Teo Chee Hean
Singapore
“The second point first, Mr Speaker. Certainly, it could have been a factor. But to the Panel which reviewed the thing, it was not an acceptable excuse or reason. The agencies still have to be responsible for what they are doing, whatever season of the year it is.”
“On the balance in ACRA, I would not say it is a conflict, but you have to strike the right balance between the functions that ACRA is meant to provide, which is to have a registry which promotes corporate transparency, and you have to balance that against how you protect personal data.”
“That means, if you do find a bug or you do find a way in which you can penetrate a Government system, you let us know, and there is a bounty for it. And this is evergreen. But we also do, from time to time, have a hunting season. So, for certain of our systems, we invite white hatters to attack those systems.”
“Then, he asked when the political office holders got involved in the public communications on the Bizfile portal issue. They got involved, I think, almost as soon as it became apparent that there was public anxiety. Next question about paragraph 40 and the email to senior officers, yes, the July 2024 CM was emailed to officers.”
“In fact, we monitor the dark web for a variety of things, including this, and we have not seen any sale of NRIC numbers as such. On the question of collection and use of NRIC numbers, actually, in the communication with the Government agencies, I think it is important to know who you are communicating with.”
“So, you actually make your email address available to others. But for authentication purposes, it is quite different. You do not tell your password to others. That is something which you keep for yourself and your email service provider knows. So, there is a difference between an identifier and an authentication.”
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“On 8 March 2014, at about 4.00 pm, a Malaysian driver, after having cleared Singapore immigration, drove his Singapore-registered car to the secondary clearance area for security checks. When an Auxiliary Police Officer (APO) was inspecting the boot of the car, the driver suddenly got into the car and drove off. The APO immediately pressed the alarm, which triggered the activation of the security barrier. The car's progress was stopped by the barrier. Several officers at the scene responded to the alarm and an APO was injured in the process of stopping the car from leaving. However, the driver persisted in trying to drive across the security barrier. He managed to force his car over the security barrier and exit the checkpoint. Police confirmed the identity of the driver within 15 minutes of the incident and activated an island-wide search for the driver and the vehicle. Taxi drivers were also asked to look out for the car. Meanwhile, Police continued to establish and follow leads to precisely locate the driver and the car. Police steadily closed the ring around the driver and subsequently arrested him five hours after the incident. His car was separately recovered at another location prior to his arrest. He has been charged in court for offences under the Penal Code and Vandalism Act. He is also being investigated for contraband goods smuggling and other offences under the Customs Act. Our investigations revealed that the security barrier initially stopped the car, but failed to stop the car from leaving because hydraulic fluid leaked from one of the cylinder seals for raising and maintaining the position of the security barrier. The security barriers are checked and serviced every three months, and the last servicing was done on 18 February 2014.”
“Mdm Speaker, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 1 and 2 together?”
“Since 1 April 2005, all new Singapore passports are issued with a validity period of five years, instead of the previous 10-year validity period. The shorter five-year validity period enables the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to incorporate changes to security technology and features in a timely manner. This ensures the security and integrity of the Singapore passport and makes it robust and less susceptible to forgery and tampering. The passport validity period applies to all Singapore passport holders, regardless of the individual’s age. We are not considering making a differentiation based on age at this point in time. Page: 180”
“We will try to block and also to track people who go to those sites. As the Member will know, blocking and prohibiting sites are technologically complex and also not so difficult to circumvent. So, if a person is determined enough, he can access these sites. As Mr Vikram Nair pointed out, some of these sites are really quite toxic because not only do they purvey extremist ideologies, they also are a how-to guide: how to make various kinds of devices which can cause harm to others. Eventually, I think the inoculation comes from the kind of things that Assoc Prof Eugene Tan was talking about, which is that it starts from the community itself. It is the community we live in and the different communities that we have in Singapore, which can inoculate our young people, particularly, against this kind of extremist tendencies. I must say that the RRG, MUIS and other groups in Singapore, including our schools, play an important role in helping to inoculate the young people.”
“The RRG was a very important element in that because they said, "Look, that is the problem – violent extremism. Let us deal with it. We will deal with it." And other communities, seeing that, said, "Look, this is good. Let us work together on it." And trust and confidence were strengthened. Page: 97”
“I would like to make a few points. We look at terrorism as a phenomenon of violent extremism, as a whole. That is what we deal with. We do not look at it as a Malay phenomenon or Muslim phenomenon, but we look at it as a phenomenon of violent extremism. Hence, when our Religious Rehabilitation Group worked with other agencies internationally to have a seminar here, the focus was on violent extremism and how such ideas are purveyed and enter into people's heads, and they become extremist and violent, and the strategies that can be taken to counter them. But I must say that our communities here in Singapore post-2001 reacted very positively. That is because we all reached out to each other. The Government had a big part to play, encouraging the communities to come together. But the trust and the integration in our communities over many decades contributed a great deal. If you look at our housing estates, we have been building trust for many years. With the Ethnic Integration quotas, our housing estates are mixed. So, we do not start off by living in different places. We go to schools together; we live together; we are at the same hawker centres. And that has helped a great deal. In some countries, after 2001, communities looked at each other with suspicion. Some felt squatted upon, communities feared other communities and looked with suspicion at each other. Whereas here in Singapore, the communities reached out to each other, and said, "Look, we have a problem. How do we deal with it?" We dealt with it together. My own sense is that the community spirit between communities became stronger after that. There are a number of reasons, one of which is that the Muslim community in Singapore took ownership of the issue.”
“I would like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether more can be done to deal with the perception that terrorism is solely an issue that concerns only the Malay/Muslim community.”
“We do not generally transfer officers across services, say, an SCDF officer to do policing. That does not generally happen. So, the SCDF officers remain within SCDF, by and large. Prisons officers remain within the Prisons service. We sometimes have Police Officers who cross over to, say, the Prisons service. But officers do come together at various times in their career, for example, in MHA Headquarters in, say, the Policy or Operations departments. That is where they will bring their collective knowledge and experience together to help the Ministry manage various cross-cutting issues. We are also encouraging more cooperation between agencies at the ground level so that they can resolve many of the operational issues and also look at issues from a citizen-centric point of view rather than an agency point of view. But we do post officers around within each service. The Police, for example, gives its officers a mix of experience between community policing, investigations and also work at the Headquarters to help them understand the broader policy issues that the Police faces. The experience that we gain from keeping officers longer is something which we value, as long as officers continue to be fit and able to contribute. And we think the officers also appreciate this as well. Assoc Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene: Madam, I welcome the Deputy Prime Minister‘s emphasis on resilience as being critical in enabling us to rise above the threat of terrorism. How society responds in the aftermath of discovering a terrorist plot, or worse, after a successful attack, is what really matters, not so much as the discovery of the terrorist plot or the terrorist attack Page: 96 itself.”
“And this will, in turn, foster greater public trust and confidence in the integrity of the Home Team. Mdm Chairperson, the Home Team has the important mission of keeping Singapore a safe and secure home. Our officers know that the duties they perform and the decisions they make can have a serious impact on the safety and security of fellow Singaporeans. This is a heavy responsibility. It is a responsibility that every Home Team officer bears. Our officers can only succeed if they have the support of Singaporeans for the difficult and challenging work that they do. We will continue to forge strong partnerships with businesses, community groups, and fellow Singaporeans in tackling our current and future security changes. Working together with Singaporeans, the Home Team will remain united in our efforts, integrated in our systems, committed to our values, and dedicated to serve Singapore and Singaporeans. Let us give them all our support and encouragement. The Second Minister for Home Affairs (Mr S Iswaran): Thank you, Mdm Chair. May I have your permission to show some slides on the LED screens?”
“So, do give them your support and encouragement too when the outcome is not as good as one might have expected. However, if they do not discharge their duties properly and fall short of the standards expected of the Home Team, I will hold them accountable and where warranted, admonish and discipline them. We will not tolerate wilful misconduct, abuse of power or a lack of integrity. This is not only fundamentally wrong at the individual level, but also tarnishes the Home Team's reputation and undermines the public trust that our officers have collectively and painstakingly built up over the years. Mdm Chairperson, the individual Home Team agencies already have a system of carrying out investigations into allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct by their officers. To strengthen this system, I have decided to set up an Independent Review Panel. When directed by the Minister, the Panel will review the findings of internal investigations into cases of serious alleged misconduct by an officer in his official capacity. Examples include cases which have resulted in death or serious injury, cases which obstruct, prevent, pervert or defeat the course of justice, or where it is in the public interest to do so. Page: 78 The Panel will report directly to the Minister, and review whether the allegations are substantiated and whether the investigations were thorough and carried out in a fair manner. The members of the Panel will comprise prominent members of the community, including people with deep legal knowledge and experience, and also include former Home Team senior officers. The Panel will ensure that there are independent, robust and fair processes in place to review allegations of misconduct by Home Team officers.”
“Many of you would have used it at the airport – it is very fast, it is very convenient and it is secure. SCDF is acquiring unmanned fire fighting machines that are able to respond to a variety of operating environments safely and remotely. Installing Police cameras at the foot of every HDB block serves as a deterrent against crime and helps in investigations and prosecution, and this is Page: 77 a more effective way of using our Police Officers than deploying a Police Officer 24 hours a day at the foot of every block. This frees up the Policeman to take on more and higher value tasks, such as understanding the local community and their needs. Assoc Prof Eugene Tan spoke about public trust and confidence. We will continue to recruit and retain good officers, and we will train, equip and prepare our officers so that they can perform their duties well. Our Home Team officers work round the clock, 365 days a year – investigating and solving crimes, manning our immigration checkpoints, responding to medical and fire emergency calls and more. They bring justice to victims, protect the vulnerable from harm and steer people who have broken the law back onto the right path. In all they do, Home Team officers are expected to act with honour and integrity. As I said in this House last month, when officers perform well, I will recognise and commend their good work publicly and so should we all – give them a pat on the back when they do well. If they act professionally and discharge their duties properly and to the best of their abilities, while the outcome does not turn out as well as expected, I will still support them publicly – for this is the difficult and challenging work that they do in the Home Team. And they need our support and encouragement.”
“As you would have seen from the testimonies at the COI, there are many considerations in dealing with such a fluid and fast-moving incident and all the factors should be taken into account before arriving at any conclusions. SPF, SCDF and MHA will study and consider the Committee's recommendations as part of our review of public order management and response capabilities. Mr Hri Kumar, Mr Arthur Fong and others asked whether the Home Team has adequate resources and manpower. The short answer is that more resources and manpower are always welcome because there are growing operational demands and calls for more enforcement presence. But there are natural limits to how much we can grow the Home Team, without compromising the standards expected of officers. As our resident workforce ages and stops growing, it will be even more challenging to recruit and retain good officers, especially given the demands of a uniformed career. I had explained earlier our approach to recruiting officers of good quality and whom we can train in a general purpose way; and employing Auxiliary Police Officers whom we can deploy effectively but for more specific domains and jobs. I agree with Mr Hri Kumar that it is important to retain a core of experienced officers within the Home Team. That is why in October 2013, we extended the retirement age of Home Team officers. These experienced officers can help to guide younger officers, and share the experience and expertise that they have built up over the years. We are also increasingly using technology to support the work of our Home Team officers – Ms Tin Pei Ling asked about that. ICA has been deploying automated self-service immigration lanes that offer secure immigration clearance through the use of biometric identifiers.”
“You may not get an optimal 100% response which comes from a dedicated high alert force that is ready to do it all the time, but you will get a very good response anyway. By preparing a tiered response and building in some redundancies and reserves, we can bring our forces up to the required level of alert, deployment and response according to the threat or risk assessment for each eventuality. The deployment posture for our forces will adapt according to operational needs. For example, a high profile international meeting that attracts international protest groups or terrorists will require one type of deployment; a major football game, another; a street parade, an international sporting event, a civil disaster, or possible tension among foreign groups in Singapore that might arise due to developments overseas. All these require different postures and deployments, out of the same general purpose response forces that we have. The approach I outlined also applies to how we prepare, train and equip our officers for riot control and other public order and security threats, which Mr Heng Chee How and several others asked about. For example, the structure, equipping and training of our forces was reviewed in preparation for the World Page: 76 Bank/IMF Conference in 2006 and reviewed again after the Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008. I do not just mean the SOC forces but also our general purpose Police Officers as well as the SCDF. One area that the Committee of Inquiry into the Little India riot is looking into is examining how the response forces managed the incident.”
“Some of these suggestions were put up by the Members today. The second category comprises situations that are difficult to anticipate. They may only happen once in a very long while, but can have very serious consequences. Or they might not have even been anticipated at all. We can try to anticipate every eventuality, and plan and prepare for every one of them. But it is not possible to predict to the last detail what can happen, nor can we set Page: 75 aside dedicated resources at high alert for every single eventuality all of the time, and all at the same time. So, our approach is to organise the Home Team and train our officers to prepare them for their core work and the situations that they are most likely to face and, at the same time, our forces and our officers must have the right instincts and operational flexibility to respond and adapt to the specific requirements when the unanticipated happens. Let me give you an example. We have not had a kidnapping case for a very long time but when a kidnapping occurred, the Police was able to respond very, very quickly and resolve the case within 12 hours. And they had their priorities right – which was the safety and the life of the victim. They made sure that she was safe, then they arrested the suspects and then they recovered the ransom. So, victim survived, arrested the suspects, then recovered the ransom. That was a response in a very, very rapid way, in a very well coordinated way to an incident which has not happened for many, many years. So, we may not necessarily have specific and separate forces that are dedicated to and on high alert for each possible eventuality, but we can structure our forces to provide sufficient redundancy and resilience to adapt as necessary and respond to whatever situation arises.”
“So, how can we respond better to emergency cases, in particular medical emergencies? If we focus solely on continually improving ambulance response times, it will require an ever increasing resource level that will ultimately reach our resource limits. But we can redefine the problem. If somebody has a medical condition that requires a fast, almost immediate response, there is no faster first responder than the person standing right next to him. So, how can we make him more able to respond and help? How can we help each other? We can facilitate this by leveraging on resources already available in the community. SCDF is collaborating with the Singapore Heart Foundation to set up and maintain a National AED Registry to guide members of the public to the nearest AED in an emergency. SCDF is also developing a complementary mobile app to alert volunteers trained in AED and CPR to emergencies in their immediate vicinity so they can provide first response even before the emergency ambulance arrives. This can help improve patient survival and outcomes. Together with MOH, we are working with stakeholders to encourage the installation of AEDs in public places with high human traffic and to train more first responders in the community. For a start, we are partnering the People's Association to install AEDs in Community Centres and conduct CPR and AED training for their staff and for the public. By marrying the accessibility and the location of AEDs, the readiness of AED-trained volunteer community partners, and the reach of mobile communications, we can supplement our emergency medical responders to achieve faster response and better outcomes in a sustainable and resource-efficient way. Similarly, we can tap on community resources to detect and report crime or traffic violations.”
“We have to strike a balance and, therefore, we are using Auxiliary Police Officers and security officers, and training them to do very specific duties which they can do on a regular basis. Then we can deploy our Police Officers who are generally trained for a wider range of duties to areas where their qualities are most valued and needed. This provides a good balance between having more people who are generally trained and more people who are specifically trained in order to meet our overall security needs. Let me describe how we deal with emerging threats, emergencies and crises. There are so many things that happened which the Home Team has to clean up after and to protect ourselves against. These can fall into two main categories, namely, situations that our officers have trained and prepared for, and situations that are difficult to anticipate. They can happen but will they happen; when will they happen? So, let me illustrate the first category by looking at how we deal with emergency medical response. These are things that we can anticipate, and our officers train and prepare for them. Where the type of situation can be anticipated and occur fairly often, the main variables are where, when, what, or who is involved – for example, a medical emergency. 2.30 pm Page: 74 To improve our emergency medical response, we are growing the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) ambulance fleet. We have cross-trained some fire-fighters as Emergency Medical Technicians. And we have fitted our fire bikes and fire engines with Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). We have also engaged private operators to augment our ambulance fleet to attend to the growing number of ambulance calls, particularly medical emergencies as compared to trauma cases.”
“It will provide realistic hands-on training for those regulating, managing and operating the National Critical Information Infrastructure. Because the cyber world transcends national borders and attacks can materialise without notice from anywhere in the world, it is critical that we continue to work with like-minded global and industry partners, to build a community of responsible and security-aware users, and to strengthen our cybersecurity capabilities. INTERPOL is opening the INTERPOL Global Centre for Innovation (IGCI) in Singapore over the next year and one of its areas of focus will be cybercrime. Mr Hri Kumar and Mr Edwin Tong asked how we will ensure that the Home Team is able to meet its operational demands, including unanticipated incidents Page: 73 and threats. Given the wide range of existing threats, as well as the emergence of new threats, it is indeed a challenge to meet all these demands within the very real overall resource constraints that we have, particularly people. Every company, every agency, every organisation faces that, and we have to try and manage this within the overall resources that can be made available to the Home Team. But we have been growing. Over the last 10 years, manpower in the Home Team has grown from about 19,000 to about 24,000 – a 25% increase. And the Police have grown from about 9,000 to about 10,300, an increase of about 15% over the last 10 years. But we have to be realistic. Can we continue to recruit good men and women of high quality, train them to do all the general-purpose work that is required, for example, in the Police Force, and then we deploy them to do very simple, mundane duties – boots on the ground?”
“Last year, the attacks that we faced did not impact upon our National Critical Infrastructure Page: 72 but we cannot rule that out in the future when such attempts may be made. Cybercrime is also a growing concern. The number of cheating cases involving electronic commerce more than doubled last year compared to 2012. Internet love scams also increased by more than 60% and the amount cheated last year increased to more than S$5 million – five times that in 2012. Police cannot solve this problem on their own. They require people to have an awareness of those sort of "too good to be true" offers, whether they appear in the physical world or in the cyber world and to be very wary of them. Because once you fall into the trap, for Police to catch somebody who is somewhere in another part of the world is very, very difficult. And this is not the physical world; this is in the cyber world. So, self-awareness is important. The Police will do their best to enforce and are increasing their ability to investigate such crimes, even at the divisional level. Last year, we amended the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act to strengthen our defences against cyberattacks. We continue to work closely with the community and industry to promote good cybersecurity practices and expand Singapore's pool of infocomm security experts. The National Cyber Security Centre will commence operations in April 2014. It will work closely with sector leads responsible for each of their respective sectors on round-the-clock detection of major national cyber threats. We are not where I would like us to be but we are getting there and we will make progress to defend our critical infrastructure in Singapore. The Cyber Security Lab in the Home Team Academy will open in September 2014.”
“Sixty-six individuals have been detained under the ISA for their involvement in terrorism-related activities since January 2002. More than two-thirds have since been released after they were assessed to have been rehabilitated. The efforts to counter violent extremist ideology continue. In 2013, the Religious Rehabilitation Group organised an international conference on terrorist rehabilitation and community resilience to share best practices and lessons learnt amongst experts and practitioners from Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the US, as well as European and ASEAN countries to counter extremist ideas. Such efforts will help to expose and counter the distorted interpretations of religious texts and doctrinal concepts that are propagated by extremists and this includes doing it on the Internet and on the web. Violent extremism is a transnational phenomenon, which manifests itself as a threat to Singaporeans, both in Singapore and Singaporeans overseas. An integrated approach involving security agencies, the community and international cooperation is required to protect ourselves from this dangerous and constantly evolving threat. Fourth, cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is important for Singapore, given our high dependence on information technology and the Internet. And cybercrime, as I pointed out, is also growing. Cyberattacks can take many forms and come from many sources. They range from hacking, defacement of websites to data theft, often by persons who hide behind the anonymity of cyberspace, which Singapore experienced last year. They can also pose systemic threats against the security of our National Critical Information Infrastructure.”
“The conflict in Syria has attracted thousands of foreign fighters, including some from our region and we cannot rule out the possibility, remote though it may seem, that Singaporeans may join them too. The reduction and possible complete pull-out of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan at the end of this year will leave the country in a fragile state. Will Afghanistan proceed on a stable trajectory after more than a decade of UN-endorsed international efforts since December 2001? Or will the country return to turmoil again, and provide a safe haven in which terrorists can be trained and exported to other parts of the world? What happens in Afghanistan and other hot-spots has an impact on us. Members will recall that several of the core Singapore JI members received training in Afghanistan prior to September 2001. Page: 71 Self-radicalisation remains a concern for us, given the widespread availability of radical material on the Internet, including in English. Several Members have brought this up. Since 2007, we have detained five self-radicalised individuals under the ISA, and issued Restriction Orders against six others. All of them were radicalised through the Internet, and had intended to wage armed jihad in overseas conflict zones. Our officers from the ISD, Police and ICA work hard to detect and apprehend these terrorists before they do harm to others and to themselves. More importantly, the community plays a critical part to protect Singapore and Singaporeans against terrorism. MUIS and our local Muslim community are vigilant against teachings that promote extremism or violence. In 2003, our Muslim religious leaders came forward to form the Religious Rehabilitation Group, to help counsel and rehabilitate those who have been involved in terrorism-related activities.”
“The number of cases of UML and loanshark harassment has fallen by more than 55% in the past four years, from a high of over 18,000 cases in 2009 to over 8,000 cases last year. A coordinated and integrated approach including strengthened laws, coordinated and sustained enforcement, effective use of technology and strong Page: 70 community partnerships, brought the UML issue under control. With the backing of strengthened laws, Police stepped up their presence and enforcement efforts, including through the Community Policing System. Installing Police cameras in over 2,000 HDB multi-storey carparks and residential blocks has also proven to be a strong deterrent to UML operators and has also helped us to catch many of them. Local residents also play an important part. We now have nearly 10,000 volunteers in Citizens-on-Patrol groups, who patrol their own neighbourhoods and promote a greater sense of vigilance. Police will continue educating the public on the dangers of getting involved with UML activities, protecting themselves against UML harassment and keeping an eye out to detect UML harassment activities. Because many UML syndicates are now transnational, with ringleaders based overseas, our investigation officers also work closely with their overseas counterparts to track them down, dismantle the syndicates and bring the perpetrators to justice. Second Minister Iswaran will say more about our integrated anti-UML efforts in his speech. Third, terrorism. Mr Vikram Nair asked for an update on this issue. Political instability in the Middle East and Africa has seen the emergence of new terrorist groups, some of whom have aligned themselves with Al Qaeda.”
“Such alternative approaches do not mitigate the demand for drugs but instead perpetuate drug abuse and we should not go down this route. While the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) is the agency responsible for our anti-drug efforts, it is able to succeed only because it works together in an integrated manner with other Home Team and Government agencies, as well as the community. Within the Home Team, CNB works closely with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to stop drugs from entering Singapore. CNB has also stepped up inland enforcement together with the Police. As a result, the number of drug offenders arrested and drug seizures rose in 2013. Beyond the Home Team, societal support is also needed to rehabilitate drug abusers and to ensure youths say no to drugs. CNB and Prisons have recently enhanced our post-release reintegration and supervision programmes to help former drug offenders break the cycle of re-offending. We need community support through halfway houses, the Yellow Ribbon Project and employers. All these are key to improving our success rates. With support from family members and the community, former drug offenders will be less likely to seek out their old friends and relapse back to their old habits. This integrated approach extends beyond our shores. CNB works closely with their overseas counterparts to exchange information and conduct joint operations to crack down on transnational drug syndicates. In this integrated, coordinated and united way, we are able to keep our grip on this menace which has overwhelmed many other countries. Senior Minister of State Masagos will say more about how we are tackling the drug scourge. Second, unlicensed moneylending (UML), which Mr Christopher de Souza and others asked about.”
“Mdm Chairperson, law-abiding citizens in Singapore have the freedom – a real freedom – to feel safe and secure in their home, and wherever they go in Singapore, whatever time of the day or night. There is strong deterrence against law-breakers because of strong public support for robust laws and effective enforcement, complemented by strong community partnerships. We have been able to achieve these positive outcomes because the Home Team has been working together with Singaporeans to be more united in our efforts, integrated in our systems, committed to our values, and dedicated to serve Singapore and Singaporeans. Let me speak about these four principles and how they have been applied in our approach to tackling our key safety and security challenges, which Mr Hri Kumar and others have asked about. 2.15 pm First, drugs, which Mr Alvin Yeo and Mr Vikram Nair were concerned about, as are we in the Home Team; very concerned. Many of us have seen the damage that drug abuse causes, not just to the drug abuser but also his family and the community. And this is why Singapore has remained committed to our zero-tolerance stance against drug abuse. Singaporeans support these tough measures because they keep our streets safe and our children safe. In contrast, some other countries have given up the fight in the face of rampant drug abuse. Instead of suppressing abuse itself, these countries have adopted so-called "alternative approaches" to reduce the collateral harmful effects of continuing drug abuse. They tolerate and even decriminalise drug Page: 69 abuse in order to reduce, for example, the spread of hepatitis or HIV by offering free needles to abusers to inject drugs, sometimes, as many as 100 needles per year.”
“Thank you, Mdm Chairperson. First of all, let me thank all the Members for their keen interest in issues that are faced by the Home Team and also for their support for Home Team officers for the very challenging and difficult work that they do. Very often, Home Team officers are held to account for what happens in society and to answer for how they respond to them. But, in fact, they are helping to maintain peace and order and to clean up what happens in our society. So, I thank all Members for their support. With your permission, Madam, may I ask the Clerk to distribute a handout with some Home Team statistics, just to illustrate the points I want to make. [Handouts were distributed to hon Members. Please refer to Annex 1.] As Assoc Prof Eugene Tan and other Members have pointed out, we have built a strong record of safety and security in Singapore. The overall crime rate Page: 68 has been falling steadily and is at its lowest in 30 years. Our crime rate is among the lowest in the world, well below major cities like New York, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Recidivism rates remain stable. Our fire fatality rate is also lower compared to these same four major cities. Our road fatalities and injuries continue to fall, though we want to see them decline further and there are some specific areas which we need to look at. The number of immigration offenders arrested has been declining steadily and is less than half of what it was five years ago. The most recent Safety and Security survey, carried out by MHA in 2012, found that more than 90% of Singaporeans felt safe in their neighbourhoods. Members would also have read in the news today that the US-based World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2014 ranked Singapore second out of 99 countries, in terms of order and security.”
“In terms of re-employment, since 1 July 2011, 324 or almost nine in 10 Division III and IV civil servants who retired at 62 have been re-employed. Since 1 April 2012, Division IV officers have been re-employed at the same substantive grade and at their last drawn salary. This has been extended to Division III officers since 1 August 2013. These re-employed officers will also continue to benefit from salary adjustments and training initiatives. Mdm Chairperson, the Public Service will continue to work closely with the unions to uplift the salaries of our lower-wage officers in parallel with updating and upgrading their skills so that they continue to serve and contribute to Singapore. Population White Paper”
“We also help lower-wage civil servants by encouraging them to train and develop themselves through skills upgrading because increases in wages should be accompanied by increases in productivity. We recently implemented a training roadmap that helps them to identify competencies and learning programmes that will enhance their productivity and ability to undertake bigger jobs. 2.30 pm For example, we have developed a range of courses on customer service, including how to deliver service more professionally and to supervise a frontline team. Through these courses, frontline officers can be considered for a higher job responsibility which will pay a higher salary. In November 2013, the Training Incentives Scheme was enhanced to encourage and support skills upgrading. And with this, Division III and IV civil servants will receive double the incentive – $200 instead of $100 upon completing a relevant Workforce Skills Qualification. Around 230 officers have been tapping on this Scheme each year. Given the increase in incentive quantum, we expect even more officers to upgrade themselves through training Page: 62 and to benefit from it. These efforts to help our officers upgrade themselves are communicated to our lower wage workers and their supervisors through briefings and via collaterals from the Public Service Division. We also meet regularly with the HR officers from the various agencies and also with the public sector unions, to gather feedback to further improve these measures. PSD is also working with the unions to conduct a pilot study into the future work of our lower-wage officers and the skills and training they will need to take on these new roles.”
“Even with tight systems and processes and efforts to build strong values, there may be people who try to circumvent the rules. When wrongdoing occurs, we adopt a zero-tolerance approach and take firm action against the officer in a decisive and transparent manner. Page: 61 Madam, though there are some errant officers, the vast majority of our public officers take pride in serving Singapore and Singaporeans and uphold the Public Service values of Integrity, Service and Excellence. Each year, we recognise our outstanding officers, so that they will inspire their fellow officers and encourage those who are considering a public service career to do so. And I am confident that our public officers will continue to do their best in their work and, in so doing, help to strengthen the public's trust and confidence in the Public Service. It is, indeed, a tribute to our system and to our public officers that many feel proud that their children join the Public Service. Mr Ang Hin Kee asked how the Public Service is helping our lower-wage workers. We review salaries regularly to maintain market competitiveness. Most recently, in December 2013, lower-wage civil servants, for example, those on the Operations Support Scheme, received a salary increase of $50 to $70. In 2012 and 2013, we had also given wage increases of $60 and $70 respectively to Division IV officers, going beyond the National Wages Council's recommendations. With the above adjustments, the monthly salaries of approximately 2,200 lower-wage civil servants have increased by between $180 and $200, or some 15%, over and above their annual increments.”
“But, of course, the Code is a very dry document, so we have produced a handbook with frequently asked questions and illustrated examples. This handbook is given to all civil servants and made available to the Statutory Boards for distribution to their officers. In January this year, MOF also issued a Government Procurement Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct for procurement officers. This is also available on the Government Intranet. The Code sets out the professional values, ethos and appropriate behaviour that we expect procurement officers to abide by in their engagement with suppliers. We emphasise the importance of values throughout the career of a public officer, at the point of induction when they join the Public Service and in milestone leadership programmes at all levels, including the middle management level that Mr Seng was concerned about. In the past five years, CPIB has conducted an average of about 60 anti-corruption talks for public officers each year, especially those who are new in service and those in enforcement and regulatory agencies. Mr Seng also expressed concern about the number of recent cases. The number of public officers prosecuted under the Prevention of Corruption Act has remained stable over the past five years and we will continue our efforts to eliminate corruption and bring down the numbers further. This is so also for other cases of misconduct. Public Service leaders are also made aware that the tone that they set in an organisation affects the culture. Their personal demonstration of the values of integrity and accountability helps the staff to understand the importance of the values, the types of conduct which are acceptable and should be carried out, and help them to apply the values in their daily work.”
“Police officers working on law enforcement matters involving the casinos are not allowed to visit the casinos, except for official reasons. I think these are slightly tighter than what Mr Seng had suggested. We have also extended Mandatory Job Rotation for fraud-prone positions, such as those handling procurement and market-sensitive information. There are several different avenues for public officers to report suspected misconduct, and we want our public officers to do so. An officer can report such cases to his supervisors, his Permanent Secretary, the Head of Civil Service or the Public Service Commission. Officers may also report to enforcement agencies, such as the Police or Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB). Officers do use these channels and surface suspected wrongdoing which will be investigated. So, officers are looked upon not just by external agencies but also by their colleagues, supervisors and subordinates. And this is the system which we want to have, where every public officer is responsible for the integrity of the Service. Beyond systems and processes, it is values and culture that define the Public Service, our public officers, and how they carry out their duties. Our public officers must be anchored in and driven by the core values of Integrity, Service and Excellence. These values are embedded in our human resource processes, such as hiring new officers, training and developing our officers, and Page: 60 assessing their performance. All public officers are governed by a Code of Conduct which is based on the principles of integrity, incorruptibility and impartiality. The Code was refreshed in September 2013 and is available on the Government Intranet.”
“Mdm Chairperson, I thank Mr Seng Han Thong and Mr Ang Hin Kee for their interest in, and support for, the Public Service. The Government places strong emphasis on the integrity of the Public Service. We expect public officers to uphold the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. As I informed the House last year, the Public Service does not tolerate wrongdoing and misconduct. The Government views every case of misconduct seriously and takes firm action, including prosecuting the cases Page: 59 vigorously where appropriate. Recent cases have shown that we take errant officers to task, regardless of seniority or job function. We have systems and processes to maintain the integrity of the Public Service, and I agree with Mr Seng's two suggestions for improving the integrity of the Service. We regularly review and strengthen these measures to address weaknesses or adapt to new circumstances. For example, in addition to requiring all public officers to declare their financial standing when they are first appointed to the Service, and every year thereafter, we introduced rules last year on casino visits to reduce the risk of officers becoming indebted and susceptible to exploitation. More stringent rules on casino visits apply to senior officers whose misconduct will have significant reputational risk to the Public Service, such as the Permanent Secretaries and Chief Executives, as well as officers in positions that expose them to the risk of being suborned and exploited, such as police officers and officers performing cash transactions. For example, while most officers are required to declare only if they have visited the local casinos more than four times in a month, senior public officers are required to declare every single visit they make.”
“Under the Prisons regulations, a child may be allowed to remain in prison with the mother until the age of three. In practice, however, the duration that a baby remains in prisons is much shorter. The average duration over the last five years was three months.”
“The treatment protocol for pregnant inmates, before and after delivery, is in line with practices of our public healthcare institutions. Pregnant inmates are seen regularly by the Prison Medical Officer and specialists from the KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH). When the inmates are about to give birth, they are sent to KKH for the delivery. The Member has referred to Rule 24 of the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners. The UN allows countries to apply these Rules suitably, according to their own context. Women prisoners are not restrained during childbirth. At other times when they are at KKH, restraints are applied as for other prisoners outside the confines of a secure prison setting. However, Prisons will provide appropriate waivers from these practices if required for the health and safety of the mother or baby. A prison is not a conducive environment for raising a child. Prison staff will discuss alternative care arrangements for the baby with the mother. Arrangements are made with the inmate's family or, if this is not possible, Prisons will work with MSF to make childcare arrangements for the baby in the community. In cases where the care arrangements need some time to materialise, the baby will be allowed to remain in prison and stay together with the mother. Inmate mothers and babies are issued basic necessities, such as clothing, Page: 153 feeding bottles and diapers. Inmate mothers and their babies are allowed daily out-of-cell activities. Over the last five years, from 2009 to 2013, 47 women were expecting a child before the commencement of their sentences and gave birth while serving their prison terms. This works out to an average of 10 inmates a year.”
“Our checkpoints are operational round the clock, every day of the week. To meet this demand, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at the checkpoints work on shifts. The morning and afternoon shifts last seven hours each, and the night shift lasts 10 hours, which usually includes two to three hours of low traffic volume during the night. ICA officers are given a meal break and a rest break during their shift. Overall, they work an eight-day shift cycle with days on duty and days off, with total normal working hours during the cycle of 42 to 44 hours. The officers are monitored by their supervisors for signs of fatigue. Over-time work, which may be necessary during peak periods, is closely regulated. To maintain officers' awareness of operational fatigue, regular advice and updates on fatigue management are also disseminated to them. MHA reviews ICA's manpower situation on a regular basis. Every two to three years, ICA conducts the Organisational Health Survey (OHS), during which officers can provide feedback on a range of issues, including workload and working hours. Operational fatigue was not highlighted as an area of concern by ICA officers during the last OHS conducted in 2011. Page: 61”
“There were about 180 reported cases of serious sexual crimes, that is, rape and sexual assault by penetration cases, a year for the period 2011-2013. These resulted in close to 30 criminal charges being filed against sex offenders each year. For the remaining cases, depending on the findings of investigations, the outcome may be a stern warning in lieu of prosecution or no further action taken against the defendant. On average, Police require about 12 months to conclude investigations into such crimes. However, the actual length of investigations may differ based on the complexity of each case.”
“There were about 10,000 reported cases of voluntarily causing hurt a year for the period 2011-2013. This works out to about 200 cases per 100,000 population each year. For the same period, there were more than 600 criminal charges filed against persons accused of voluntarily causing hurt each year. Voluntarily causing hurt cases range from a slap during a family dispute to road bullying. Most of these cases have been resolved by the parties themselves or upon mediation by a magistrate. In cases where there is clear harm to public interest or where vulnerable victims are involved, the Magistrate or the Public Prosecutor may grant Police powers of investigation under the Page: 158 Criminal Procedure Code to investigate the matter with a view to prosecution in Court.”
“The current total strength of the auxiliary police forces is about 6,000 officers. The majority of the officers are Singaporeans, while the others are Malaysians. The employment of Malaysians into the auxiliary police forces started in the 1970s and we have continued with this practice till today.”
“The Civil Defence Emergency Handbook contains advisories that are related to Emergency Preparedness and National Emergencies, and covers key topics, such as first aid, fire safety, peacetime and war-time emergencies and terrorist threats. The Handbook, in its seventh edition, is regularly reviewed and updated periodically. The Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Singapore Police Force will look into this suggestion with a view to include appropriate advisories in the next edition of the Handbook for members of the public who are at locations where there are large crowds, or if they encounter situations of unruly crowd Page: 157 behaviour.”
“A liquor licence is deemed "inactive" when the licensee has ceased the sale of liquor before its expiry date. Currently, there is no requirement for the licensee to terminate the licence or inform Police about the cessation of operations. Hence, Police do not have any record of "inactive" licences from 2009 to 2012. As these "inactive" liquor licensees had ceased their business operations, it is unlikely they would renew their licence. Following the riot in Little India, Police implemented additional liquor sales restrictions in the area. This provided an opportunity to update the status of licence holders. Police found that 43 of the 374 liquor licence holders had ceased operations. Hence, the 2013 figure was amended to reflect the actual number of active licence holders. Currently, inactive licence holders can continue to hold licences for which the licence fees had been paid. Police will look into imposing an additional requirement for a licensee to inform Police if the licensee ceases operations before the licence expires.”
“There were 244 reports of motor vehicle insurance fraud in the past three years. As with any other criminal offence, Police will investigate complaints of alleged motor vehicle insurance fraud if it is assessed that there is sufficient evidence that a criminal offence has been disclosed. Fifty-seven persons have been prosecuted for motor vehicle insurance fraud in the past three years.”
“We thank the Member for his suggestion. There have been scholarship recipients who voluntarily donate a quantum of their scholarship allowances to charitable causes and set aside time for community service. We will continue to encourage and remind all scholarship recipients of their commitment to serve Singapore and Singaporeans.”
“A security risk assessment is carried out for the purpose of identifying suitable physical, procedural and technological measures to mitigate major security risks. Such a risk assessment is currently mandatory for buildings deemed as critical infrastructure, that is, they provide essential services vital to our country's survival. MHA works with relevant Government agencies and the owners of critical infrastructure to conduct the risk assessment of their entire site, including the building premises. For the other buildings, including residential premises, security risk assessment is not mandatory. The Government has implemented a series of outreach programmes targeted at building owners, to enhance their security knowledge and encourage them to adopt best practices in building security and procurement. For example, MHA's "Guidelines for Enhancing Building Security" provides building owners with practical information on how they can enhance the security of their buildings. MOM and its tripartite partners have also launched a guidebook providing detailed and practical guidance on best sourcing for better security services. In addition, risk assessment is one of the factors taken into account in the grading of security agencies. These measures encourage security agencies and building owners to work together to consider the unique operating environments and tailor solutions to enhance the overall security outcomes.”
“Security officers employed by building owners/operators are usually members of CERTs, and are required under the Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) framework to complete two compulsory licensing modules before they can be deployed for duty. They are taught the handling of fire-related incidents in one of the modules. The lessons do not cover the use of personal protection equipment, which is usually not required in the residential domain. Upon completion of the fire investigations, the security Industry Skills and Training Council (ISTC), which administers the WSQ framework and comprises key stakeholders, such as the Police, SCDF and WDA, will review the findings and assess if there is a need to enhance the relevant provisions and training for security officers to respond safely to fire incidents within buildings. Page: 139”
“First of all, I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the families of the two deceased security officers. Investigations, led by the Police and SCDF, are currently underway into how the two security Page: 138 officers died in the fire at Marina Bay Suites. We are, therefore, not able to provide specific details on this incident. In any case, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) sets fire safety standards for all buildings in Singapore under the Code of Practice for Fire Precautions in Buildings (the "Fire Code" in short). All new buildings are required to comply with the Fire Code. Existing buildings are also required to comply with the requirements of the Fire Code when they undergo addition and alteration works. The Fire Code requires high-rise residential buildings that are more than 40 storeys high, such as the Marina Bay Suites, to have refuge floors, or safe holding areas, at intervals of not more than 20 storeys; at least two fire-protected exit staircases to facilitate evacuation; and fire lifts and fire-fighting lobbies, which are protected by fire-rated doors and walls, to support fire-fighting and rescue operations. The Fire Code is reviewed regularly in consultation with stakeholders. To enhance fire safety standards, the Fire Safety Act requires Fire Safety Managers (FSMs) to be appointed for large public and industrial buildings but not for residential premises. These FSMs are responsible for assisting building owners to formulate, exercise and execute the emergency response plans for the buildings under their charge. The Fire Safety Act, which was reviewed in 2013, further mandates the formation of Company Emergency Response Teams, or CERTs, to promote greater ownership in the safety of such premises.”
“Exactly so. That is why the mistake in classifying the incident was a major factor in the subsequent inadequate response. But even Page: 20 on its own, when a suspicious incident does occur, even without any of these other precursors, the officers at Cantonment Complex could have responded better.”
“Well, none of the APOs can start their duties without having completed their training. None of the ICA officers can either. The APOs are deployed to carry out certain specific functions. In the case of this particular APO at the checkpoint, although this is the green lane, his duty is to make sure of two things. One, that the number of passengers in the car tallies with the number cleared through the immigration checkpoint. Second, do a security check of the boot and other things in the car to make sure that the security of Singapore is maintained. These are very specific functions and the APOs are trained to do this before they go on duty. In general, we will employ APOs where there are very specific functions to be carried out. Where there are functions which would require a broader range of judgement, or a broader application of policies, then we will employ our own Home Team officers who will be able to understand and apply these more complicated and complex protocols in a better way. That is roughly the apportionment between them.”
“Well, I certainly agree with Assoc Prof Eugene Tan. I find the decision that was made by the ground commanders unacceptable. There is a protocol to classify these as security breaches. This was an error of judgement made by the officers, as this is a major security breach. It was also a breach of protocol, which was supposed to be observed. It is not that I have misclassified it as an error of judgement. That is what the officers did on the ground. They made an error. That was the judgment they made. It was wrong, and not only that, they breached the protocol. Therefore, it is a serious error on their part. Page: 19”
“I certainly hope that the disciplinary action that will be meted out will not dampen the morale of the Home Team because I think they do do a good job. Nonetheless, I am unable to appreciate how this lapse could have occurred, in light of many other incidents involving the Home Team.”
“To put this into context, as I have said, we had about 26 such incidents of checkpoint breach by vehicles over the last three years. There are about 50 million vehicles per year coming through the Woodlands Checkpoint. So, 25 to 26 breaches over slightly more than three years translates to one breach in Page: 18 every five million vehicles, which is contained within the checkpoint. And for about every 75 million vehicles, there is one breach that goes beyond the checkpoint for which a fuller response is required. That is one of the challenges: how to maintain a system which is able to manage a very high throughput and at the same time respond immediately to an abnormal incident in the checkpoint and an even more abnormal one beyond the checkpoint, without clogging up the whole checkpoint. This is a big challenge for us. Assoc Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene (Nominated Member): Madam, I have three supplementary questions for the Deputy Prime Minister. First, I fail to understand how the investigation could have classified the security breach as an error of judgement by the officers concerned, given that the alleged intruder jumped both immigration and custom clearance. Is it because to classify it as a major security breach, rather than a less serious immigration offence, would entail a lot more consequences for the officers responsible? So, is this a question of officers trying to downgrade the seriousness of the breach? Secondly, this incident revealed systemic issues within the Home Team. The intruder had gone undetected for three days until a taxi driver made a "999" complaint. I just fail to understand how is it that the different agencies could not coordinate in a situation like this. Finally, this is a very embarrassing incident.”
“Other examples of how ICA leverages on technology include the installation of flexible immigration counters which can switch between manual and automated clearance modes depending on traveller volume. ICA has also increased the clearance capacity at Woodlands. The current Woodlands Checkpoint was commissioned more than 10 years ago in 1999. It had 40 counters for cars, 12 counters for lorries and 30 counters for motorcycles. I repeat that – 40 for cars, 30 for motorcycles and 12 for lorries. To alleviate congestion at the Woodlands Checkpoints, ICA re-activated the old Woodlands Checkpoint for lorries, with four additional lanes to add to the 12 in December 2008 and added 20 counters to add to the 30 for motorcycles in 2009. In the next phase, we will see 30 car counters to add to the 40 we currently have. So, we will have 70 car counters in total, which are expected to be operationalised in 2016. The lorries and motorcycle counters are already in place. Since the reactivation of old Woodlands Checkpoint, we have seen an improvement in the waiting time for vehicles at the checkpoint. We will continue to monitor the situation at Woodlands Checkpoint. The crossings are very susceptible to peaks. For example, on a given day, there are very sharp peaks at times when workers come to work or when Singaporeans go across. There are peaks during public holidays. ICA tries to man the counters to the full extent possible. It also means our officers work a bit longer and also on public holidays but peaks being what they are, it is very difficult to design a checkpoint or a system to cater to the peaks, and especially the peak of peaks. So, there will be some delays, but it is also important to understand that security is very important. Even during the peaks, we maintain security.”
“Mdm Speaker, as I have said in my reply earlier, I do not underestimate the challenges of our officers working at the Woodlands Checkpoint. It is one of the busiest land checkpoints in the world. There are 300,000 people and 130,000 vehicles passing though every day. The workload is high, and officers need to remain vigilant and alert at all times. To manage this, we have, over the years, put more resources into Woodlands Checkpoint. For example, we have increased the manpower at Woodlands Checkpoint by 42% in 2009 as a result of a study that was conducted on workload and work factors at the Woodlands Checkpoint in 2008. So, in 2009, we increased the Woodlands Checkpoint's manpower by 42%. Over the last few years, we have added another 11% bringing the total increase between 2008 and now to 58%. During the same period, the total increase in travellers and vehicles is 26% and 36% respectively. In addition, ICA has leveraged on technology and expanded the physical clearance capacity of Woodlands. ICA introduced the enhanced Automated Clearance System (eIACS) and the Biometric Identification of Motorbikes (BIKES) system in 2006. Both eIACS and BIKES are self-service immigration lanes that offer secure immigration clearance by biometric identifiers. Today, eIACS and BIKES are available to Singapore citizens, PRs, Long-Term Visit Pass holders and Malaysian nationals who qualify as frequent travellers. In 2013, 50% of bus and train passengers passing through the land checkpoints used the eIACS, and Page: 17 30% of motorcyclists used BIKES. More can still be done to push up the usage rate. ICA will continue to channel passengers and vehicles to use these self-service modes.”