Even as we aim to produce more food locally, Singapore will continue to need to import most of our food. We remain committed to facilitating free, open and competitive trade, and any substitution between imports and local production will be a result of market forces. While local farms ramp up production to contribute to our 30-by-30 goal, it is critical that Singaporeans continue to play their part by supporting local produce. Strengthening Singapore’s food security is a whole-of-nation effort and, without strong local demand, our farmers would find it hard to sustain a high level of production. With your permission, Mr Chairman, may I display a slide on the LCD screens?”
“SFA has reviewed the fish farm licence fees to ensure that it remains relevant and that compliance costs for the industry are minimised. Only new farm applications and farms with major changes to their farming activities, such as a change in food type that they want to produce, will be subject to a separate one-off assessment fee due to higher manpower and equipment costs incurred during the course of the assessment. More details will be announced in the coming months. To address Ms Nadia Samdin, Prof Koh Lian Pin and Mr Raj Joshua Thomas' queries, we want to provide greater certainty for our farmers so that they will invest more into their farms. I am happy to announce that new land and sea parcels will benefit from longer term leases of 20 plus 10 years. This means that future tenders will offer farmers the option of extending their lease beyond the initial 20-year period for an additional 10 years, subject to the farms meeting SFA’s production output conditions. This will apply to new land parcels in Sungei Tengah as well as in Lim Chu Kang after the master planning exercise, as well as sea spaces that I mentioned earlier from end-2022 onwards. More details will again be announced by SFA when the tenders are launched. Mr Don Wee and Mr Raj Joshua Thomas asked how we are helping farmers to upgrade their operations and reach our 30-by-30 goal. Last year, I shared that SFA launched a $60 million Agri-Food Cluster Transformation (ACT) Fund. This ACT fund supports farmers’ needs in different aspects at different phases, for example, from capability upgrade, innovation and test-bedding, as well as tech upscaling.”
“Some, like Rong-Yao Fisheries, culture their fish in traditional open-net cage systems. With good farm management practices in place, Rong-Yao Fisheries has obtained the Good Aquaculture Practice (GAP) Fish Farming certification. We have also seen the emergence of high-tech farms which have the potential to transform fish farming by culturing fish intensively. The Eco-Ark by Aquaculture Centre of Excellence (ACE) is one of the world’s first purpose-built floating closed containment aquaculture production structure that combines Offshore & Marine Technology with a closed containment system, using water treatment technology to provide good quality seawater to culture the fish and, at the same time, reduce the vulnerability to external conditions. Farms like Rong-Yao and ACE's Eco-Ark have found farming methods that work for them, but they also shared their hopes of getting greater certainty on their use of sea space so that they can continue to invest in their future. Today, sea-based farms do not have a lease mechanism and this creates some uncertainty for our farms. So, we will offer leases to all sea-based farms in the longer term. Incumbent farms will be eased into this arrangement by starting with yearly-renewable temporary occupation licences (TOL) from 1 January 2023. The charges will be progressively stepped up to market rate from 2023 to 2026. This will give farms sufficient lead time to consider their longer-term investment decisions. I also mentioned in my speech last year that SFA plans to launch new sea space tenders on lease. I am glad to share that this will happen from the end of 2022. Sea-based farms will see a reduction in their annual licence fee from 1 January 2023.”
“We have also been driving research innovation and plugging existing technological gaps. Under the Singapore Food Story R&D Programme, we set aside up to $144 million for R&D for sustainable urban food production, future foods, such as advanced biotech-based protein production, as well as food safety science and innovation. To date, around $75 million has been committed to over 30 projects. I echo Dr Lim Wee Kiak’s point that alternative proteins, such as cell-based and plant-based meats, can contribute to our nutritional needs. As some alternative proteins do not have a history of use as food, it is important to ensure the safe introduction of such novel food products into Singapore's market. This is why SFA developed the Novel Food Regulatory Framework in 2019 which requires companies to undertake pre-market food safety assessments as part of the process of seeking approval from SFA. I encourage novel food companies to engage SFA early through platforms, such as SFA's Novel Food Virtual Clinics, to better understand SFA’s requirements, so that they can prioritise their research efforts. Now, let me move on to our aquaculture industry. Mr Chairman, fish is a commonly consumed source of protein that can be grown locally to contribute to our food security. To Ms Nadia Samdin’s question, SFA has been working closely with the industry over the past year to understand their needs and introduce best practices that can help them uplift their production and the sector. I have joined them in some of these engagements and visited many of the farms in the Johor Straits as well as in the Southern Waters. The sea-based fish farms in Singapore are, indeed, quite varied, each with a unique approach to farming.”
“Mr Chairman, I will be speaking about how MSE has taken steps and will continue to secure our food sources and water supply and how we intend to do this with the support of our industry as well as with every Singaporean. First, on food security. Minister Grace Fu mentioned earlier that climate change and pandemics, such as COVID-19, are some of the biggest threats we face today. Coupled with the war in Ukraine, the confluence of factors is causing global supply and price volatility and we can expect to feel the impact in the coming months. MSE plans to ensure food supply resilience through our three food baskets – diversify import sources, grow local and grow overseas. Our "grow local" basket is supported by our 30-by-30 goal – an ambition to expand our capability to grow more food locally in a sustainable and resource-efficient manner. Last year, I shared about how our intention to masterplan Lim Chu Kang and turn it into a high-tech agri-food zone that can significantly raise food production and thereby also providing new and exciting job opportunities for Singaporeans. I am glad to update Mr Don Wee and Prof Koh Lian Pin that in 2021, we completed a six-month-long series of engagements on how the Government, industry, including our farmers, nature groups and public can co-create the future Lim Chu Kang region. Many industry players and other stakeholders are keen to embrace high-tech farming, with also other ideas like shared processing and distribution facilities and centralised waste management systems for complementary uses which will enhance the entire farming ecosystem. The feedback and ideas that we received from the engagements will now be folded into our actual planning phase of Lim Chu Kang this year.”
“Thank you, Mr Chairman. Just a quick response to Mr Christopher de Souza. In my response, I did mention that the Police as well as our intelligence agencies do work very closely with our regional, as well as extra-regional partners from the other countries to ensure there is exchange of information, there is capacity building and there are also joint operations, if necessary. So, this is something that we have been working on and that includes our partnership with Interpol. I have cited examples where we have also worked with Indonesian agencies some time ago to thwart the plot that was planned against Marina Bay Sands.”
“Since May 2020, all Government Procurement Entities are required to adopt outcome-based contracts (OBCs) for their security services and we will move towards 100% adoption of OBCs in the coming years. We hope more private sector entities will follow suit. Mr Chairman, to conclude, let me speak a few words in Mandarin. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Chairman, it is the responsibility of every Singaporean to protect Singapore. Although we are doing our best to plan and prevent crime, it is hard to totally prevent it from happening. We must take a three-pronged approach to curbing crime. First, we continue to strengthen cooperation with community partners to provide timely assistance to individuals and families. Second, strengthen the awareness of fraud prevention, so that scammers do not take advantage of it. Third, we must heighten vigilance against extreme anti-social attitudes and practices that create division. In the coming year, the Government and the Home Team hope to continue to work with Singaporeans to prevent and combat crime. It is important to be vigilant and report suspicious persons or show concern for our neighbours. Each of us can contribute to crime prevention and work together to build a Singapore where we can all live and work in peace and contentment. (In English): Mr Chairman, as the security environment continues to evolve, the Home Team will continue to work with our community to build a safer and more secure Singapore.”
“Today, we have extensive partnerships with organisations, such as the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) and the Inter-Agency Aftercare Group. To-date, over 80% of those that are detained for terrorism-related conduct have been released from detention. Most of them are gainfully employed and some are pursuing their education. They have good social support and remain resilient against radical influences. I would like to cite a quick example of a former ISIS supporter “Daniel”, not his real name, who was only 17 years old when he was detained in January 2020. Following extensive engagement by rehabilitation stakeholders, “Daniel” has renounced his support for ISIS and his radical ideologies. While in detention, he received weekly tutoring from RRG members who are also MOE-trained teachers, to prepare him for his GCE “N” level exams. He did very well in his exams, and his achievements have strengthened his resolve to change for the better. “Daniel” has since been released from detention in January 2022 and is now furthering his education. Our partners in the security industry also play a critical role in keeping Singapore safe from terrorism. Mr Patrick Tay and Mr Xie Yao Quan asked about the Government's role in helping this sector to be better equipped to play this role. Our approach is always multi-pronged. To continue raising the professionalism of our security industry partners, with effect from 1 July 2023, all security officers must complete the "Recognise Terrorist Threats" (RTT) training before they can be deployed at any site. We will also uplift wages for all security officers, including women, whom we always try to recruit. The PWM recommendations will provide a six-year schedule of sustained wage increases for more than 40,000 resident security officers.”
“Including how it may create a moral hazard or lead to frivolous reporting, or there may be some cases where the whistle-blower themselves are complicit in the crime. These consideration will have to be weighed against some of the benefits that the Member talked about. Mr Don Wee asked how we will address “money mules” – individuals who receive and transfer tainted funds as part of a trans-national syndicated money-laundering process. Today, a large proportion of investigations into money mules do not result in prosecutions, due to the inherent difficulties in proving the money mule’s intent to participate in moving monies for scam syndicates. To address this issue, MHA will be making amendments to the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act or CDSA, to allow money laundering offences to be made out at lower levels of culpability. These amendments are currently scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2022. Next, let me touch on our approach to anti-terrorism. Mr Christopher de Souza asked about the Government's partnership to prevent terrorism and strengthen our response. Key to Singapore’s counter-terrorism strategy is working closely with global security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies to foil terror attacks. For example, in 2016, ISD worked closely with our Indonesian counterparts to thwart a plot by the pro-Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group that targeted Marina Bay Sands. The Government also works closely with our community and religious leaders to address the roots of the ideology upstream. We are also ramping up our community response and mobilisation capabilities against terror attacks through the SGSecure Movement. Mr Christopher de Souza also asked how we rehabilitate radicalised individuals.”
“Ultimately, we want a safer online environment for all users. We will engage the relevant stakeholders on our proposals very soon. This is in response to Mr Desmond Choo as well as Mr Mark Chay’s questions on how we are going to deal with harmful online content and virtual crimes. Mr Murali Pillai asked if the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) is adequately resourced and whether CAD can tap on the private sector to enhance its operations. As I mentioned earlier, resourcing across the SPF – that includes CAD – is indeed, very stretched. We will have to discuss with MOF on how we can increase our manpower in the Police Force to enable our forces to cope better. We regularly review the salaries of our CAD officers to make sure that they are kept competitive and are able to be adjusted should market forces also move. Even so, this has not prevented CAD from being an effective unit. CAD has also proactively engaged industry stakeholders to streamline its operations. For example, in 2021, CAD worked with trusted industry partners to disrupt an extensive network of shell companies potentially used for money laundering. This partnership allowed CAD to intercept over US$33 million in criminal proceeds. With regard to the Member’s suggestion of a whistle-blowing legislation, today, our current laws already protect the identities of informants for organised crime and money laundering offences. At the same time, we take a stern view of such crimes and so our laws do not protect them from prosecution or to provide further incentives. While we can understand that whistle-blowing will encourage more people to step forward to help detection, there are also other considerations that we need to consider.”
“We intend to put in place a new debt collection regulatory framework to address this issue. This framework will involve a licensing regime and introduce restrictions on what debt collectors can or cannot do. Second, on our whole-of-society approach to tackling scams and cheating cases. Mr Derrick Goh and Mr Mark Chay asked how the Government will combat the scourge of scams together with our stakeholders. In February, I made a Ministerial Statement on two aspects of our approach: (a) enforcement; and (b) public education. Let me just highlight some of the key points from there. I mentioned about the Anti-Scam Centre, which continues to be effective and will continue to be organised for better effectiveness. I talked about working with transnational agencies and jurisdictions and law enforcement agencies to continue to be more effective as many of these crimes were transboundary. And finally, we will continue to work with the telcos as well as the banks to secure our network and to ensure that our funds are secure in the transactions. Some of the measures, including blocking of SMSes, phone calls as well as websites, will be introduced in the year ahead. We will continue to explore other strategies to combat scams. For example, later this year, MHA will be introducing the E-Commerce Marketplace Transaction Safety Ratings. This rating will help consumers understand the safety features offered by different e-marketplaces, so that they can make an informed choice on where or how they are going to do their online shopping. We are also working with agencies to develop a framework that will help us tackle scams as well as a broader suite of criminal activity online, such as child pornography, terrorism and content inciting violence in our communities.”
“Mr Chairman, I will elaborate on three areas that our Home Team will be focusing on, in our partnership with the community and the industry stakeholders in the year 2022 to keep Singapore safe and secure. These three areas are crime prevention, combatting scams and anti-terrorism. First, we will continue to work with the community to prevent crime. Mr Christopher de Souza asked about the Police’s partnerships with the community to create safer neighbourhoods. In 2021, the Police launched the Community Watch Scheme (CWS) to build a volunteer network to fight crime. This scheme actually integrates the existing groups, such as the Neighbourhood Watch Zone (NWZ), Vehicles on Watch and Riders on Watch, into an overall community partnership programme. Today, it stands at a 5,000 membership. Some members have also gone beyond and to help to patrol the streets. Some do so on Citizens on Patrol (COP) by donning a vest. Others go even further to don a uniform, under the Volunteer Special Constabulary scheme. These efforts have helped make our neighbourhoods and communities safer. One example I would like to highlight is Mr Pragash s/o Kulasagar, who has volunteered via the COP scheme for 20 years. In February 2018, while on patrol, Mr Pragash and his team were approached by a couple who shared that their domestic helper had been molested outside the lift of their flat. Mr Pragash and his team used the description provided and were able to narrow down the identity of culprit and helped solved the crime. Mr Sitoh Yih Pin asked how the Government will tackle public disorder and disamenities brought about by errant debt collection activities. We have listened carefully to the feedback from the ground.”
“Indeed, IMDA constantly work with the stakeholders and agencies to expand our outreach to different stakeholders, to different target groups and to help prevent scams from happening. We will take into consideration the Member's suggestions in our continued engagement and education efforts to prevent scams from reaching especially our seniors.”
“Volunteer Crime Prevention Ambassadors from the National Crime Prevention Council also share crime prevention tips with residents during their engagements. To reach out to seniors, the Police work with the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) and Silver Generation Office (SGO). We have also worked with MCI and IMDA through the SG Cyber Safe Seniors programme and the Seniors Go Digital programme in our outreach to our seniors. Besides education, we have also stepped up enforcement efforts. Specialised units have been set up in SPF to disrupt scammers' operations and these include the Anti-Scam Division (ASD). Specifically for job scams, SPF has conducted targeted operations to dismantle the syndicates. Between September and November 2021, SPF conducted three island-wide anti-scam enforcement operations targeting money mules linked to job scams. These led to the arrest of 135 individuals and investigation of 141 others. Given the transnational nature of job scams, the Police have stepped up collaboration with foreign law enforcement agencies. In December 2021, SPF worked with the Royal Malaysia Police to dismantle two scam syndicates believed to have perpetrated job scams and fixed deposit investment scams targeting Singaporeans. Fifteen people were arrested – eight in Malaysia and seven in Singapore. As I had mentioned, the best defence against scams is a discerning public. When looking for jobs, members of the public should always exercise healthy scepticism and verify the legitimacy of the job offer. They should also refrain from making any advance payments to secure a job.”
“Mr Speaker, from 2019 to 2021, there were 4,722 reports of job scam cases. Those aged 60 older formed about 2% of the total number of victims. The majority – around 70% – were younger adults aged between 20 and 39. This is not surprising, given that this group is more likely to be searching for jobs and are also more willing to try out online or remote work. Job scams exploit victims' interest in easy, work-from-home settings, such as to generate hype on e-commerce platforms, or traction for social media accounts and content. In many of these cases, scammers had created professional-looking apps with references to e-commerce listings or social media posts, to enhance the appearance of legitimacy. In this way, the scammers deceive the victims into thinking that they were participating in a genuine job scheme. Scammers would then require the victims to download apps and set up user accounts by transferring funds to bank accounts that are created by the scammers. Victims were then instructed to perform tasks, such as purchasing of items or clicking on posts to generate views, before they could receive their commissions. Victims usually only realised that they were scammed when they did not receive their commissions or were unable to withdraw money from their accounts after performing their assigned tasks. To address this, education is key to protect people from falling prey to scams. Our anti-scam public education campaign, called "Spot the Signs. Stop the Crimes." is in its second year and its coverage includes job scams. The Police regularly share crime information, including scam prevention advice, with the community and grassroots volunteers, for the purpose of their engagement with residents about scams.”
“If Ms Sylvia Lim has any concerns with regard to what has happened to her iPhone, I suggest she make a Police report.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, I have already mentioned that for reasons in safeguarding our national security, the Government cannot and should not discuss specifics with regard to operational aspects or any capabilities relating to our national security.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, one of the most critical responsibilities of the Government is to keep Singapore safe, secure and sovereign. We have to deal with serious national security threats to Singapore, ranging from terrorism to foreign subversion, espionage and interference. To this end, agencies charged with the mission of safeguarding national security necessarily have to rely on a range of intelligence capabilities, including harnessing technology. For obvious reasons, the Government cannot and should not discuss specifics on any operational aspects or capabilities regarding our national security.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, from 2017 to 2021, Police received four reports involving laser pointer beams being directed at pedestrians and motor vehicles. Two cases were committed by the same perpetrator. He was sentenced to two weeks’ imprisonment last year for committing an act so rashly as to endanger the personal safety of others. For the remaining two cases, Police had not been able to identify the perpetrators. Persons found guilty of intentionally pointing laser beams at others may be liable for offences such as section 336 of the Penal Code 1871 for committing a rash act that endangers human life or the personal safety of others, which is punishable with a fine of up to S$2,500, or imprisonment of six months, or both, and section 3 of the Protection from Harassment Act 2014 for intentional harassment, punishable with a fine of up to S$5,000, or imprisonment of six months, or both. Victims of such incidents can lodge a Police report.”
“I thank the Member for the question. I mentioned in my speech that this is an area that MHA and SPF will continue to sharpen, to build our networks across the different foreign law enforcement agencies as well as working with Interpol to enhance our ability to respond and to investigate across jurisdictions. At the same time, I also mentioned some of the difficulties, including how we can get our foreign law enforcement agency partners to work within their jurisdiction. And once the money has been transferred, there are also some difficulties as well. But it is an effort we will continue to do, as we have done in recent times, and we will step up this collaboration with the partners – foreign law enforcement agencies – to try and strengthen our enforcement as well as recovery of lost monies with the foreign banks as well.”
“Today, the SDOs have done a good job in reaching out to 130,000 seniors in our community at the community centres, different libraries and so on. So, we will continue to step up these efforts. I want to end off by saying that this education effort is an important one. We want to build a Smart Nation. We also want to build a Scam Smart Nation, where our people understand the telltale signs and to protect themselves and help one another. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Mr Speaker, Singapore has seen a rising number of scam cases in recent years. Therefore, MHA and other Ministries will do our best to work with community partners to strengthen prevention measures and raise awareness against scams. In 2021, online phishing scams were on the rise. Scammers used various ways to mislead victims into revealing their personal information. Here, I urge everyone to stay alert and not to believe strangers easily, nor to share your personal information or even transfer money. The public can also download ScamShield from Apple Store. Mr Don Wee said our grandmas and grandpas might not understand ScamShield. However, I believe that once they realise the benefits of ScamShield which offers them greater protection, they will be able to use digital platforms more confidently.”
“I will reply in English and I will say a few remarks in Mandarin. I thank the Member for the question. Actually, Minister Josephine Teo has highlighted many of the measures that we have implemented in relation to helping our seniors go digital as well as to continue on our digital transformation journey. I think the question is a valid one in relation to how this incident may have affected some confidence, especially among our users and seniors. I want to emphasise that, as I had mentioned in my speech earlier on, the groups of people who are affected by scams are not just the seniors. In fact, our data showed that the younger people who have been transacting more online are more susceptible, or just as susceptible, to scams. So, there are two areas that we need to focus on in relation to the Member's question. One is how can we bolster confidence among our users? That is something that Minister Lawrence Wong, Minister Josephine Teo and I have been trying to explain and let Members know the measures that we are taking to make the digital space a safer environment for all of us to operate in. The second area is to build a more resilient community in the use of the digital space. That is something that we have been working with the different stakeholders and partners – Government as well as the private sector – to strengthen. More specific to Member Don Wee's question on the seniors' programme, we have introduced a number of programmes and, given this incident, we will continue to step up our outreach to our seniors to not just help them to acquire the skillsets but also to explain to them what are the telltale signs of scams and how to protect themselves from scams.”
“IMCS will continue our efforts to encourage the public to download ScamShield, including through community engagements by SPF and Volunteer Crime Prevention Ambassadors. I would also like to call on Members of this House to encourage your residents to download ScamShield. In concluding, combating scams needs a whole-of-society effort. Even as SPF steps up enforcement, members of the community still play a vital role. We urge the members of public to be individually alert and also to raise collective awareness by sharing scam prevention tips with your friends and family. Together, I am confident we can build a safer Singapore. Thank you, Mr Speaker.”
“The IMCS has also started to work with stakeholders from the private sector: partnering ABS to reach out to consumers who use banking services and major e-commerce platforms and marketplaces to reach out to consumers transacting on those online platforms. Everyone should also download ScamShield, to filter out scam messages and block scam calls. To date, ScamShield has been downloaded about 257,000 times. About 3.5 million SMSes and calls have been picked up as potential scams by the in-app algorithm and user self-reporting through the app. About 15,500 phone numbers have also been blocked. We are unable to provide Mr Gerald Giam with the percentage of scam calls and SMSes successfully blocked, as ScamShield does not track the number of calls and SMSes made or received by the users. ScamShield picked up and filtered about 2,000 scam messages used in the OCBC phishing scams. Unfortunately, a lot more scam messages managed to reach the SMS inboxes of ScamShield users, mainly because they appeared in the same thread as legitimate messages. This gap will be addressed as agencies enhance our SMS ecosystem, as Minister Josephine Teo explained. That said, ScamShield, in itself, is not a panacea and all parts of the ecosystem need to work together to combat scams, including vigilance from all members of the public. When ScamShield was developed, we made it available to iOS devices first as it was functionally easier to build. We had, initially, planned to launch the Android version of ScamShield in late 2021, but it was delayed as GovTech had to reprioritise resources towards supporting our efforts against COVID-19. Agencies are now working towards developing and releasing the Android version in the coming few months.”
“The customer had wanted to remit around 6,000 euros to her Internet “boyfriend” based in the United States. OCBC branch staff noticed that the fund transfer was to be made to a personal bank account in Thailand and suspected that the customer was being scammed. The OCBC staff spent hours trying to dissuade the customer from transferring the funds and worked with SPF officers to try to advise the customer from sending any money. Eventually and thankfully, they managed to convince the customer that she was being scammed, after the “boyfriend” was not available for a video call that bank staff worked with the customer to arrange. Another example of a preventative initiative is the “SG Cyber Safe Seniors Programme” launched in June 2021 by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and SPF. The programme seeks to raise seniors’ awareness of online scams and encourage them to adopt good cyber hygiene. Under the programme, CSA and its partners, such as the SG Digital Office, offer scam prevention tips, including how to spot signs of phishing and avoiding the sharing of personal information and OTPs. The IMCS will step up our public education efforts by scaling up targeted outreach. We will partner agencies and stakeholders that serve as key touchpoints for population segments of interest and leverage their communications channels to push out anti-scam messages targeted at different segments. For example, IMCS has started working closely with the Agency for Integrated Care, MOE, MOM and MoneySense to push out anti-scam information and awareness programmes for our seniors, students, even migrant workers and professionals.”
“The campaign emphasises the importance of individual responsibility and also uses real-life examples to build awareness and vigilance on the tell-tale signs of scams. As part of this campaign, we have disseminated materials advising the public on scam prevention tips, such as never to share one-time-passwords (OTPs) with unverified parties and to be wary of requests for gift cards and online credits. Mr Mohd Fahmi Bin Aliman asked if there is an age group that is most vulnerable to phishing scams and the common scams that different segments of the population fall prey to. Scam victims are of a wide range of ages; everyone is susceptible. That said, different profiles of victim falls prey to different types of scam. For phishing scams, job scams, e-commerce scams, investment scams, loan scams, China official impersonation scams, as well as fake gambling platform scams, we found that young adults between 20 and 39 years old formed the largest group of victims, compared to other age groups. For social media impersonation scams, Internet love scams, and fake friend call scams, adults between 40 and 59 years old formed the largest group of victims. Hence, the Government has also rolled out prevention initiatives targeted at specific population segments. SPF and NCPC have partnered ABS on various initiatives to educate bank customers. For example, the banks have introduced an online quiz on scam prevention. They have also sent out advisories to customers to remind them not to share their OTP with others. Banks have also stepped up their efforts to also train their frontline staff to help customers spot signs of scam. For example, in June 2021, OCBC staff helped to prevent a 57-year-old customer from being scammed.”
“The ASC uses technology to automate manual work processes, such as the generation of electronic production orders to the banks for the freezing of bank accounts that are associated with scams and sending out personalised crime advisories to members of the public. This will allow the Police resources to focus on essential criminal investigations and enforcement work. SPF also uses technology, such as ScamShield, to crowdsource information on scam calls and SMSes. It provides SPF with information on emerging trends. This enables SPF to react faster to the various scams. Another example is SPF and MAS’ ongoing study with banks to explore the use of enhanced fraud surveillance systems based on artificial intelligence to flag suspicious transactions and identify possible fraudulent behaviour in real-time. Next, I will touch on improving public education. Enforcement, by itself, is not sufficient. To Ms Foo Mee Har’s question on how consumers can be better protected, the best defence is a discerning public. Hence, the Government has been creating strong public awareness on scams. Miss Cheng Li Hui asked about the challenges in educating Singaporeans on anti-scam precautions and measures. A key finding from the 2019 National Prevalence Survey of Scams was that scam victims tend to lack practical knowledge on safe practices. While the majority of scam victims had come across anti-scam public campaigns and messages, many of them could not recall specific scam prevention tips. They also exhibited poor online hygiene, such as opening emails from unknown sources. The Government’s anti-scam public education campaign, called "Spot the Signs. Stop the Crimes", aims to address these challenges.”
“The ASC also partners private sector stakeholders to disrupt scammers’ operations. For example, it has worked with telecommunications companies to terminate scam-tainted phone lines, and with online marketplaces to remove suspicious online monikers and advertisements. Since 2019, the ASC has frozen around 24,000 bank accounts suspected of being involved in scam activities and recovered about $160 million in scam proceeds. This would include part of the $17 million lost since 2020 to about 1,300 cases of phishing scams involving spoofed SMSes impersonating banks in Singapore, a question which Dr Tan Wu Meng asked about. SPF does not track the amount of funds recovered by scam type. Recovery of monies lost to scams is very difficult. Where we have been able to, it involved close partnerships with financial institutions, in particular, by having a DBS staff co-located with SPF at the ASC to provide swifter and real-time coordination and intervention. ASC and MAS are working with more banks to co-locate their staff at the ASC, to further enhance the ASC’s capabilities to freeze accounts, as well as to trace the flows of money. SPF will be forming an Anti-Scam Command this year to consolidate expertise in scams across all SPF land units, and thereby further improve coordination of anti-scam enforcement and investigation. The Command will also oversee the newly-formed Scam Strike Teams in the seven Land Divisions, which were set up to enable us to take swifter action against scams. As Mr Edward Chia and Mr Christopher de Souza suggested, SPF has also leveraged technology and will continue to do so.”
“Specifically, for phishing scams involving SMSes impersonating banks in Singapore, there were no cases in 2017, but there were 91 in 2018; 57 in 2019; 149 in 2020; before increasing significantly to 1,021 in 2021, in view of the OCBC phishing scams. The OCBC phishing scam alone accounted for 790 customers in the two months from December 2021 to January 2022, by far the largest phishing scam involving spoofed SMSes, as mentioned by Minister Lawrence Wong earlier. The use of a combination of highly-orchestrated tactics, involving spoofed SMSes appearing in the same thread as genuine messages from the bank and links directing victims to a scam website, as well as the large number of customers targeted in the OCBC scam, shows that the threat is now significantly heightened. On Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim’s query, in 2021, card fraud cases reported by major credit card issuers in Singapore to MAS formed less than 0.1% of total credit card transactions. MAS and SPF do not track the percentage of funds recovered for these unauthorised credit card transactions. Mr Murali Pillai and Mr Ang Wei Neng asked if SPF is sufficiently resourced to combat scams. Police are extremely stretched. Our officers have been trying to cope with increasing workload and expectations, without proportionate increase in manpower. We will need to review this untenable situation. Nevertheless, with whatever resources we have, we have reorganised ourselves for greater efficiency and effectiveness. For example, SPF set up the Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) in 2019 as a specialised unit focused on anti-scam interventions and enforcement. In 2021, the ASC conducted 26 islandwide anti-scam operations, which resulted in the arrest of around 7,500 money mules and scammers.”