Public safety & law — Topics

9 Jan 2024

Collaborating with Messaging Service Providers to Prevent and Track Phishing Scams

Dr Wan Rizal raised concerns about recent phishing scams involving WhatsApp and asked about collaboration with messaging providers and international cooperation to track overseas scammers.
Minister K Shanmugam detailed the scam method, noted collaborations with Meta and Google to block phishing sites and protect accounts, and highlighted public advisories and the upcoming Online Criminal Harms Act.
The Minister emphasized that international cooperation efforts were previously addressed in a November 2023 written reply and urged the public to adopt the “Add, Check, Tell” steps to enhance personal security.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

9 Jan 2024

Update on CPIB Investigation into Minister for Transport

Ms Hazel Poa asked the Prime Minister for an update on the CPIB investigation into the Minister for Transport.
Chan Chun Sing, for the Prime Minister, assured that the case will undergo due legal process.
He stated that the CPIB has completed its investigation and the matter is now with the Attorney-General's Chambers for review.
He emphasized it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

9 Jan 2024

Cases of Abuse Committed against Persons with Special Needs

He Ting Ru asked the Ministry for Home Affairs about the number of reported and investigated abuse cases against persons with special needs over the last five years and whether measures are being enhanced to identify abuse, especially among low-functioning individuals.
K Shanmugam responded that the Singapore Police Force does not track abuse cases specifically against persons with special needs, but existing laws provide enhanced protections and penalties for vulnerable persons, including those with special needs.
The government has upstream measures, such as training frontline professionals and encouraging public reporting via helplines, to detect and prevent abuse against vulnerable individuals.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

9 Jan 2024

Cap on Number of Hours Spent on the Road by Private Hire Car or Taxi Drivers

The Ministry does not impose a regulatory cap on driving hours for private hire or taxi drivers, considering it a personal decision, but promotes safe driving culture through tripartite partners.
Guidelines from the Tripartite Workplace Safety and Health Council recommend limiting shifts to no more than 12 hours, and operators remind drivers to take breaks via in-vehicle systems or apps.
Some operators have deployed driver assistance and anti-fatigue technology, and vocational licence training includes advice on taking breaks every two hours to prevent fatigue.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

9 Jan 2024

Protection for Children at Childcare Centres from Unauthorised Access by Strangers

The Minister explained that all preschools are required to secure their premises with procedures like electronic locks and visitor checks to prevent unauthorised entry.
Before deployment, the Early Childhood Development Agency conducts background checks on all staff to identify criminal records or prior bans, ensuring risky individuals are barred from working with children.
Non-teaching staff may assist during key times but must be briefed on safety protocols, and teaching staff must be present where practicable to supervise children.
The overall approach is a multi-layered safeguard system involving checks, operational procedures, and supervision to protect children from strangers or non-teaching personnel.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

9 Jan 2024

Stepped-up Measures to Combat Phishing-related Crimes to Enhance Cybersecurity for Individuals

The Ministry of Home Affairs, with agencies like the Singapore Police Force, is collaborating with platforms such as Meta and Google to block phishing sites and mitigate fraudulent account takeovers.
The Online Criminal Harms Act will enable the government to direct platforms to disable suspicious accounts and require providers to implement upstream safeguards against scams.
Government campaigns, including the National Cybersecurity Campaign and targeted programmes, aim to raise public awareness and promote good cyber practices to enhance individual vigilance.
Police advisories encourage the public to adopt simple steps like enabling two-step verification, checking official websites, and reporting suspicious activity to combat phishing scams.
Despite technological measures, authorities emphasize that a vigilant public remains the best defence against evolving cyber threats and phishing-related crimes.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

9 Jan 2024

Prevention of Proliferation Financing and Other Matters Bill

The bill amends several existing acts, including the Precious Stones and Precious Metals Act and the Legal Profession Act, to strengthen measures against the financing of weapons of mass destruction proliferation.
It introduces new requirements for designated entities to conduct customer due diligence and report suspicious activities related to proliferation financing.
The legislation also includes consequential amendments to the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes Act to align with international standards.
The bill was presented by Senior Parliamentary Secretary Ms Rahayu Mahzam on behalf of the Minister for Law and is scheduled for a second reading in the next parliamentary sitting.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

9 Jan 2024

Charges against NEA in Relation to the Incident at Tuas Incineration Plant

On 26 December 2023, charges were filed against the National Environment Agency (NEA) and two senior officers under the Workplace Safety and Health Act following a fatal explosion at the Tuas Incineration Plant in September 2021, which resulted in two deaths and one serious injury.
Minister Grace Fu outlined the immediate response, including a shutdown of the plant, investigations by MOM and SCDF, and the implementation of all recommendations from NEA's internal panel to prevent recurrence, while noting that details are limited due to ongoing court proceedings.
NEA has strengthened workplace safety through broader operational reviews, an External Advisory Panel, a week-long Safety Time Out, external audits, and a dedicated board Risk Committee, while continuing to support the affected families with medical, compensation, and psychological assistance.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

9 Jan 2024

Sufficiency of Fines to Deter Officers in Manpower Ministry's Agencies from Carrying Out Unsafe Activities

The Ministry of Manpower emphasizes that fines under the Workplace Safety and Health Act, up to $500,000 for organisations and $200,000 for individuals, along with imprisonment, serve as deterrents, and penalties are regularly reviewed.
Officials highlight that improving workplace safety requires more than fines, stressing the need for a collective safety culture, training, technology use, and senior management accountability.
Public agencies track safety performance through KPIs, and while compensation links to safety are managed by the Public Service Division, all agencies have safety KPIs, especially for high-risk projects.
The Multi-Agency Workplace Safety and Health Taskforce has introduced measures, including mandatory training for chief executives and board directors in high-risk industries, to strengthen safety ownership.
Responses to supplementary questions clarify that outsourcing contractors are subject to government contracting rigours, but specific cases should be addressed through separate parliamentary queries.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

9 Jan 2024

Strengthening Safety Practices Following 2021 Tuas Incineration Plant Explosion

Poh Li San inquired about the steps taken by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to enhance workplace safety and culture following the 2021 Tuas Incineration Plant explosion and related charges.
Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked what specific measures have been implemented across all incineration plants to prevent a recurrence of the September 2021 Tuas incident.
The Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu Hai Yien, acknowledged the questions and requested to address them in her Ministerial Statement later in the sitting.
The Speaker granted permission for the Minister to answer both questions in her statement and extended New Year wishes to the Chamber and staff.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

22 Nov 2023

Clarification by Minister of State for Home Affairs

The Minister of State for Home Affairs clarified that all Institutes of Higher Learning in Singapore have compulsory modules on respect and appropriate behaviour for students.
This correction was issued to rectify an earlier statement suggesting only most IHLs had such modules, with the remainder working to introduce them.
The clarification was made in relation to measures addressing the sale of sexually explicit materials via Telegram channels.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

22 Nov 2023

Ensuring Awareness of Sports School's Updated Safety Policies and Protocols for Freelance Instructors

Ms See Jinli Jean raised concerns about whether instructors engaged by Government schools and agencies will be held to Singapore Sports School's updated safety policies, and what steps the Ministry will take to ensure awareness, guide responsibility division, assist with liability coverage costs, and ensure organiser accountability.
The Ministry of Education has existing safety policies for co-curricular activities, while Singapore Sports School (SSP) is tailoring its safety protocols to its student-athletes' specific needs and is working with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth on a review.
SSP aims to complete the safety policy review by year-end and will progressively implement improvements, communicating changes to internal and external stakeholders including coaches, staff, and vendors.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

22 Nov 2023

Average Number of Cyberattacks on Public Healthcare Institutions Annually

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked about the average number of cyberattacks on public healthcare institutions over the past five years, the safeguards in place, and why a specific cyberattack on 1 November 2023 succeeded in causing a seven-hour disruption.
Minister Ong Ye Kung stated that Synapxe blocks an average of 3,000 malicious emails daily and 1.7 million firewall bypass attempts monthly, with healthcare systems protected under the Cybersecurity Act using a layered defence-in-depth approach, including a Security Operations Centre, incident response processes, and regular cybersecurity exercises.
The 1 November 2023 disruption was caused by a DDoS attack that circumvented anti-DDoS services and overwhelmed the firewall, leading to filtering that made websites and internet-reliant services inaccessible; since then, anti-DDoS measures have been enhanced and the sector is reviewing defences and response times.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

22 Nov 2023

Enhancing Clampdown Against Vaporisers and Electronic Cigarettes

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim questioned the Minister for Health about plans to address online advertisements and purchases of vaping devices on social media and messaging platforms, given the rising trend among youths and students.
He also asked whether the Ministry will allocate more resources and manpower to the Health Sciences Authority over the next five years for enforcement against vaping-related offences.
The Minister for Health, Ong Ye Kung, responded that the Ministry is prepared to resource the Health Sciences Authority to enhance enforcement, including tackling online advertisements and sales, but emphasized the need for collaboration with other agencies like the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, National Environment Agency, and Ministry of Education to strengthen enforcement and education initiatives.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

22 Nov 2023

Statistics of Personal Mobility Devices and Personal Mobility Aids in 2023 and Regulation of PMA Devices

The number of registered personal mobility devices (PMDs) decreased from about 12,300 in 2020 to about 5,100 in 2023, while personal mobility aids (PMAs) are not required to be registered.
From January to October 2023, there were about 1,200 PMD-related offences and four PMA-related offences, compared to an average of about 1,600 PMD-related offences and three PMA-related offences in the same period from 2020 to 2022.
The Active Mobility Advisory Panel is reviewing rules for PMAs and will announce recommendations after engaging stakeholders.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

22 Nov 2023

Statistics of Applications to Public Defender's Office

Since the Public Defender's Office was established, it has received around 1,300 applications as of September 2023, with about 580 assessed as eligible for criminal defence aid.
Approximately 420 applications were rejected, with about half failing the means test and almost 30% failing the merits test.
Other reasons for rejection included applicants already having a private lawyer or not yet being charged in court, while 300 applications remained ongoing or were closed due to withdrawal or lack of follow-up.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

22 Nov 2023

Measures Ensuring Restriction of Import, Delivery or Purchase of Stun Devices into Singapore

The Minister confirmed that under the Arms and Explosives Act, a licence is required to import, export, sell, or possess stun devices, with penalties of up to a $5,000 fine and three years' imprisonment for possession without a licence, and up to a $10,000 fine for import or sale without a licence.
Authorities collaborate with stakeholders like the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and e-commerce platforms to detect and prevent the unauthorized import and sale of stun devices.
The government declined to comment on the specifics of the recent case involving Traffic Police officers due to ongoing court proceedings.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

22 Nov 2023

Adequacy of Guidelines for Outrage of Modesty Against Children

The Penal Code already provides enhanced punishments for outrage of modesty against children, including longer imprisonment terms, fines, caning, or a combination, compared to offences against adults.
Enhanced punishments for such offences against children were introduced in 1984 and further strengthened in 2007, with mandatory minimum imprisonment and caning in certain aggravating circumstances.
The Minister for Home Affairs stated that the current sentencing guidelines are adequate and no immediate review is planned, though the government continuously monitors the legal framework.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

22 Nov 2023

Citizens on Patrol Scheme Recruitment Statistics Since 2018

Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Home Affairs for the number of persons recruited to the Citizens on Patrol (COP) scheme each year since 2018.
The Singapore Police Force began tracking annual COP recruitment figures only from 2019 onwards, with the numbers provided in Table 1.
The SPF conducts recruitment at events like Police Community Roadshows and the Home Team Festival, and launched a volunteer recruitment campaign in October 2023.
Interested members of the public can find more information on joining the COP scheme on the SPF website.
The COP scheme involves volunteers patrolling communities, reporting suspicious activities, and engaging the public on crime prevention.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source

22 Nov 2023

Individuals Caught for Wildlife Feeding and Mental Wellness Programmes or Counselling for Repeat Offenders Besides Fine

From April 2022 to October 2023, 309 individuals were caught for illegally feeding wildlife, including 186 who fed pigeons, with enforcement actions ranging from advisories to fines and court prosecution.
For repeat offenders, authorities partner with agencies like AIC and town councils to understand their motivations and offer alternatives such as community gardening and birdwatching to discourage feeding.
Individuals with mental health needs are linked to appropriate services, including counselling, while public awareness campaigns highlight the negative impacts of feeding wildlife.

Summary written by AI

Overview Original source