Governance & integrity — Topics

4 Jan 2021

Investigation Process for Complaints Lodged by Prison Inmates on Mistreatment

The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) has established multiple channels for inmates to lodge complaints, including direct reporting to prison officials, through family or MPs, or to the Board of Visiting Justices and Board of Visitors, which conduct unannounced inspections and follow up on feedback.
Investigations into mistreatment complaints, especially those involving prison officers, are conducted by a provost team that gathers statements and evidence, with findings reviewed by SPS senior management; disciplinary actions, including fines or dismissal, are taken if officers are found guilty, and cases with potential criminal offences are referred to law enforcement.
From 2016 to 2020, SPS received an average of 12 mistreatment complaints annually, with two substantiated cases involving unauthorized use of force, resulting in fines for the officers; an Independent Review Panel exists for serious misconduct across Home Team agencies but has not yet been used for SPS cases.

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4 Jan 2021

Legal Provisions and Safeguards in Using TraceTogether Data

Christopher de Souza questioned the Minister for Home Affairs on the use of TraceTogether data for criminal investigations, seeking clarification on the legal provisions and safeguards, to which the Minister of State responded that the Singapore Police Force is empowered under the Criminal Procedure Code to access such data, with strict measures like authorized access and penalties for misuse.
The discussion clarified that TraceTogether data from witnesses in investigations may be extracted, while data from suspects or those under investigation is not, to maintain security; however, the Minister emphasized that data is generally used only for contact tracing and COVID-19 purposes, with exceptions for public safety under the Criminal Procedure Code.
Gerald Giam raised concerns about potential misuse of TraceTogether data for police investigations conflicting with the privacy statement that data is solely for contact tracing, which could lower adoption rates, and the Minister reiterated that while the primary use is for contact tracing, data may be accessed for safety and security reasons as permitted by law.

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4 Jan 2021

Update on Plan for Live-streaming Parliamentary Sittings

The Minister for Communications and Information announced that live-streaming of Parliament proceedings has commenced, with real-time streams on MCI’s YouTube channel, including one with English interpretation and auto-captioning, and videos will remain accessible for six months.
Existing avenues for accessing proceedings, such as in-person attendance, online clips, and written records, will continue to ensure transparency and accountability while adding real-time public engagement through live-streaming.
Concerns about the potential impact on debate quality and tone will be mitigated by upholding parliamentary standards of conduct and decorum, with Members of Parliament responsible for maintaining integrity and dignity.
In response to a supplementary question, the Minister confirmed that sign language is not currently available for the live-streams, but auto-captioning is provided on the English stream to enhance accessibility for the hearing impaired.

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4 Nov 2020

Singapore's Justice System

Murali Pillai proposed amendments to the debate motion to recognize Singapore's justice system's fairness and access as longstanding principles, affirm the government's continuous efforts to improve it, and remove a specific call to review the system, arguing the House should retain responsibility for any changes.
The amendments were passed with Worker's Party MPs dissenting, shifting the motion to recognize the system's cornerstones and the government's efforts to remedy shortcomings without committing to a formal review.
Indranee Rajah defended the current structure of the Attorney-General's dual roles as government legal advisor and public prosecutor, citing constitutional safeguards that ensure independence, while Pritam Singh argued for structural reforms to enhance perceived impartiality.
The Worker's Party raised concerns about fairness, access, and independence in the justice system, including issues for the poor, migrant workers, and victims, and proposed improvements like a public defender's office and ombudsman, but the government rejected the motion as amended.
The original motion was passed as amended with the Worker's Party's dissent recorded, reflecting a parliamentary consensus on recognizing the system's foundations while leaving room for ongoing debate on improvements.

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4 Nov 2020

Singapore's Justice System

The debate addressed concerns about the fairness, access, and independence of Singapore's justice system following the Parti Liyani case, with broad consensus that these principles are foundational and the system is generally effective, though continuous improvements are needed.
Members proposed reforms such as establishing an independent ombudsman, splitting the Attorney-General's prosecutorial and advisory roles, and expanding legal aid, while the government highlighted ongoing reviews and resource constraints.
A motion was amended to recognize the government's continuous efforts to build a fair and just society, emphasizing accountability, justice, and equality without requiring a new constitutional commission.

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4 Nov 2020

Review of the Case of Parti Liyani v Public Prosecutor 2020 SGHC 187

The Minister explained that the police and AGC had sufficient evidence to prosecute Parti Liyani for theft, as she admitted to taking items without consent and gave inconsistent accounts, and they handled the case routinely without any improper influence from the wealthy complainant Liew Mun Leong.
The High Court’s acquittal of Liyani was based on doubts about the Liews’ motive, breaks in chain of custody for some items, credibility issues with prosecution witnesses, and procedural lapses in statement recording, but these findings did not indicate systemic bias or corruption in law enforcement.
The government acknowledged investigative lapses, such as delayed evidence collection and poor-quality photos, and committed to disciplinary action and process improvements, while rejecting calls for a Commission of Inquiry as not justified by specific allegations of misconduct.

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4 Nov 2020

Proceedings on 4 November 2020

The Leader of the House moved a motion to suspend the sub judice rule, allowing Parliament to discuss the Parti Liyani case and the Minister's statement on the conduct of police and prosecutors.
The motion was passed, enabling members to seek clarifications on the Minister's account and to refer to it during debate on Ms Sylvia Lim's related motion on the justice system.
The Leader emphasized that this suspension is an exception due to significant public interest and not a general precedent, urging members to exercise judgement and substantiate facts in their discussions.

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15 Oct 2020

Links between Money Laundering, Corruption and Fraud and Illegal Wildlife Trade Occurring in or Connected to Singapore

Louis Ng asked whether the Ministry of National Development has found links between money laundering, corruption, fraud, and the illegal wildlife trade in Singapore, and if so, whether it would consider establishing an independent framework or task force to study these links.
Minister Desmond Lee stated that no such links have been found between money laundering, corruption, fraud, and the illegal wildlife trade in or connected to Singapore.
Agencies will continue to maintain vigilance against the illegal wildlife trade, including related money laundering, corruption, and fraud.

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6 Oct 2020

Abuse of Jobs Support Scheme

The Deputy Prime Minister reported that the Jobs Support Scheme has supported wages for over two million local workers across 150,000 businesses, with most employers using it as intended.
A small number of employers have attempted to abuse the scheme, such as by making non-genuine CPF contributions, prompting IRAS to identify 2,200 employers for review and temporarily withhold payouts for some.
IRAS has completed reviews for about half of the flagged cases and referred four employers to the Police for investigation, with penalties under the Penal Code including up to 10 years’ imprisonment and fines for offenders.

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5 Oct 2020

Data on Number of Prosecutions in Relation to Illegal Wildlife Trade Involving Corruption, Money-laundering or Fraud in Past Five Years

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for National Development for the number of prosecutions related to illegal wildlife trade over the past five years and how many also involved corruption, money-laundering, or fraud.
The Minister responded that no prosecutions were found to have an association with corruption, money-laundering or fraud during investigations into illegal wildlife trade cases.
The Ministry provided data on prosecutions since 2015 but did not confirm whether it would start collecting specific data on corruption, money-laundering, or fraud if not already available.

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5 Oct 2020

Progress of Investigations into Allegations of Questionable Halal Certification Practices by MUIS' Halal Certification Strategic Unit

Muis has established an internal investigation team led by Deputy Chief Executive Dr Albakri Ahmad to look into the allegations of questionable halal certification practices.
An Independent Review Panel (IRP) was formed to investigate the complaint and review the internal team’s findings, chaired by Muis Council member Mr Abdul Hamid Abdullah.
The IRP members do not hold executive roles in Muis to ensure impartiality.

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5 Oct 2020

Update on Internal Review of National Archives Project that Exceeded Renovation Budget

Miss Cheng Li Hui asked the Minister for Communications and Information about the timeline for the internal review of the National Archives project’s budget overrun and whether it would assess strengthening financial controls.
S Iswaran responded that the National Library Board completed its internal review and tightened procurement and contract management processes to ensure proper approvals for variation works.
The National Library Board also took disciplinary action against staff involved in the lapses identified by the Auditor-General’s Report.

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5 Oct 2020

Ensuring Government Agencies' Compliance with New Grants Governance Framework

The new Grants Governance Framework consolidates previously scattered guidelines, covers the entire grants lifecycle, and addresses gaps and audit findings to strengthen controls, risk management, and fraud prevention.
To ensure consistent implementation, MOF engaged stakeholders across agencies in developing the framework, communicated it widely, briefed senior management, and established regular audits for compliance.
The framework aims to simplify and standardize grants administration to make it easier for citizens and businesses, especially SMEs, to apply for different grants.

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5 Oct 2020

Training for Public Service Staff in Procurement and Measures to Tackle Recurrent IT Lapses Highlighted in Auditor-General's Reports

The government is automating IT systems to address recurrent lapses in privileged user reviews and account access controls, with phased implementation targeting high-priority systems by end-2023 and all systems by end-2024, while also enhancing officer training on cyber security and data protection.
To strengthen procurement and contract management, the government is increasing specialized training, providing updated guidance, and requiring compulsory e-learning for officers involved in tenders, with new frameworks and resources being developed by BCA and GovTech for construction and IT procurement.
The Finance and Procurement Academy has been established to offer formal and informal learning, support continual skills development, and promote best practices in procurement and contract management across the public service.
Public service leadership is held accountable for governance and compliance, with performance evaluations and disciplinary actions as needed, while agencies conduct further investigations into lapses highlighted in the Auditor-General's reports to prevent recurrence.

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5 Oct 2020

Effectiveness of Professional Conversion Programme

The Minister for Manpower highlighted that Professional Conversion Programmes have strong outcomes with nine in ten participants employed and seven in ten earning higher wages two years after placement, while addressing Auditor-General findings on inadequate documentation by three programme partners rather than questioning programme impact.
Workforce Singapore will issue new guidelines, streamline monitoring to focus on key indicators like placements and training completion, and conduct sampling checks on up to 20% of programme placements to ensure compliance and address supervision lapses.
Pritam Singh pressed for more transparency, questioning the identities of the three programme partners and the prevalence of similar job scopes post-conversion, with the Minister clarifying that job changes occurred but documentation was deficient and that naming partners is not standard practice for administrative errors.

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5 Oct 2020

Actions to Correct Lapses in Administration of Enterprise Development Grant

Mr Pritam Singh queried the number of companies that have received the Enterprise Development Grant (EDG), actions to ensure compliance with the 30% local shareholding criterion, and whether grants are clawed back when shareholding changes before project completion.
The Minister of State responded that nearly 5,000 EDG projects have been supported as of September 2020, with checks performed during approval and conditions requiring recipients to report changes, leading to withholding or clawback of grants if breaches occur.
In the specific case mentioned in the Auditor-General’s Report, no disbursement was made, the company was placed on a watchlist for stricter scrutiny, and Enterprise Singapore is implementing additional checks and exploring tools like data analytics to improve compliance.

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5 Oct 2020

Investigation into Possible Subletting of JTC Premises to 26,000 Business Entities Without JTC's Approval

Mr. Louis Chua raised concerns from the Auditor-General’s Report about 26,000 potential cases of unauthorised subletting of JTC premises, seeking updates on investigations and penalties.
The Second Minister for Trade and Industry confirmed that JTC is investigating the 26,000 entities, with 15,000 largely not involving subletting losses and 400 confirmed cases of unauthorised subletting, with investigations to complete by the first half of 2021.
Enforcement actions for confirmed cases may include financial recovery of sublet fees and legal action for repossession, with JTC strengthening its processes and using data analytics to improve detection.
JTC has increased inspections and spot checks since 2019, with the Minister noting efforts to balance enforcement with encouraging new business start-ups.

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5 Oct 2020

Updates on Matters Arising from High Court Judgment in Former Foreign Domestic Worker Parti Liyani's Case

Members of Parliament asked the Minister for Home Affairs and Law to explain the findings, root causes, and procedural lapses in the Parti Liyani case, and to outline steps to prevent recurrence, with specific queries on police investigations and prosecution oversight.
Several MPs proposed reforms such as allowing legal representation during police interviews for vulnerable workers, increasing legal aid, creating a public defender’s office, and conducting an independent public inquiry into the police and Attorney-General’s Chambers.
The Minister of State confirmed that agency reviews are ongoing and a Ministerial Statement will be delivered in November to address the questions, while the Minister added that comments on pending disciplinary proceedings would wait for the court’s decision.

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5 Jun 2020

Procurement Arrangements for Construction of Government Quarantine Facilities, Community Recovery Facilities and Community Care Facilities

The Government used emergency procurement to quickly construct quarantine and care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, waiving tenders due to time constraints and focusing on speed to avoid overwhelming the healthcare system.
Accountability measures were applied, including comparisons with market benchmarks and scrutiny of invoices, with some private companies supporting projects on a cost-recovery basis.
Going forward, if conditions stabilize, agencies will consider more open tender processes and broader vendor participation to ensure value for money and support enterprises.
Even under current emergency procurement, agencies already engage multiple vendors and compare quotes where feasible to maintain competition and quality.

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5 Jun 2020

Rules on Loans Extended by Temasek Holdings, GIC or Their Subsidiaries to Large Corporations

Leon Perera asked whether the Government prescribes rules for loans extended by Temasek Holdings, GIC, or their subsidiaries to large corporations, how many such loans go to companies they already invest in versus others, and if the President’s concurrence is required for large loans.
The Second Minister for Finance stated that the Government does not direct individual investment decisions of GIC or Temasek, including loans made in an investment context, and the President’s concurrence is not needed for such decisions, though the Government holds their Boards accountable for performance.
Perera sought transparency on how sovereign wealth funds decide which companies receive support through loans or other instruments, especially in rescue scenarios, given public funds are involved.
The Minister clarified that GIC and Temasek operate under commercial, investment-focused principles and do not provide rescue packages outside their investment mandates, with decisions made by their professionals based on investment policies.

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