Committee of Supply – Head P (Ministry of Home Affairs)

10.40 am

The Fight against New and Emerging Threats

Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah): Mr Chairman, I beg to move, "That the total sum to be allocated for Head P of the Estimates be reduced by $100".

The Home Team plays an important role in keeping Singapore safe from terror threats. Last year, two Singaporeans were charged with terrorism financing, transmitting money to fund terrorist causes overseas. Our TransCom officers conduct high-visibility patrols at bus interchanges and MRT stations. In 2018 alone, they made 723 arrests, with most offenders possessing dangerous weapons and drugs.

Not just called upon in day-to-day operations to keep Singaporeans safe, the Home Team also does an excellent job during times of heightened security risks such as hosting of key international meetings. In 2018, we hosted the Trump-Kim summit and the 33rd ASEAN Summit. In 2019, we hosted the signing of the Singapore Convention on Mediation which required large scale operations to protect the many dignitaries from different countries and to maintain law and order during the large scale event.

The changing global landscape of crime and crime-related activities have an impact on Singapore. Through the Internet, crime is no longer confined to the physical territorial boundaries of a country and much harm can be done by a person even without stepping onto our shores. The Home Team has proven itself as a formidable force – having to deal with the global threat of terrorism and its implications on Singapore; increasing recreational drug use in the region and the world; and having to deal with the ensuring of law and order for multiple high-key international events hosted in Singapore. There is also the threat of foreign interference in our domestic politics. There is also the threat which fake news can pose on on-going security operations conducted by the Home Team. In fact, when fake news is bandied around on WhatsApp, during very important security operations by the Home Team, it does impact the operational ability of that exercise and that operation.

This list of threats stands to get longer as the world becomes smaller. Consequently, the threats become closer.

The Home Team can remain effective and operational notwithstanding these pressures. For example, our Home Team can leverage on science and technology, intelligence gathering, cooperation with other enforcement agencies, predicting future threats early and recruiting dedicated officers. Would the Minister elaborate on how the Home Team is leveraging on each of these aspects to ensure it continues to safeguard Singapore from new and emerging threats in addition to its important everyday functions of maintaining law and order?

Question proposed.

The Chairman: Mr Christopher de Souza.

SPF 200 – Continuing Excellence

Mr Christopher de Souza: Thank you, Mr Chairman. My next cut, the SPF 200 Exhibition "Frontier Town to Safest City" captured the essence of SPF's remarkable journey from a 12-man team to a formidable and effective force of 15,000 today. As Minister Shanmugam said at the launch of the exhibition, over the years, the Singapore Police Force has had to deal with the relevant threats of the times – opium, gambling, secret societies, prostitution, conflicts and unrest between different groups. The security landscape has changed in those 200 years, but the Police Force’s values and mission remain the same – integrity in maintaining law and order. It is only right that in the course of this year’s COS debate that we use the opportunity to thank the dedicated officers of our Singapore Police Force for their professionalism and readiness to protect law and order in Singapore.

10.45 am

It is only right that in the course of this year's COS debate that we use the opportunity to thank the dedicated officers of our Singapore Police Force for their professionalism and readiness to protect law and order in Singapore. Looking ahead, in today’s fast-changing security landscape, would the Minister share how the Home Team would transform to ensure that it continues its relevance, operational-readiness and efficiency?

Managing Security Risks such as Riots

Next cut. Recently, we have seen a proliferation of large-scale chaos and riots in other countries. These have caused immense damage and disruption to essential services in those societies. In fact, Maplecroft, a company that specialises in global risk data and country risk analysis, estimated that nearly 40% of the world’s 195 countries will see civil unrest during 2020. How can our Home Team guard Singapore and its essential services against such dangerous security risks?

Security Operations Surrounding COVID-19

Next cut. Over and above its everyday duties to keep law and order in Singapore, the Home Team has stepped up to the plate to ensure many quarantine centres are manned and protected and contact tracing carried out effectively. My question is: would the Minister provide an update on the deployment of our Home Team officers towards the national fight against COVID-19 and whether we can build a precedent or a standard operating procedure (SOP) arising from current operational experiences that officers can refer to in a future outbreak?

Public Trust

Mr Teo Ser Luck (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Mr Chairman, growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, the Police was some sort of a mystic, so there is a mysterious part to the Police Force. When I was growing up in a Teochew kampung, my parents always say "mata liak" or Police will catch you, if you are not doing the right things. So, you have some fear but that transformed later on in school. When we went for a road safety campaign and we saw the policemen teaching us how to obey the safety rules, traffic rules and they were extremely friendly. So, it changed my perception that the engagement between the public and the Police was friendly, and you can have a lot of confidence and trust in them.

In the latest Gallup poll, 94% of the residents or Singaporeans felt very safe to walk around the neighbourhood at night, and we were ranked first in the whole Global Order Index. We were also ranked first in Order and Security in the world. So, that is no mean feat because as I became a Member of Parliament, and I dealt with Sengkang NPC, every single one of the policemen, when they engage the public, that friendliness and confidence is there and you can tell that the public trusts them, so much so that even the smallest of things they would send a complaint or report to the policeman. That makes them really, really "see eh boh eng", very busy.

As we made progress, I realised it is more and more difficult to maintain that public trust for our policemen, especially when there is social media. The social media, with its fake news or real news or even pictures. A picture, although it speaks a thousand words, but then again, if it is the wrong caption, then it would actually affect the trust and confidence in the policemen.

So, in this day and age, with the world changing really fast, and with social media and information overload, how is the SPF or how is the Ministry going to maintain that public trust and confidence in our Police Force? Moving forward, what are the measures and also plans that they will Implement and execute in order to uphold that trust? Because with that trust, then our enforcement officers can do their work and we can still continue to be ranked number one in the Global Order Index.

Security Needs

Miss Cheng Li Hui (Tampines): Sir, the hardworking men and women of the Home Team have played a critical role in keeping our country and our people safe. With new challenges emerging, their work gets tougher. I am heartened that the Home Team has transformed its operations throughout the years.

With the celebration of Singapore Police Force's 200th Anniversary this year, can the Minister share how does our Home Team remain relevant to meet our evolving security needs?

Home Team Capability

Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Ang Mo Kio): Chairman, the recent Hong Kong protests had shown how quickly mass gatherings can degenerate into chaos, resulting in injuries and even deaths, and damage to properties. Such incidents not only destabilise communities, they also cause social rifts and hurt the economy.

I understand that recently, the Police had to be called in to help manage the crowds in at least one of the supermarkets after the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) was raised to Orange. While this is a very different situation from Hong Kong, it shows that unexpected events can lead to people gathering and the Home Team must always be on the ready to ensure order.

Would the Ministry share what lessons we have learnt from the Hong Kong protests and how would the Home Team prevent similar incidents from happening in Singapore?

Residency for Transnational Spouses

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, transnational families form a significant proportion of our population today. Between 2009 and 2015, around 15,000 citizen children were born to non-resident foreign mothers. In 2018, one in four citizen marriages involved a non-resident.

Such families often live with tremendous uncertainty because the foreign spouse must continuously apply for the right to stay in Singapore. ICA does not publicly disclose the exact criteria for granting or renewing a visit pass. Foreign spouses are placed in a vulnerable position within their marriage because of this uncertainty. Community organisations who work with abuse survivors or migrants have seen many cases of the citizen spouse threatening to cancel their pass as a way to abuse their foreign wives.

Transnational families, particularly lower income ones, also have limited housing options. Citizens can purchase HDB flats but they are treated as singles for housing grants and foreign spouses cannot be co-owners.

In cases of divorce or widowhood, the foreign spouse faces even more uncertainty. The Government has said it will help facilitate a renewable LTVP, as long as they have custody over young Singaporean children. This is very welcome but not a guarantee. The foreign spouse also has no right to occupy or inherit an HDB flat, causing great anxiety over housing. Can the Government allow citizens married to LTVP+ holders to qualify as a family for the Public Rental Scheme?

Can the Government provide greater support and protection to these vulnerable families by granting the LTVP+ to all foreign spouses of citizens? Can the Government consider creating a clear, timed pathway for these foreign spouses to obtain Permanent Residence status?

Home Team Science and Technology Agency

Mr Christopher de Souza: Thank you, Chairman. Leveraging on science and technology will aid our Home Team officers in ensuring we have the capability to deter, fend off and overcome new threats. Technology has the benefit of allowing officers to perform critical roles with greater time and focus. Would the Minister please provide us an update on how the Science and Technology Agency (HTX) will enhance our Home Team’s fight against new and emerging threats?

The Chairman: Ms Jessica Tan. Both cuts, thank you.

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo (East Coast): Mr Chairman, with the formation of the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) with responsibility in research and procurement areas of border security and protection of critical infrastructures, what are the areas of focus in its technology roadmap? How will the work of HTX help in operational effectiveness of the Home Team?

HTX has ambitious goals. Having the right talent and skills is critical for the success of the HTC. Could the Minister share more on HTX’s talent strategy? Has HTX been successful in attracting the right talent it requires for the scale and scope of its ambitious mandate? Could the Minister also share the profile of the HTX team?

One of HTX's people strategy is to enable integration across the Home Team to bring together capabilities, knowledge and resources from different Home Team Departments. How has HTX brought together the capabilities across the different Home Team Departments? Does HTX have the right talents who are able to translate security operational requirements into technology solutions and what are some of these solutions?

As HTX is a new organisation, what are the early challenges it is facing? What are the risks involved in the use of technology in the Home Team's operations and how is the Home Team addressing these risks?

Its work in security technologies and research as well as the prevention, response and recovery from cyber attacks requires inter-agency coordination and industry partnerships. How is the Home Team developing HTX's inter-agency cooperation and industry collaborations?

Strengthening Home Team Capability

My next cut. In keeping Singapore safe and secure, the Home Team has to tackle an increasing complex security environment and at most times the problem to be solved is not always defined or predictable.

Operationally, officers have to deal with vast information, complex and fast evolving situations and manage risks. In such an environment, could the Minister share the Home Team’s approach to skills and capability building of its officers? How does the Home Team track the effectiveness of these capability development programmes? With the pace of change, how does the Home Team’s capability development programmes enable continual learning?

Technology continues to play an increasing role in homeland security and the environment that officers have to deal with range from the physical to cyber. How does the Home Team ensure that its officers are adequately prepared and equipped to adapt and leverage new technologies and solutions to effectively deploy them in their operations?

Technology in the Home Team

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan (West Coast): The Home Team must now operate within the confines of many unknowns and some of these crimes and threats cut across continents and boundaries, both physically and virtually.

In the same vein, the workforce profile in Singapore is changing rapidly and with an extremely tight labour market, an ageing workforce and imminent negative employment growth in a few years’ time, against this backdrop, how will the Home Team leverage technology to mitigate emerging threats and manpower constraints?

As the Home Team increases leverage of technology in its operations, how does the Home Team ensure its officers are adequately prepared and equipped to adapt to the rapid transformation?

In addition, I applaud the SPF's deployment of the PolCam. Can I ask for an update on PolCam deployment and effectiveness? At the same time, can I ask SPF for more PolCams to be deployed in congregation points across Boon Lay to better prevent and detect crimes?

Regulating E-gaming

Mr Leon Perera (Non-Constituency Member): In a 2019 global survey, it was found that Singaporean gamers spend more time playing electronic games than other Asian counterparts. Loot boxes, a consumable virtual item used to redeem a randomised selection of further virtual items, is increasingly seen in some quarters as a form of gambling. A study by academics at the University of York indicated that micro-transactions are rising as well. In many games, these are to purchase loot boxes. From a separate study by academics in York, there is some evidence linking loot boxes to problem gambling.

Based on a Parliamentary Question I asked in January last year, MHA is studying the matter. Belgium has banned loot boxes purchased using real money. The UK National Health Service has also called for the industry to ban loot boxes. Its Mental Health Director Claire Murdoch warned that these were in danger of "setting kids up for addiction".

Singapore ought to consider implementing, at the very least, regulations to limit access to micro-transaction-driven loot boxes by youth, so as to prevent habituation to addictive gambling-like behaviour among young gamers.

Raising of Retirement Age

Mr Desmond Choo (Tampines): Law enforcement has evolved over the years. It used to be physical patrolling. But now that crimes are more sophisticated and complex, it requires more mental dexterity and experience. At the same time, manpower constraints have gotten more severe with declining birth rates. We need a larger better-equipped and skilled Home Team to deal with the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Therefore, it is timely we extend the retirement and re-employment age of our police officers. I have had the privilege of serving with them for 13 years. I still meet many of them even now. They have adapted well to the changing enforcement landscape and equipped themselves with new skills. They have also kept themselves healthier. Some of the senior ones have gone into mentorship roles. Indeed, they are really craftsmen. They polish their craft and master it over time. Then, they guide younger officers to do even better.

Can we extend the retirement age of our officers from 55 years old to 62 years old, and re-employment age to 65 years old? Optional early retirement could still be offered at age 55, if they prefer. Officers should also be offered an Employment Assistance Package if they are found unsuitable for re-employment. Establishing a second career can be difficult and we should help our officers to tide over a difficult period upon retirement after they invested most of their lives in the Police Force.

I understand the operational difficulties of a significant jump in retirement age. Thus, we should do this in phases. Extending the retirement and re-employment age will not only allow the Home Team to retain talent to meet growing security challenges but also buttress our longer term crime-fighting strategies.

We must also ensure that we continue to invest in technology to help our officers combat crimes more effectively. Can the Minister share how we have been using technology to mitigate against emerging threats and manpower challenges?

11.00 am

Public Education Programmes on Drugs

Ms Rahayu Mahzam (Jurong): Chairman, in Malay.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I watched Senior Parliamentary Secretary Amrin Amin's efforts to engage the Malay/Muslim community to spread the anti-drug message through the Dadah Itu Haram campaign. This campaign brings a deeper understanding about the efforts by the Government and the community in the fight against drugs. I also see this campaign as a good opportunity to create awareness about the challenges faced by ex-addicts. This can encourage efforts to help addicts recover, turn over a new leaf and give back to society. It seems that many people are now aware of this campaign and understand the important messages that it wants to send.

May I ask, apart from the increasing awareness, what are the other positive outcomes arising from this wonderful endeavour? Will other plans be implemented to build on the current efforts?

(In English): Chairman, in English. I have seen the efforts to reach out to the Malay/Muslim community through the Dadah Itu Haram campaign. There is clearly great value in taking a targeted approach and doing a community-specific engagement. By understanding the values within the community, the messages in the outreach efforts can be made more nuanced and would therefore have more impact to the people within the community.

However, has the Ministry carried out an assessment on the effectiveness of the community-specific public engagement approach in raising awareness and curbing drug abuse? Has such targeted approach resulted in better outcomes, especially in relation to reducing the numbers of addicts within the specific community or curbing the negative effects of drugs in the community? If such efforts have been showing results, are there upcoming plans to increase community-specific public education programmes?

Community Efforts against Drugs

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers for Education and Minister for Social and Family Development (Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim): Mr Chairman, I thank the Ministry for the various outreach efforts on drug abuse and community involvements to protect our people from drug abuse and rehabilitate the offenders and help their families.

Among these efforts are those targeted at the Malay/Muslim community. Can MHA provide an update on the on-going efforts to engage the Malay/Muslim community with regards to drug abuse and whether there are other programmes or initiatives in the pipeline?

Drugs and Youth

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin (Potong Pasir): Mr Chairman, I believe the issue of drug abuse among our youths in Singapore is an important matter for our Government to address. The potential damage and detrimental effects that drug abusers cause themselves, their families and the wider Singaporean Community can be significant.

This has been the cornerstone of our drug abuse policy in Singapore and I believe that the majority of Singaporeans strongly support the Government’s tough stance against drug abuse over the years. The recent statistics for 2019 released by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), however, suggests that we continue to have a worrying trend in Singapore. This is especially so when it is about new and young drug abusers.

The total number of new drug abusers arrested in 2019 increased by 8% from 2018. Of the 1,469 new drug abusers who were arrested in 2019, about 61% were below 30 years old. Drug abusers in the 20 to 29 years old age group continue to form the largest group of abusers in 2019.

One of the reasons for this worrying trend could because our youths are being influenced by misinformation, especially in relation, to what some deem as "less harmful soft drugs". Because of this, some of our youths may then adopt a more liberal attitude towards the use of drugs.

Sir, this is a trend that we must arrest. I invite the Minister to share with this House further details of the Ministry's plans on changing the drug narrative that influences our youths and to reduce the number of youths involved in the consumption of drugs.

Drug Abuse among Youths in Singapore

Mr Mohamed Irshad (Nominated Member): Mr Chairman, this cut concerns the topic of drug abuse among our youths. Over the last two years, this House has continually affirmed our nation's zero-tolerance effort approach toward drugs. Together, this House has passed legislation making it an offence to knowingly or recklessly leave the drugs or drug utensils within easy access of a child.

Despite these efforts Mr Chairman, legislation alone will not solve our drug problem. Sir, it is not difficult to see the persistent glamorisation and normalisation of drug use through online media. Our young people would not even flinch from to use a hashtag like "#420". Indeed, last year, the highest number of new drug users were those aged under 35. In this context, I raise three questions about the Ministry's preventive drug education efforts.

First, MHA informed the house earlier this month that CNB has been developing social media content and messages highlighting "strong deterrence" and "evidence-based narratives" on Singapore's drug policies. Can MHA update this House on the progress of this programme. Second, outside the use of social media campaigns, are there current programmes launched by CNB to discourage youth consumption of drugs effective in deglamorising the consumption of drug use? What evidence do we have of its effectiveness? Lastly, what efforts are being under-taken by CNB to work with high-risk communities, like the LGBTQIA Community, to discourage drug use.

Drugs – Tough Stance against Supply

Mr Christopher de Souza: In order to keep up the fight against drugs, we should deter both its supply and demand. Drug trafficking harms many individuals.

Where possible, the CNB should regularly broadcast data of how many drug abusers would be fed with the quantum of drugs found on a suspected drug trafficker. This will enable the many, who are following the global drug debate to have a clear and accurate understanding as to the immense destruction that drug trafficking causes to human beings, families and children. This will also provide the rationale behind why we, in Parliament, take strong positions against drug trafficking in and through Singapore and the consumption of drugs on our shores.

Drugs – Deterring Cannabis Use

Mr Christopher de Souza: My next cut, also on drugs. A number of countries have legalised the consumption of cannabis. An increasing number of cannabis abusers worldwide is concerning.

What are plans to keep Singapore free from the scourge of cannabis abuse, especially given the mental and physical ill-effects of cannabis use and its dangerous characteristic as a gateway to harder and more deadly drugs?

Drugs – Battling Psychoactive Substances

Mr Christopher de Souza: Next cut on drugs. Syndicates and criminal outfits are concocting new psychoactive substances at a fast pace. This is a continuing threat. The substances are finding their way into markets around the region. CNB is staffed with dedicated and professional officers – it should be ahead of the game by detecting New Psychoactive Substances (NPSes) early. Also, the regime under the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) should be quick enough to classify newly concocted NPSes as illegal, thereby adding an extra legal deterrent effect.

Prisons – Enhancing Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts

Mr Christopher de Souza: My last cut on drugs, Sir. The Singapore Prisons Service plays an important role in helping criminals have a second chance in society through supporting the inmate's rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Aided by the amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act in 2019, the Prisons Service has been able to further differentiate offenders risks of reoffending, reduce lower risk offenders from being negatively influenced by more recalcitrant offenders and better support drug offenders in a way that is calibrated to their situation.

Would the Minister provide an update, on how and whether this better calibration has reduced the inmates' risks of re-offending.

Rehabilitating and Reintegrating Inmates

Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok): Sir, let me start off by acknowledging the good work that MHA, Singapore Prison Service (SPS), SCORE and the partners of The Community Action for the Rehabilitation of Ex-Offenders (CARE) Network have done to rehabilitate offenders and reintegrate them back into the society.

It is important to remind ourselves of the policy underpinning MHA's efforts on this front. Senior Minister Teo Chee Hian in a written reply issued in 2012 to a Parliamentary Question (PQ) stated as follows: "Effective rehabilitation and successful reintegration of offenders back into society contribute to a safer Singapore". This is however, not an easy objective to achieve.

Minister for Home Affairs, Mr K Shanmugam, acknowledged this in a speech he made on 28 June 2019 to the partners of the CARE Network. He observed that whilst the recividism rate over two years went down by half in the last 20 years, nearly one in two ex-offenders returned to prison five years after their release.

In the recent past, there have been several structural changes implemented by this House to allow for better rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders. I will name two. The widening of community sentencing options for offenders and the revamp of the Reformative Training regime.

I also note that SPF has also implemented other measures such as increasing access to counsellors, providing better opportunities for education and skills training and imposing Mandatory Aftercare Scheme for ex-offenders assessed to have a higher risk of re-offending. It has also leveraged on technology to foster closer relations between inmates and their family members as part of the rehabilitation process; for example, by allowing inmates to correspond with their family members through the e-letters system.

It is timely, therefore, to review how these important changes have contributed to the mission of lowering the recidivism rates amongst offenders, and identify what further steps can be taken, not just by MHA but rest of society, to achieve the objective of making Singapore safer. I would be grateful for an update, please.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Calls

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: Mr Chairman, the SCDF responded to 191,468 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) calls in 2019 – an average of 520 calls a day. The SCDF is an integral part of our frontline response team whenever Singaporeans encounter emergency medical situations in their everyday lives. Their jobs to put it mildly, is to respond quickly anywhere in Singapore and try to save the lives of Singaporeans in trouble.

In fact, we can all see the tremendous work they do, day to day, as we continue to battle the COVID-19 virus outbreak in Singapore. I must, take time, to put on record our heart-felt appreciation to them and our medical healthcare team for their dedication and sacrifice in this on-going battle.

Sir, we can see that the number of EMS calls have increased, year on year, since 1998. The 2019 figures showed a 2.1% increase from 2018. As each year passed, the SCDF EMS team has to deal with progressively larger volumes of medical emergency situations every day. We must, therefore, address this and support them in their work.

However, a statistic that I found to be worrying in the Fire, Emergency Medical Services and Enforcement Statistics 2019 is that non-emergency and false alarm calls constitutes 9.2% of EMS calls. That means, almost 1 in every 10 calls is a non-emergency or a false alarm. Based on the statistics, the SCDF EMS team has to deal with almost 52 such calls every day. As we can imagine, such calls require the SCDF team to deploy resources which could otherwise have been dispatched to genuine life-threatening emergency cases.

Sir, I understand that the SCDF is working hard to raise awareness between emergency and non-emergency calls through public education in a bid to bring down the numbers of such calls. This is part of their continuing efforts and constitutes a key strategy in bringing down the numbers of such calls.

I therefore invite the Minister to share with this House, the long term plans and strategies on how the Home Team intends to ensure that the genuine emergency cases are attended to promptly and efficiently, especially in light of the resource constraints that the SCDF faces.

11.15 am

Traffic Summons

Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Sir, in April last year, the Ministry increased composition sums for a wide range of traffic offences in response to an uptrend in road traffic incidents generally. For example, the fines for illegal u-turns, while attracting zero demerit points, were raised from $70 to $100 while heavy vehicle drivers saw the composition sum for the same offence increased from $100 to $150. In fact, there was an increase in the composition fines for all offences that attracted fines up to 12 demerit points. For offences that attracted at least 12 demerit points which could manifest, for example, in a failure to conform to a red light signal, the composition fine has been doubled from $200 to $400 while heavy vehicle drivers have seen a jump in the same offence from $230 to $500 in so far as the fine amount is concerned.

Sir, I agree that road safety is something we cannot compromise upon and the need for deterrence is obvious. However, many of the residents I see who are on the receiving end of these new fines admit to their offences and are usually contrite. In most cases, there is no question of actual harm caused – because that would attract more severe penalties anyway.

Those most heavily affected by the higher fines are taxi and private-hire car drivers, motorcycle couriers and the low-income who may not have the ability to pay up such a large sum of money at one go.

In the appropriate case, I would like to request the Ministry to consider the option of offering an automatic instalment plan for comparatively minor offences that do not attract a custodial sentence on the condition that the offender undertake not to commit a similar offence, failing which no instalment plan would be offered as of right. This approach seeks to retain the deterrence and policy objective of higher fines.

Some jurisdictions around the world even offer to halve a fine provided it is paid forthwith. Such a proposal can be modified for better policy outcomes, for example, with a requirement for some retraining or refresher defensive driving courses. For first-time offenders only, I hope the Ministry can consider such alternatives that achieve the objective of increased road safety awareness and deterrence on the one hand and reasonable consideration for the financial consequences on frequent – usually low-income – road users on the other.

Spam SMSes from Illegal Syndicates

Mr Yee Chia Hsing (Chua Chu Kang): Chairman, I would like to bring up the issue of spam SMSes from illegal moneylenders and sports betting syndicates. I am sure I am not alone in this House to have received such SMSes. Back in September last year, I filed a Parliamentary Question to ask about the measures the agencies have taken to tackle this issue. I applaud the multi-agency effort between IMDA and SPF to counter spam SMSes.

However, these syndicates are finding other ways to bypass our measures. Some have used overseas numbers to send WhatsApp messages containing local numbers to contact. There are also spam SMSes which are able to be sent out with their numbers masked, which made it more difficult to report or block such numbers.

The official advice is for anyone receiving such spam SMSes to report to the SPF, either by a dedicated hotline or the i-Witness platform. I have looked at the platform online and I find it to be rather tedious and this may discourage reporting.

Sir, I would like to suggest a more user-friendly method for reporting. Members of the public who receive such spam SMSes should be able to report simply by submitting a screenshot of the spam SMS directly to a designated number operated by IMDA and SPF. With more people reporting, I hope we would be in a better position to close down these syndicates.

Public Safety – Scams

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo: Mr Chairman, 2019 saw an increasing trend in the number of people falling prey to scams. This is concerning.

The methods used by scammers range from e-commerce, loan, credit-for-sex, social media impersonation, Internet love scams, to investment scams. Scammers have even exploited the COVID-19 situation and impersonated as Government agents conducting contact tracing. The most recent scam is the fake email impersonation of President Halimah’s invitation for a dinner event with her, the Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet.

While the elderly may be the target, a recent report indicates that six out of 10 persons that fall prey to scams in Singapore are persons aged 20-40 years of age. With high online usage in Singapore, it is not a surprise that online scams are increasing.

What is the Home Team's strategy to protect Singaporeans and to mitigate the prevalence of these scams?

Community Awareness of Scams

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: The overall crime rate increased slightly last year mainly because of an increase in scams. This seems to be the trend for the past few years. Victims were cheated of at least $6.8 million in about 1,700 reported cases of loan scams between January and November last year. This is more than three times the reported amount for the whole of 2018, where there were about 990 cases and victims were cheated of a total of about $2 million.

The number of people scammed by impersonators on social media also jumped by more than nine times in the past three years, with most victims being in their 20s to 40s. The number rose from 2017's 71 to 672 cases in the first 11 months of last year. The amount cheated increased nearly 43 times, from at least $168,000 to about $7.2 million over the same period of time. These figures are alarming.

The Home Team has put in a lot of effort over the years to educate the public, including having anti-scam programmes for the elderly and "Scamalert". However, psychologically vulnerable people regardless of age and background continue to fall prey to scams and scammers are evolving to become more sophisticated. What is the Home Team’s strategy to mitigate the prevalence of scams?

The Chairman: Mr Christopher de Souza. Take your cuts together.

Deterring Online Scams

Mr Christopher de Souza: Sir, the number of online and telephone scams is of concern. Besides online "love" scams and online shopping scams, concerns have been raised regarding the solicitation of donations through false representations. Such perpetrators tug on and exploit people’s altruistic intentions and they to rob them. In such situations, instead of leaving the victim to pursue civil recourse in the Courts, would it not be better to charge the perpetrator – assuming he can be identified – in Court under section 420 of the Penal Code, that is, for cheating? This would show that the state is taking the scams seriously. My next cut.

Fight against Human Trafficking

In February 2020, two persons were sentenced to five and a half years' imprisonment for, amongst others, labour trafficking under the Prevention of Human Trafficking Act. Will the Minister share what can be done to tighten detection of potential human trafficking cases across the different types of trafficking, for example, labour and sex trafficking. How is Singapore working with enforcement agencies overseas to track and punish cross- border illicit trafficking syndicates? Next cut.

Deterring Unlicensed Moneylending

Harassment at the hands of runners belonging to unlicensed moneylending syndicates is mentally and physically draining. The number of harassment cases related to unlicensed moneylending increased by 15% from 2018 to 2019. The majority of these cases were via electronic means but nonetheless harrowing. What are the plans of the Home Team to deter and reduce the incidences of such harassment? Last cut.

Crisis Preparedness and Coordination

Crises can impact societies quickly. The impact can leave negative ill-effects or positive and lasting consequences of unity and common mission. During this COVID-19 crisis, how does the Home Team plan to garner community and public support in crisis preparedness and coordination such that Singapore society becomes stronger in the aftermath of a crisis?

SG Secure

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan: Since we launched the SG Secure movement, can MHA share the progress of its outreach efforts, in particular, in the community as well as at workplaces? I urge MHA to work with the community and businesses to recruit SG Secure Ambassadors at every HDB block and at every workplace. These ambassadors can help spread the SG Secure message and be equipped with first aid, AED and CPR skills. This is so that in the event of a terrorist attack and, especially the day after, these ambassadors can also help to handle the community or workplace response, as well as to ensure that the community is able to deal with emerging threats to safety and security.

In fact, although SG Secure aims to prepare for major contingencies, it has been helpful and useful for grassroots volunteers, community partners and stakeholders, including residents, to prepare for major incidents, just like the fire incident in Boon Lay which happened last year which confronted myself and my community.

Community Support to Keep Singapore Safe

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Industry (Dr Tan Wu Meng): Mr Chairman, the Home Team has continued to do well in keeping Singapore as a safe and secure home. As Mr Teo Ser Luck mentioned earlier, if we look at the international rankings, Singapore has been doing well and it is something we see not just in the rankings but also in the lived experience of our communities. Sometimes, on late-night walkabouts in Clementi town, which I help look after, I meet residents from different backgrounds and walks of life out and about at night on jalan-jalan, comfortable that even at night, it is alright to go out and walk around.

But this effort to keep Singapore safe is never-ending. As the world changes, criminals have found new ways to reach into our communities and heartlands to reach into the lives and minds of our people.

Today, I will speak on three challenges that the Home Team can hopefully continue to address even more in-depth and to a greater extent than before – terrorism, scams and drugs.

On terrorism, Mr Chairman, Singapore has not experienced a terror attack in the past few years. But we must never take this for granted. Terrorism is a continuing threat to Singapore, as ISIS continues to attract many followers with their violent ideology. In January this year, a Singaporean man was charged with terrorist financing. Last month, in February, a 17-year-old Singaporean Secondary school student was detained for supporting ISIS.

But it would be difficult, if not impossible, for MHA to fight terrorism alone. Potential threats may go undetected if the general population is not aware, not alert and not on the look-out. So, it is critical to engage our community and build awareness. Our entire nation and society are the frontlines against terrorism and, our defence, likewise, must be whole-of-society, whole-of-community, whole-of-nation. So, can the Minister share with us how will MHA be engaging the community at large to ensure that Singapore is well-prepared against the terrorism threat?

Secondly, Mr Chairman, on scams, in particular, e-scams. Social media has created new ways for people to keep in touch, whether from halfway around the world or from halfway across our island. But it has also become a new channel for crime.

Based on a report by Consumers International, the widespread use of social media has brought new opportunities for criminals to connect with consumers and commit fraud; and scammers devising new and more innovative ways to trick people out of their money or harvest their personal data.

Scams have the potential to cause great harm to consumers and the financial losses can be potentially life-changing. When a scammer succeeds, people can lose an entire lifetime's worth of savings. And with electronic cash transfers, the misappropriated money can be in a different country within minutes of the scam, even before the victim has informed the authorities. This is a global problem and many of us know of fellow Singaporeans who have been affected, too.

In 2019, Police statistics show that the total number of reported crimes increased by 6.3%, primarily due to a significant increase in scam cases. The total number of scam cases went up by 53% to 9,500 cases in 2019, up from 6,100 cases in 2018. A total of $168 million was lost to scammers last year in 2019. So, it is a worrying situation because, with each scam incident, someone has been deceived and lost his/her savings or harmed.

I understand that MHA has been working hard to address this issue. In 2019, the Police set up the Anti-Scam Centre focusing on disrupting scammers’ operations and mitigating the monetary losses of victims by collaborating with financial institutions, telecommunication companies and digital platform owners. But I am sure more can be done.

Furthermore, while the Police can work with institutions to deal with the situation, we must always remember that education is key, all the more so today because when scammers can reach out to people or our loved ones through mobile phones and instant messages, the additional safeguard of an informed and vigilant individual becomes more important than ever.

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So, the community needs to be made more aware of scams, to avoid falling prey to scammers and prevent loved ones from being tricked and misled as well. So, can the Minister share with us, how is MHA going to engage the community to help counter the increased threat of scams in our society?

Mr Chairman, on Drug Abuse. Sir, as a Member of Parliament looking after a Constituency, as someone who has practised as a doctor, I have seen first-hand the damage that drugs can cause to families and to patients, to adults and the young. Drug addiction extracts huge costs from the society. The costs of crime. The costs of lives poisoned and destroyed. The costs that sometimes cannot be measured in dollars and cents alone.

An NTU study commissioned by MHA in 2016, looked at the quantitative aspects. They assessed that the total cost of drug crime was as high as S$1.23 billion in 2015, even though our drug abuse rates are much lower than in other countries. But again, the cost is not just about dollars and cents. It is a human cost, a cost in our people's lives.

I understand that there was a local study on inter-generational offending. It is found that one in five inmates who are drug-abusing parents had children who had also committed crimes. The researches assessed that this was due to the exposure to similar risk factors and adverse childhood experiences.

Sir, this is a human cost. It is a cost that can affect and can devastate a family across more than one generation. It tells us that when drugs poison a family, it can poison not just the current generation, but affect the prospects of the next. The poison of drugs can contribute to avoidable, adverse outcomes. The poison of drugs can harm families. The poison of drugs can exacerbate inequality in a society.

In Singapore, the proportion of new abusers in the past year remained high at 41%. And today, there is social media and mass media spreading misinformation that normalises drug use. And much of this content increasingly targeted at vulnerable youths, targeted at our next generation, targeted at our future.

Other than tough drug laws and strict enforcement, can the Minister also tell us how MHA will engage the community to guard against the harms of drug abuse?

The Chairman: Minister Shanmugam.

The Minister for Home Affairs (Mr K Shanmugam): Thank you, Sir. I thank the hon Members for their contributions and as usual, I will start by reviewing the year 2019, what has been done. Our primary mission is to keep Singapore safe and secure, a safe and secure home. If you look at international rankings, as well as more importantly, how our own people feel about their safety and security within Singapore, we do well. Looking at international rankings, the 2019 Gallup Global Law and Order Report, we are again, ranked first and that is the sixth year running that Singapore has been ranked number one.

Our drug situation, something that I have spoken about quite frequently, Members have raised the point a number of times as well. It remains under control in Singapore. I think it is not something that you would ever say you won the fight. But the global situation, unfortunately, is getting worse with different regimes, a greater acceptance, a change in the legal position as well, where people are moving towards legalising in more and more countries, because they have lost the fight. Whereas in Singapore, almost uniquely, we have managed to hold our own within the country.

If you look at fire safety, we again ranked first in the 2019 World Fires Statistics – it is the second year running. Moving on to our legislative calendar last year, I will touch on a couple of major aspects where we made legislative changes. First, we focused quite a bit on vulnerable victims and how we can protect them. So, the Penal Code was amended to cover more groups of vulnerable people, give them more protection, and enhanced the deterrence.

To give one example, for offences committed against intimate partners or those in close relationships, we doubled the maximum penalties for rape, hurt, wrongful confinement. POHA – Protection from Harassment Act – was also amended. It allows victims of serious abuse who are in intimate relationships to get Protection Orders. In the past, only married women could get such Protection Orders under the Women's Charter and others had to rely on normal rules on criminal law assault. But we have given greater protection for those who are deemed to be in intimate partner relationships.

Where people harass others whom they are in an intimate relationship with, the offender harasses someone who is in an intimate relationship, and there are repeated breaches of Protection Orders, punishments have been doubled. And if the perpetrator continues the harassment in breach of the Protection Orders, now, arrest is also possible. And the processes have been simplified so that victims can seek Protection Orders quickly.

I have previously more than once commended the good work done by PAVE and organisations like PAVE. They provide legal and other counselling services to such victims, victims of Family Violence, who could be victims of intimate partner violence or who could be victims in a marriage situation, or in a marital situation. These organisations identify such individuals. Often, the individuals – I think Members of Parliament would have come across them – feel unable to leave the relationship. They find it very difficult. So, they need a lot of help, they need a lot of counselling. A number of NGOs are involved in it including, as I said, PAVE, to really take the steps that are needed to turn their lives around.

In fact, PAVE's advocacy played a crucial role in informing and shaping the POHA amendments. They invited me to their Centre and shared with me what their clients go through. This was in August 2018. The stories were distressing. I listened to them. As I said, this was August 2018, and I told them we will do something. That really formed the basis of the amendments which we put through last year. So, it is a very good example of how civil society and Government can work together, to make real change on the ground.

The second key area that we worked on last year was in dealing with preventing clashes from religious differences. These could be inter-religious as well as intra-religious. Our peace, our progress, our prosperity are all based on the social harmony that we have managed to foster in Singapore. And Members will know, worldwide, countries are struggling with identity politics and the fractured relationships between communities, and within communities in their respective countries.

Our approach over the years, surveys, soundings, and I think Members' own interactions with the residents show that people overwhelmingly support the approach we have taken to emphasise on harmony, and to come down quite hard on people who try and use religion as a basis to create public and social discord.

So, people overwhelmingly support our stand against divisive rhetoric, against using religion for political ends. And we have had the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA) now for 29 years, as of last year. I think the success of our policies is shown by the fact that we have never had to actually formally invoke the MRHA even once in those years.

When it was first introduced, there was some disquiet. Several people said different things. I must count as one of those who was uncomfortable with the legislation. But we amended the MRHA last year in October and it will enable us to take effective, decisive action against the threats to religious harmony. And in a way, this framework actually has enhanced religious freedom within Singapore, because people of all religions – whatever your religious persuasion – feel confident, comfortable to go out there and practise their faiths. And if you agnostic, it is also the same. So, no one needs to feel uncomfortable in Singapore, because they know that there is a very protective framework that protects the freedom of religion.

And that confidence is based on the fact that the authorities both have the power to take effective action and will take effective and swift action to threats against religious harmony.

Among the amendments, we looked at our religious organisations. We do not want them to become channels or conduits for foreigners to channel their own agenda into Singapore or impose their values. We also put in various provisions to reduce conflicts, as I said not just between religions, but also within religion, intra-religion. And also we do not want religion to be used as a basis for attacking other groups who may not be of a religious persuasion.

For example, say the LGBT community. During engagements with the LGBT groups, many of them have told us they felt targeted as a community. Meanwhile, religious groups also felt that they were targeted by LGBT groups. And our approach is, we put in something – whether religious groups target non-religious groups, or whether non-religious groups intend to target religious groups, both will be proscribed. People can go about their own lives. They should deal with their lives as they wish, but not use social or religious causes to attack each other.

That comes from the position that every Singaporean has his/her place in Singapore. They must feel safe and we will take actions against anyone who threaten anyone else's physical safety. We should all be free to express our individual views but in a responsible manner. So, when we amended the MRHA, we explicitly stated that in the Explanatory Statement and used the LGBTQ community as an example of what would be covered by these provisions.

That was a brief survey on our international rankings, our approach and the legislative changes. Let me now turn to the Home Team itself. I earlier spoke about how our people, Singaporeans, feel about the Home Team. Mr Teo Ser Luck spoke about the importance of maintaining public trust and effectiveness in the Home Team. That, to me, is fundamental, it is crucial.We can safely say year after year, I think the high level of confidence and trust that Singaporeans have in the Home Team is very clear.

Surveys show that. I have referred to the surveys several times in this House – last year's surveys, public perception surveys – 91% of respondents agreed that the Home Team is fulfilling its mission of keeping Singapore safe and secure.

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Ninety percent trusts Home Team officers to do their duties objectively and with integrity. In an SCDF survey, 99% were confident in SCDF's ability to cope with emergencies. In an SPF survey, 90% trust the SPF as an organisation and they all agree that the Police Force is well-respected in the community.

And this trust is reflected in people's lived reality.

If you look at the Global Law and Order Index by Gallup, which I referred to earlier, 94% of residents in Singapore feel safe walking home alone in their neighbourhoods at night, including women. That is more than any other place in the world. And if you were to look at the global average, that is 69%. Parents are confident of letting their young children take public transport home alone, or anywhere alone.

We talk about freedoms. These freedoms are priceless – the freedom to be yourself, the freedom to let your children be children, the freedom to know that they can grow up safe and secure. These freedoms are priceless and they have come about because of our practical approach, our tough legal framework where we come down hard on offenders, and the fact that within that framework, a broad level of freedom for people to carry on with their lives, exists.

Our people also trust the Home Team to manage incidents effectively. In our surveys, 89% of respondents are confident in the Home Team's ability to manage national crises.

Talking about national crises, of course, we are dealing with COVID-19 now. Mr Christopher de Souza asked how have the Home Team officers been deployed in the national fight against the virus.

Members would have seen from newspaper reports that Home Team officers, together with others from the agencies involved, have been working round the clock in dealing with COVID-19. Many of the officers are at the frontlines. If you look at the border control and health screening measures: at the checkpoints with hundreds of thousands of people coming in every day. Officers are also securing Government Quarantine Facilities and checking on persons under quarantine; supporting, quite crucially, MOH's contact-tracing operations: CID has lent its expertise, a team of officers. Their work has been reported fairly extensively and they have done quite exceptional work. The kind of contact-tracing that has been done is very detailed. I do not think you see a parallel anywhere else in the world.

Home Team officers have also helped to conduct swabbing operations among suspect cases, which puts them on the frontline. They test for the virus. And for the second plane-load of Singaporeans that the Government flew back from Wuhan and also, of course, our officers helped convey suspect cases to hospital. That is the frontline.

Non-frontline officers obviously are heavily involved. MHA is part of the multi-Ministry taskforce involved in the whole-of-Government response to the crisis. The Ministry also chairs the inter-agency Homefront Crisis Executive Group (HCEG) which supports the Ministerial taskforce to get the actions executed on the ground and ensure the smooth, coordinated, effective running of the crisis response operations. All of that, of course, comes on top of the officers' day-to-day responsibilities, which have to carry on.

I have to say, I think I join many Singaporeans, and I am sure I join Members of Parliament, in saying that we are very proud of the way all our public officers have responded, including, if I may say Home Team officers. Thank you. [Applause.]

Members will know that the Home Team, the Police Force and the rest of the Home Team, is actually very lean, like much of the Public Service. If you look at the ratio of Police officers to population: London is 0.34%; Hong Kong, 0.39%; New York City, 0.42%. Whereas we are 0.23%, including full-time National Servicemen. So, much leaner compared to any of these cities, but our outcomes are much better compared with any of them.

And I think it comes from a combination of many years of a proper law and order framework, which went against international opinions sometimes. Secondly, the fact that our people have cooperated with that framework and have been strongly supportive. The fact that if you have committed a crime in Singapore, you are going to be prosecuted regardless of who you are. And if you are guilty or likely to be found guilty, and cases do not stretch for years and years and years, and punishment is therefore reasonably certain.

These factors and the whole attitude that is supportive of our law and order framework, amongst a vast majority of our population, has meant that people who want to break the laws are a very small minority. That has allowed our taxpayer funds to be put to other uses and not the heavy policing that you see in many other countries. Yet, we still give the outcomes that people want in terms of safety and security, and how they feel about the country.

Mr Christopher de Souza and Miss Cheng Li Hui asked how the Home Team can remain effective and operational in a changing environment. That requires continued heavy investment into the capabilities of the officers. We work with our partners to encourage our officers to engage in continuous learning and up-skilling, just like the rest of society, from recruitment to retirement.

Mr Desmond Choo asked if retirement age for our Police officers will be raised. We will be increasing the retirement age gradually, not just Police officers, but officers under the Home Affairs Uniformed Services Scheme, from 55 years old currently to 58, by 2030. That will allow us to tap on the experience of our more mature officers. It will enhance career transition efforts and it will help them secure a meaningful second career after retiring from the Home Team.

Let me touch a little bit on this. This year is a very important year for SPF. It is the SPF 200, as many Members would know. I am told that it was the first, if not, the second organisation that was set up in Singapore. If you go back to colonial times, understandably the British may have set up the Customs first before they set up the Police Force. Subject to that, in the 200 years, I think we have seen the Home Team grow from strength to strength. Miss Cheng Li Hui and Mr Christopher de Souza remarked about SPF's 200 years.

If you go back to the early 19th century, we were a booming town but a booming immigrant town with more than its fair share of social ills – lawlessness, rampant piracy, clandestine activities between secret societies, riots between the different Chinese dialect groups. And there was really an urgent need for law and order. Major-General William Farquhar formed the first Police Force, with just 12 officers. They had to gear up quickly. By 1846, the first set of rules and regulations was established and they spelt out the duties, the way Police officers conduct themselves. They demarcated patrol sectors.

We moved to a century later, in the 1900s, the Criminal Procedure Code and Criminal Registry Department were set up, and a fingerprint system was also set up and new Police buildings were constructed.

Fast forward to after the Second World War, the "999" hotline was established and the Radio Division was established. Then, after the Maria Hertogh riots, the Riot Squad was set up.

After 1965, Independence, the Police have taken on an even greater role in the safety and security of our society. The Police National Service was introduced in 1967 and the first Neighbourhood Police Post in 1983. That really transformed the image of the Police officer, not just as a person enforcing the law but also as a member of the community, out there in the community, helping people and responding to incidents.

Then, we had September 11 incidents in New York and changed the operating landscape yet again – a new normal. We had to build counter-terrorism capabilities and put in place safety measures. I would say that, after the 2015 attacks in Paris, yet again, we had to step up considerably to look at the fact that a variety of soft targets could be attacked by terrorists.

So, I think Members will agree with me, today, if we look at the SPF, it is a highly capable, professional Police Force and highly regarded. And I think our SPF officers deserve our recognition and appreciation for their professionalism, their readiness and sacrifice over the years. Thank you. [Applause.]

This year, to better handle incidents in our coastal waters, PCG will be enhancing its capabilities. We will be getting new Fifth Generation PT class patrol boats. They will replace the Third Generation boats. And we will also get additional boats and that would be a significant upgrade to PCG's abilities to handle such incidents.

I am confident that the Police Force, as a whole, will continue to uphold the tradition of excellence so that Singaporeans will continue to enjoy the very high levels of safety, security, law and order.

Safety and security is not just the responsibility of law enforcers. I want to move away from the usual COS speech to say something a little bit more, philosophical, maybe even reflective. And this comes from some of the points made by Members of Parliament, including Mr Christopher de Souza, who questioned about the street protests that have taken place around the world. What are the lessons for us? Where do we go from here? Can it happen here?

I think it comes back to this point. You can have the best Police Force in the world but you cannot deal with riots unless there are other things that are taken care of as well. We have had riots across the world – Chile, in Europe, in Hong Kong, of course, and other places. Street protests have escalated to violence. They have disrupted the lives of ordinary citizens, and destroyed public and private infrastructure. We have had in Lebanon, where several months of protests have caused a lot of damage. Santiago, I mentioned, demonstrators were enraged by hikes in public transport fares. They looted stores, and set fires to vehicles and properties. Then, we saw Hong Kong, seven months of protest. Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked what can we learn from these protests.

I will take this opportunity to discuss Hong Kong and the others and what are the lessons for us.

We have seen hundreds of thousands of people on the streets in Hong Kong. Some of them have engaged in extremely violent, disruptive behaviour, with the whole purpose of crippling the government and inflicting severe damage to the economy and to the reputation of the city, and obviously caused very severe challenges for the Hong Kong Police Force.

Before this latest period of unrest, the Hong Kong Police Force was considered one of the finest in Asia. The Singapore Police Force and the Hong Kong Police Force, they were probably two very highly regarded Forces in Asia – disciplined, professional, well respected by local residents.

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But since the protests started, the police have been caught between the need to uphold public order and protestors who resorted to increasingly violent tactics just to attack the police and instigate them. That, I would say, has severely damaged the relationship between the police and the public – not helped by the one-sided portrayal of the situation in the media. In particular, the international media often focused on criticising only the police force. The demonstrators were always called pro-democracy protestors; as for the police, there was always reference to their brutality, and their alleged brutal response. The first time a police officer fired a live round, the media depicted it as an example of police brutality, and the picture went round the world. But all the events leading up to that point were ignored.

Protestors, as I said, were often portrayed in a positive light. That the police were being attacked, their lives were frequently in danger, their families were being exposed – all that was ignored. The protestors were not just violent towards the Police. Hong Kong residents who went to try and clean up were set upon by the protestors. In one instance, a man was hit over the head with a drain cover by masked assailants while clearing the roadblocks.

Today, just before the COVID-19 situation, the Hong Kong police force were seriously stretched. They faced persistent criticism both domestically and internationally. Even when they were off-duty, they have had to fend off protestors targeting their family and loved ones. Morale was obviously affected.

So, what are the lessons for us? I think one key lesson is the actions of disaffected few, should not be allowed to threaten the rights of the majority to live in a stable, peaceful society. And, really, there has to be a zero-tolerance approach to illegal demonstrations and protests. We already have the Public Order Act. We take a zero-tolerance approach. So, it is an offence to organise or participate in a public assembly in Singapore without a Police permit. Where Singaporeans want to protest or demonstrate about issues that concern them, there is the Speakers’ Corner and no permit is needed.

Now, here is the balance.

Some countries that have traditionally said, "The freedom to protest is part of the freedom of expression and should not be clamped down". But, you know, when it comes to the crunch, they take different steps. For example, in 2009, Copenhagen hosted a UN climate conference.

Chairman, with your permission, may I display a slide on the LCD screen.

The Chairman: Yes, please. [A slide was shown to hon Members.]

Mr K Shanmugam: They anticipated widespread protests. And this is Denmark. So, the Danish law enforcement constructed a holding facility. What you see is a holding facility. We do not do this in Singapore. They set up 36 steel cages that could hold more than 350 persons. Anyone who protested would find themselves in there.

In London, climate activists calling themselves the Extinction Rebellion mounted non-violent protests for two weeks last year. They conducted marches, blockaded roads and disrupted train services. More than 1,800 were arrested. In one protest, an activist climbed onto the roof of a train during the morning rush hour. Commuters were suitably frustrated. They dragged him off the roof and assaulted him. We do not recommend that in Singapore. But the Metropolitan Police then banned the Extinction Rebellion protests across London.

We have been criticised for disallowing protests outside of Speaker’s Corner, even if it was with just one person. But where do we draw the line? One, two, three, 30, 50, 100, 200, 5,000? How many protesters are acceptable? How do we tell what will be a peaceful protest and what will escalate into violence? Part of the issue in Hong Kong is that protests are allowed, the police are only allowed to intervene when it turns violent. So, by the time you have 50,000 people on the streets and some people go in there, let us say 500, mixed up who are deliberately intent on creating violence, how do the police handle this? This sets up the police for failure and sets up the police to be the fall guys.

It is far better to say, protests in specific places allowed; otherwise, no protests in other places, because you want to strike a balance between competing interests. Sometimes, people want to protest, say, take iconic places – Orchard Road or Tanglin or places like that – where there is a lot of commercial activity, primarily because of the disturbance it would cause to everyone else and, therefore, their cause would get noticed.

So, on the one side is the desire of the protestors to get themselves noticed, on the other side is the disamenity to the rest of the community. Why should protests be favoured and why should the rest of the community say just accept it? Why not we put a place, if you want to protest, you go to a specified place and you protest. And anywhere else, you do not put my Police Force in an impossible position, where they will have to let as many thousand people as they want to congregate, and then deal with violence, as it inevitably, in many places, does result in.

So, that is the first lesson. I think our approach, the approach we took was a correct one of being strict about where you can protest. Otherwise, the best Police Force in the world would still not be able to handle it.

The second is it cannot be seen purely as a law and order issue. If you seek to deal with protests and your approach to protests is simply to have tough laws and enforce them, it is not going to work. Because underlying it is, what is your social order, what is the level of inequality, what is the social justice, how do people feel in your society? Is it a fair society? Do people want to support the system? Do they, by and large, believe that they benefit from the system? If a large majority of your people feel that it is a fair system, they have opportunities, that the Government and the system are set up to help the largest majority possible, then people will have faith in the system and the people who want to break the laws will be a minority. Then, your Police can handle it.

But if a significant section of your population believes that the system is fundamentally unfair, the social economic system and the benefits are fundamentally unfair and that it is set up to benefit a few, at the expense of the majority, at the expense of the many, then no amount of strict policing and strict laws are going to keep people off the streets.

What do they have? Why should they support? Why should they support a system that is fundamentally unfair?

So, I think the first, I think, order of point of importance for any government and for us as a lesson is, really, the socio-economic, political structure. It must deliver good governance. It must deliver to the majority. Then, your police force can go and deal with those who break the law and the rest of the population will say, "Yes, we support it; these people ought not to be breaking the law." So, law and order, yes, but it is not possible without good governance.

None of these concepts are new. All these different approaches have been tried. Those who are familiar with Chinese history will understand legalism, going back to the Qin dynasty, during the Warring States period. That was the preferred way of bringing order to a chaotic, fractious society. The emperor’s rule was based on strict laws, harsh enforcement and collective punishments. But such a system cannot carry on for long. People often misunderstand and think that our approach is based on very strict punishments. Now, it is first and foremost based on making sure that the majority progresses, and that the system is fair. Strict punishments can only be built on such a system. The Qin emperor's rule, as people will note, collapsed, because the approach actually worsened people's social and economic lives.

We move forward to the Han Dynasty. China’s emperors tried to follow Confucianism, which depended solely or primarily on the leaders setting the example and inspiring people to be like them, family and social harmony, a responsible government with the moral duty to promote harmony.

Confucianism appealed to people because they enjoyed internal peace and stability, and under it, the country experienced remarkable progress. But it had limitations as well because in every society, a large majority of people can be inspired to be good, to be noble, to do the right thing, following the example of leaders, assuming you have leaders who can inspire that kind of confidence. But you will always have a group that will want to challenge your laws, that will want to break them and that will want to destabilise.

You will need to deal with them through a system of laws which can be enforced. What framework, how strict, what you allow, what you do not allow must be for each society to decide.

So, you have to build the society on a basis of fairness, upholding moral responsibility on the part of the leadership, proper governance, an approach of upright virtuous governance which inspires people and bring that across to the people as a whole and then deal with the law breakers in a way that makes it clear to everybody that the laws would be applied, fairly, evenly – and law-breaking will be dealt with.

If there is good governance and people benefit, you can always deal with a small number who want to disrupt.

With that background, let me deal with the specific question that Mr Singh asked. I think we can apply these principles, broad as they are, to the specific question. We amended the Road Traffic Act last year to increase deterrence against irresponsible driving. I think all of us agree, including Mr Singh, that there can be very significant social costs through irresponsible driving. Yes, in specific cases there may be no incidents, no loss of life. But imagine when there is loss of life. You lose your three-year-old child or you lose your grandmother or grandfather through somebody else's irresponsible driving. And, unfortunately, over the last few years, we have seen an increase or enough incidents of people driving when they should not be driving, when they were under suspension, or driving when they are under the influence of alcohol. People have died as a result of those actions. And we want to send, I wanted to send a very strong signal that penalties are going to be enhanced because we cannot accept people being irresponsible on the roads.

And I made a speech saying that we are going to now deal with this. It arose from an incident where a young man who was under suspension drove and hit someone and killed him, if my memory serves me right, a lorry driver. In that case, the young man was from a higher socio-economic group. The lorry driver was from the lower socio-economic group. And I said, I think we got to re-look at this. We therefore, enhanced the penalties in the Road Traffic Act.

So, to the specific question whether a discount on fines can be given for first-time offenders, we currently give a discount for demerit points to eligible drivers. If they have accumulated up to one third of the maximum points, if they go for the Safe Driving Course, then, their accumulated points would be taken out.

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Giving a discount on fines for first-time offenders, we might as well have not increased the fines in the first place. We could have said, first-time offenders, no increase but it may cut against the very policy that we are seeking to put in.

I think I understand where Mr Singh is coming from. And my own approach would be that where people cannot afford to pay the fines, then, we should consider flexibility, we should also consider then in giving them some other support to help them pay the fines. But the fines are there. In a way, we should see, and this is where Members of Parliament come in, we should see whether we can help them when they come and see us through the community to help the lower income drivers, to help them pay the fines. That, Traffic Police would take a sympathetic approach. But I think the framework should be kept intact.

Chairman, our operating landscape will continue to change. Society will change and progress, and there will be new uncertainties and crises that will emerge – those are the only certainties. I have outlined some of the approaches we take to try and deal with that and to be future-ready, as it were. My fellow Ministers and office-holders will answer the other questions.

The Second Minister for Home Affairs (Mrs Josephine Teo): Mr Chairman, I will focus on the Home Team's increasing use of science and technology.

MHA established the Home Team Science and Technology Agency, or HTX, in December 2019.

Mr Christopher de Souza, Ms Jessica Tan, Mr Desmond Choo and Mr Patrick Tay asked how the Home Team will tap the expertise within HTX to mitigate emerging threats and manpower constraints.

HTX will house 14 Centres of Expertise to develop deep tech capabilities to support a range of Home Team operations. I will talk about three Centres of Expertise today.

First, robotics, automation and unmanned systems. Over the past few months, HTX has developed customised solutions to augment our Police and Civil Defence operations. These solutions allow us to optimise our scarce manpower, and increase operational capacity and agility.

For example, HTX worked with the Police to develop the Multi-Purpose All Terrain Autonomous Robot 3.0 or M.A.T.A.R 3.0. M.A.T.A.R 3.0 is a fully autonomous patrol robot. Compared with its previous models, M.A.T.A.R 3.0 has added features such as a tethered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for aerial surveillance and enhanced cameras for long-range surveillance. You can imagine how useful such a device is in terms of sense-making as well as redeploying resources appropriately.

Another application of robotics is to save lives in disaster rescue efforts. Urban search and rescue missions are extremely dangerous, particularly at sites where no terrain information is available, such as collapsed buildings or post-disaster sites. Therefore, HTX is studying the use of robots designed to mimic animals in their functions. One such robot is ROVER-X, which can move and manoeuvre like a dog.

By customising ROVER-X with navigational capabilities, thermal cameras and sensors, we can deploy it in hazardous terrains that are unsafe for humans, and reduce the time required to find and rescue victims.

Later this year, HTX will be testing additional use cases for ROVER-X, such as monitoring hazardous materials, inspecting chemical plants, and supporting the security of key installations.

The use of automation and unmanned systems can also alleviate resource-intensive operations, like the on-going fight against COVID-19.

With the support of HTX, the Police are progressively deploying CCTVs equipped with video analytics and motion sensors at some Government Quarantine Facilities, to enhance the security of the premises.

Our second Centre of Expertise targets chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive threats, or CBRNE for short.

CBRNE threats can pose significant risks to public safety. Over the last 10 years, MHA has set up a network of CBRNE detection laboratories and a Bio-Surveillance Programme along our borders. These are our first line of defence against CBRNE threats.

The labs enable frontline units to detect and intercept dangerous materials at our checkpoints, and support investigations and intelligence gathering by the Home Team Departments. On average, the labs conduct about 125,000 screenings for dangerous materials every year.

There are plans to expand the detection labs to more checkpoints. By 2023, we will build a new lab at Changi Airfreight Centre and more CBRNE facilities at the future Tuas Mega Port and Changi Airport Terminal 5 are in the pipeline.

The Bio-Surveillance Programme, which was set up to detect bio-terrorism threats at our checkpoints, is also able to detect other agents such as influenza and health-concerning pathogens. Using a state-of-the-art system, which integrates laboratory functions on a small chip, our scientists can quickly adapt the system to detect new biological agents.

This capability was demonstrated in the on-going COVID-19 outbreak. HTX stepped up by designing a kit to rapidly screen and detect the virus immediately after its genome sequence was made public in mid-January. MHA has deployed this kit as part of our Bio-Surveillance Programme at our land, sea and air checkpoints.

The third Centre of Expertise focuses on digital forensics. While technology has its benefits, it also provides tools for criminals to commit crimes.

This year, HTX and Police will implement the DIGital Evidence Search Tool, or DIGEST for short, to automate the forensic processing of voluminous digital data. DIGEST will relieve the workload of Police Investigation Officers, so that they can focus on other aspects of investigative work. It will also be extended to other Home Team Departments, such as the Central Narcotics Bureau.

The fast-growing eco-system for the Internet Of Things means that everyday devices, such as smart watches, home appliances and vehicles, can contain important evidence to support investigations. HTX is developing capabilities to harness data from Internet Of Things devices to support investigations.

The above examples illustrate how HTX works closely with the Home Team to develop solutions to protect our safety and security. Moving forward, HTX will play a master-planning role to identify and develop cross-cutting capabilities across the Home Team. This will facilitate greater co-operation and synergy, so that we adopt a unified One Home Team approach in keeping Singapore safe and secure.

The Home Team Departments are also constantly refining their operations to tap on technology to deliver better services. For example, ICA has been digitalising its services to achieve its customer-service vision of "No Fuss, No Visit, No Waiting", and this will be for Singapore residents and travellers.

ICA has already embarked on several initiatives in line with this service vision.

For example, Singaporeans can look forward to a more hassle-free and efficient immigration clearance experience. Through the use of cutting-edge biometrics technology, ICA will soon allow Singaporeans to verify their identities and breeze through immigration checkpoints without the need to produce their passports or provide their thumbprints. I know, of course, during this period, no one is thinking of travelling very much. So, the idea of breezing through customs and border control is not so exciting. But the time will come when our airport will be very busy and so will the other checkpoints. This is something that we can deploy to effectively manage the voluminous flow of passengers in and out of Singapore.

In 2019, ICA conducted a six-month trial of this contactless clearance concept at the Tuas Checkpoint for about 22,000 Singaporeans. The results of the trial were successful and ICA has since extended the trial to Changi Airport Terminal 4.

I agree with Mr Patrick Tay and Ms Jessica Tan that it is important that the Home Team prepare and equip our officers to adapt to technological transformations.

A key priority is to grow our talent pool of engineers and scientists. We have ambitious plans to grow HTX from 1,300 officers today to around 2,000 officers.

Given the wide spectrum of capabilities the Home Team requires, HTX will recruit talent across practically all disciplines of science and engineering. We will need scientists trained in life and physical sciences for the development of crime forensics and CBRNE detection capabilities. We will need electrical, mechanical and software engineers who can work in blended teams to realise operational systems such as advanced video sensors and robotics. Last but not least, we will need computer scientists and engineers to tackle the challenges posed by data and digital technologies. They will be deployed in various roles, from cybersecurity to developing algorithms, to augment the Home Team's frontline response.

We have already seen strong interest in HTX as a career. In 2019 alone, about 170 officers joined HTX. They were a good mix of fresh graduates and mid-career professionals. This year, we will ramp up recruitment even more.

As we build deep science and technology capabilities within HTX, we will concurrently build up a cadre of uniformed officers who are grounded in operational experience and proficient in technology.

To nurture such officers, we are progressively introducing an "Ops-Tech Career Track" for Home Affairs Uniformed Services officers across the Home Team Departments. There will be structured pathways to enhance these officers’ operational experience and exposure to technology. These officers can also embark on further studies to develop technical knowledge.

As a start, over 200 such Ops-Tech posts, with redesigned job scopes, will be identified within key Police and Civil Defence departments and frontline units.

Together, the HTX and Ops-Tech officers will work together with the larger Home Team workforce to innovate and deliver solutions to support the Home Team’s mission.

The Chairman: Mr Amrin Amin.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Home Affairs (Mr Amrin Amin): Mr Chairman, I will speak on two areas: combating drug abuse and strengthening the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders.

The international drug situation is grim. One in 18 adults in the world used drugs at least once in a year, according to the 2019 World Drug Report. New psychoactive substances, or NPS, is a rising threat. NPS mimics the psychoactive effects of traditional drugs. In 2009, 126 NPS were detected worldwide. Within 10 years, the number has increased sevenfold to 892.

We are seeing a global movement towards more liberal attitudes on drugs. More countries are legalising drug abuse or are considering to do so.

The media fuels this legalisation wave. They gloss over documented harms of cannabis like mental disorders.

Pro-legalisation camps also conveniently ignore the social costs – lives lost, families destroyed, increased crimes.

Singapore is not immune to a worsening global drug situation.

First, attitudes of young Singaporeans towards drugs are changing. Three in five new drug abusers arrested last year were below 30. An MHA survey found that youths in Singapore have more liberal views on drugs, particularly, cannabis. One in five held the view that cannabis abuse should be legal in Singapore.

Second, the rising threat of NPS. A decade ago, NPS was hardly known in Singapore. Now, NPS is the third most commonly abused drug. Four-hundred and fourteen or 11.7% of drug abusers took NPS in 2019.

More than ever, we need strict laws to stay ahead of drug trends, robust enforcement and effective preventive drug education.

This is a multi-year effort. I am happy to announce that this year, we will enhance two areas: first, review our laws to robustly deal with the rising threat of NPS, and second, sharpen preventive drug education with a focus on correcting misinformation about drugs and addressing changing attitudes towards cannabis.

On NPS, we have been proactively listing NPS to the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) since 2010. But as Mr Christopher de Souza pointed out, the difficulty is rogue chemists are able to swiftly produce new NPS variants by changing their chemical structures. This poses a challenge for drug enforcement agencies the world over. MHA is reviewing our laws to stay ahead of drug trends. Details will be announced in due course.

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Effective preventive drug education must achieve two important aims. First, our people must know the facts about drugs. And second, the effort must garner community support. Strict laws and robust enforcement require the people's backing. Mr Sitoh Yih Pin and Mr Mohamed Irshad asked how we help our youths stand firm against drug abuse. Mr Christopher de Souza asked about our strategies against cannabis.

Our preventive drug education starts from pre-school. In schools, we teach the facts about drugs through story-telling and activities. A cartoon activity book for pre-schoolers will be ready in April, an Anti-drug Ambassador Activity (AAA) booklet has been used by over 48,000 Primary school students in 2019 and 60 Secondary schools have been offered an after-school anti-drug engagement programme.

Information on harms of drugs must be easily understood and put in layman terms. For instance, as suggested by Mr Christopher de Souza, we state in our press releases how many abusers have their drug addictions fed from drugs found on a trafficker.

To counter growing misinformation about cannabis, we are making facts about cannabis accessible. We have a one-stop repository for cannabis-related information on CNB's website. Infographics on the harms of cannabis and the social costs of legalising cannabis are on social media platforms, and an anti-cannabis information booklet for educators will be ready this year.

Mr Chairman, to win community support, a one-way exchange of information will not be enough. At the heart of what we do is to speak with our people frankly, give them the facts, hear them out, and involve them to co-create and deliver. We have frank conversations. The National Council Against Drug Abuse, or NCADA, will launch "HIGH", an interactive film by Royston Tan, in March. Viewers get to make choices and learn the consequences of their choices in this film. At our preview screenings, we invited youths to no-holds barred conversations on drugs, revealing its ugly, gritty realities.

We co-created projects with youths from all institutes of higher learning. One-hundred and sixty youths are our Anti-Drug Abuse Advocates and they have organised four roadshows and campaigns raising awareness amongst their peers. Republic Polytechnic and Nanyang Polytechnic students created two anti-drug games to teach about the harms of drugs. ITE students have produced anti-drug videos and Temasek Polytechnic students had a social media campaign on how drugs affect our loved ones.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam, Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim and Mr Mohamed Irshad asked about community anti-drug engagement efforts. We have been working with various groups – youths, LGBTQ+, ethnic communities, parent groups and others.

Last September, Indian youths and 13 Indian community groups organised the Bothaiporulai Ethirtu Nirpom, or BEN, campaign. BEN is a short form, a Tamil phrase – "We Stand United Against Drugs". Indian celebrity, Anand K, helped as an anti-drug ambassador. We gave out envelopes and snack packets with anti-drug messages at the Deepavali bazaar.

We worked with various LGBTQ groups on anti-drug campaigns, discussion forums, research and outreach activities in support of a drug-free lifestyle. Mr Chairman, I will now speak in Malay.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Our efforts to free the community from the evil grip of drugs have become more important. The global situation is getting increasingly challenging. More countries now have a more open attitude towards drugs. Worryingly, they are unable to manage the drug problem within their own societies.

It is different in Singapore. I remember attending an international drug rehabilitation conference in Argentina last October. Singapore received thunderous applause from international drug rehabilitation experts when I shared that the number of Malay drug addicts in Singapore went down by almost half – from around 3,200 in 1993 to 1,800 last year.

The number of drug offenders has jumped in many countries. They feel defeated and some had to liberalise their laws against drugs because it has become unmanageable. The Malay community in Singapore stands out – we multiply the Government's effort, we do not give up and we do not shirk away from difficult tasks.

But we must stay cautious. Our society is exposed to influences from abroad and in the cyber world. Myths about drugs like cannabis are widespread. The myth is cannabis is not harmful This is totally wrong. Studies after studies have proven so. Surveys by MHA have shown that Singapore youths have a more open attitude towards drugs, especially cannabis. One in five youths think that cannabis should be allowed in Singapore. Three in five new drug offenders arrested are under 30 years old.

This is worrying. New types of drugs like New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) are the third most popular drug in Singapore, and among new drug offenders, NPS is the second most popular drug. We must not stand still or get complacent. The strategies to combat the drug menace will be strengthened. The three strategies are – tighter laws, stronger enforcement and a more effective drug prevention education.

I am pleased to announce that this year, MHA will focus more efforts on two things.

First, reviewing legislation to stop the threat of NPS that is becoming increasingly widespread, and second, countering the myths and misinformation about drugs and manage the increasingly open attitude towards cannabis because it is harmful.

This is the Government's pledge – we will continue to work with Malay organisations, families and our young people to protect our community and our families, and prevent us from being enslaved by drugs. For those in need, we will help them to recover and continue their journey towards excellence.

The M³ movement led by MUIS, MENDAKI and MESRA has focused its attention towards offenders and their families. MUIS has launched the FITRAH programme in November 2018. Over 320 volunteers supportg FITRAH. MENDAKI organised the Family Excellence Circle programme to assist care-givers, offenders and couples. MESRA will customise several courses from the SHIOK series to meet the needs of the families of ex-offenders, especially for the young.

Malay organisations are also ready to assist – AMP, PERGAS, JAMIYAH, PPIS, Club Heal and the Harun Ghani Education Fund. The "Dadah Itu Haram" campaign continues to receive solid support from motorcycle enthusiasts, fishing hobbyists, asatizahs as well as dikir barat and theatre activists. Forty-two mosques as well as 200 shops and organisations also have come forward to help.

Currently, over 75 barber shops support the campaign by becoming informal anti-drug advisors. These barbers are learning more about the harmful nature of cannabis and share with their clients about the harms in order to counter the myths surrounding cannabis.

We will look at the effectiveness of these efforts through surveys that are taking place currently. This year, we will focus on family and youth programmes.

(In English): Mr Chairman, I will now speak about the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders. Mr Christopher de Souza asked how the Amendments to the MDA in 2019 has affected inmates' risks of re-offending.

The full suite of MDA changes took effect last August, so it is still early to make any conclusions on their impact. We will continue to monitor.

Mr Murali Pillai asked how we can reduce re-offending. Prisons will strengthen support for offenders in three ways. First, family support. Family plays a critical part. Prisons has started the Family Interventions and Reintegration Support Team, or FIRST trial, and family case managers work with community partners to support inmates' families. Over 100 inmates have benefited from this trial and results are encouraging. Prisons will be enhancing collaborations with social service agencies.

Second, a network of positive peers to support ex-offenders stay crime-free. Prisons will expand its Throughcare Volunteer Framework to encourage more volunteers and support inmates pre- and post-release.

Third, the offenders. Inmates will be empowered to take charge of their rehabilitation through the Prisons' Digitisation of Inmate Rehabilitation and Corrections Tool, or DIRECT. Inmates use shared tablets to learn and keep in touch with their loved ones via electronic letters.

Gainful employment is another critical part. Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE) prepares offenders for employment through employer engagement, skills training and employment assistance. More than 5,600 employers from various industries offer jobs to ex-offenders. Almost 6,000 offenders went for an average of four training courses each last year. Over 2,600 offenders received employment assistance, with 96% securing jobs before prison release.

SCORE will further support inmates to get industry-relevant skills. SCORE will partner Singapore Precision Engineering and Technology Association (SPETA) and MediaCorp to set up precision engineering and media skills training academies this year.

Mr Chairman, colleagues, the choices we make today affect tomorrow. We will keep Singapore safe and secure together.

The Chairman: Ms Sun Xueling.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Home Affairs (Ms Sun Xueling): Mr Chairman, I have 12 cuts to cover. I seek your indulgence, if I eat slightly into clarification time.

The Chairman: Okay.

Ms Sun Xueling: Thank you. Mr Chairman, I will focus on MHA's efforts to tackle tech-enabled crimes and also our partnerships with the community for crisis-preparedness. I will also address the questions raised by Members.

Technology has changed the way in which criminals operate. Social media platforms offer criminals a new means of targeting victims. Foreign syndicates use the internet and spoofing technology to obscure their identity and conduct illegal activities. Our enforcement capabilities must keep pace with technological developments.

Scams are an area of concern. Last year, we saw a significant rise in Police reports of scams. Most are online scams. Ms Jessica Tan, Ms Rahayu Mahzam and Dr Tan Wu Meng asked what more can be done.

Police have been enhancing their capabilities to disrupt such activities. For instance, the Anti-Scam Centre was set up in 2019 to mitigate the losses of victims.

We will do more. Given the different domains that online scams can impact, we will be setting up an Inter-Ministry Committee on Scams (IMCS) comprising of MHA, MCI, MTI and other members to execute a comprehensive strategy to combat scams. This will include (a) deterring potential perpetrators; (b) limiting the ability of perpetrators to conduct operations in Singapore; (c) mitigating the losses incurred by victims; and (d) ensuring that the public is vigilant and wary of scams. The Committee will coordinate approaches and efforts across the Government and pool resources.

But even as the Government steps up efforts to combat scams, we cannot do it alone. Businesses have a role to play too, especially those such as e-commerce platforms and banks, which can also be exploited by scammers, causing monetary losses to customers. We will work closely with such businesses to put in place upstream measures to limit the ability of criminals to do harm.

That said, the best defence against scams continues to be a discerning public. Criminals are looking to exploit people's feelings for loved ones or other personal motivations. We urge the public to be sceptical of incredulous promises, to utilise escrow accounts provided by the platforms for transaction where possible, and to check with the authorities when approached by dubious people purporting to be Government officials. Police will continue to work with the National Crime Prevention Council to engage the community and spread this message. Mr Chairman, I would now like to make a few remarks in Mandarin.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Scammers are constantly devising new ways to ensnare their victims. With the increase in online transactions, online scams have also increased. This is worrying. The Government will be setting up an inter-Ministry committee to discuss how to tackle scams. Businesses also have to take responsibility and establish secure platforms for transactions, to effectively protect consumer rights.

For the public, the best defence against scams is to stay vigilant and discerning. We urge the public to do transactions only on trustworthy platforms and utilise escrow accounts. If you have any doubts, please check with the relevant authorities. Let us be vigilant so that the scammers do not stand a chance

(In English): Mr Christopher de Souza asked about the actions taken against those who pose as charities to solicit donations. Any person found guilty of falsely representing a registered charity to solicit money is liable to a fine of up to $10,000, three years imprisonment, or both. Depending on the facts of the case, the person may also be liable for offences in the Penal Code or the House to House and Street Collections Act.

Mr Christopher de Souza asked what we will do to tackle the unlicensed money lending (UML) situation. The Police will work with stakeholders such as banks to take action against suspected UML runners. The fourth anti-UML campaign was also launched in January 2020.

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Mr Yee Chia Hsing suggested that messages from UMLs and sports betting syndicates should be made more easily reportable. We thank the Member for his feedback. We will continue to explore ways for such spam messages to be reported more conveniently.

Mr Leon Perera raised a question on regulating gambling, specifically loot boxes. MHA takes into consideration whether the player can convert any in-game assets into real-world ones through the platform. If so, we may block the game from being accessed from Singapore. The game operator may also be liable under the Remote Gambling Act.

Mr Christopher de Souza asked about the Home Team’s efforts to combat human trafficking. Our officers undergo regular training on how to recognise the tell-tale signs and respond sensitively to victims of human trafficking. Our agencies exchange information on human trafficking syndicates with our foreign counterparts.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira asked whether LTVP+ can be granted to all foreign spouses of citizens. Our policy for transnational couples is generally to facilitate the formation of stable families here. A foreign spouse can be granted a LTVP if the sponsor is able to support the family. An LTVP+ may be granted later if the marriage proves stable. On the matter of rental housing, the couple can apply for a rental flat if they have a citizen or PR child. For those with other household structures, HDB will consider their request on a case-by-case basis.

Mr Patrick Tay, Dr Tan Wu Meng and Mr Christopher de Souza asked about the Home Team's plans to partner the community to deal with threats to our safety and security. We are fortunate that Singapore has not experienced a terror attack in the past few decades, but we must not be complacent. Terrorism causes loss of lives, injuries and damage to properties. But of more concern – it can tear societies apart.

We launched the SGSecure programme in 2016 to sensitise, train and mobilise our community to play a part in preventing and responding to a terrorist attack. We will continue to roll out customised programmes for different domains, such as schools, workplaces, neighbourhoods and community groups.

To enhance the community's first response for cardiac arrest victims, we launched the Save-A-Life initiative in 2015. More than 5,200 AEDs have been installed in Singapore since then. Over half a million people have been trained in CPR-AED skills, of which 75,000 have registered with the myResponder app to assist victims of cardiac arrest prior to the arrival of SCDF.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin asked how SCDF will continue to provide efficient and effective Emergency Medical Services. The EMS Tiered Response Framework was launched in 2017, which allow us to prioritise life-threatening emergencies, to receive faster and enhanced services.

Still, one out of 10 calls received are false alarms or non-emergencies. Since April 2019, cases assessed by SCDF as non-emergencies will not be conveyed to the hospitals. This ensures that SCDF resources are only used for emergency cases. SCDF will continue to raise public awareness on when 995 should be called.

To conclude, the Home Team will develop stronger capabilities to deal with new challenges, but more importantly, we need to work in partnership with the community. Together, let us build a safer and more secure home.

The Chairman: Clarifications, please? Mr Christopher de Souza.

Mr Christopher de Souza: Thank you, Mr Chairman, I have two clarifications.

First is on illegal scams. I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for her answer. In these sorts of situations where a person is victimised and been made to part with money, in fact, there are two legal recourses. The first is the civil recourse in the courts for misrepresentation or fraudulent misrepresentation, and the second is criminal prosecution under section 420 of the Penal Code, which is cheating.

Given the number of scams that Members of the House have seen, life savings being parted, my clarification is, really, of those two options, would the Attorney-General's Chambers and the Police, in appropriate circumstances, prefer the criminal prosecution route under the Penal Code? This is much more convenient for the victim who has already lost a lot of money and does not require the victim to go and take out a separate civil suit. That is the first clarification.

The second clarification is on human trafficking. It was unfortunate to see the first case of labour trafficking in Singapore, but it is also good to see that there was a prosecution for labour trafficking. I understand the statistics to be that most of the human trafficking prosecutions are sex trafficking. What can we do to prioritise more prosecutions and investigations under labour trafficking?

Ms Sun Xueling: I thank the Member for his questions.

On the first question he had, as I mentioned in my answer, depending on the facts of the case, the person may be liable for offences in the Penal Code, Cheating, section 420, which the Member referred to, and also potentially under the House to House and Street Collections Act.

At the end of the day, the AGC has to make that decision depending on the facts of the case. That said, MHA and MinLaw are studying the current landscape for dealing with such cases including civil claims, private prosecutions and upstream measures, to see if the current processes can be further streamlined or improved. We will share more details in due course.

On your second question on human trafficking, the SPF conducts regular enforcement operations to detect and deter illegal vice activities, and MOM takes enforcement actions against errant employers and employment agencies who may be involved in potential labour trafficking. So, both SPF and MOM work jointly together to make sure that they are enforcing, taking precautions against both sex trafficking as well as labour trafficking.

SPF and MOM have a standard operating procedure with the ICA for the referral of potential human trafficking cases detected at the borders to aid SPF's and MOM's follow-up investigations, and they use different methods. The officers are actually trained to look out for either both sex trafficking or labour trafficking offences.

Mr Pritam Singh: Mr Chairman, I have two clarifications for Minister Shanmugam. These pertain to the cut that I filed on traffic summons.

The first clarification I have is on instalment payment plans by Traffic Police. I am not aware that Traffic Police offers instalment plans for fines. So I just want the Minister to confirm that because it has not been my experience when I write in to the authorities, that residents have the option of paying those summons by way of instalments. I have had that experience with ICA and LTA but not Traffic Police.

The second question I have pertains to the Minister's point about the suggestion I had on potentially halving the fine. It is not just halving the fine for the sake of it. In other jurisdictions, they halve a fine for different policy purposes, mainly to make sure people pay their fines. But there are other policy objectives that can be considered, for example, in the case of beating a red light, which is a very serious offence; I concede that point. What you can potentially have is, halving of a fine, but also making sure that that offender goes to the Traffic Police. If it has to be a programme where he sees what the potential impact can be of these offences, people dying, there also could be some possible policy benefits insofar as greater awareness of road safety, as an example.

Mr K Shanmugam: On the first question on instalments, I should have been clearer. We allow some flexibility in deserving cases. But I think we do not want a situation where everyone comes and asks for the flexibility. So, there has got to be a rubric or framework. We are approaching it in the same way, in the sense that we both recognise, and everybody recognises, there are some people who need help, and the question is how best to help them. So, one is flexibility that is offered by Traffic Police. The second which can cover a larger group would be for the Members of Parliament to help, for them to approach their Members and for them to help, through utilising community resources for those who deserve or need the help.

So, that I have done it, many Members of Parliament have done it, I am sure the Member would have done it. But also for Traffic Police, you write in. If the situation is such that the person needs some flexibility, that can be given.

On the second point on halving the fine, if I understood the point rightly, it is to achieve the policy objective of persuading them or encouraging them not to commit the offence. Again. I think we are on the same ground here, in that we ought to try and look for ways in which we encourage people not to re-offend. So, the objective of the fine, the primary objective of the fine or penalty, should not be to punish but to try and have people incorporate that into the way they drive, so that they do not even offend in the first place, or if they do often, they do not re-offend.

So, I will ask the Traffic Police to study these specific suggestions. When they looked at other jurisdictions, a variety of things – we even considered the possibility of people with different income levels paying different amounts; that is tried in some countries too. But we decided it did not quite work. So, we have not shelved it completely. We have KIV-ed it to relook. But for a variety of reasons, it did not seem to work very well, but we will certainly look at the suggestions that Mr Singh has made.

Mr Murali Pillai: Mr Chairman, Sir, I thank the hon Senior Parliamentary Secretary Mr Amrin Amin for his response to my cut speech on Rehabilitating and Reintegrating Ex-offenders.

I welcome the pilot project that he announced about involving family in the rehabilitation of ex-offenders. I wonder in relation to the aftercare scheme for these ex-offenders, particularly these ex-offenders who were involved in gang activities leading to offences being committed, or committing offences as a result of negative peer influence, whether after they have been released, the circle they keep can be monitored, so that they would be prevented from rejoining the gangs or re-linking up with friends who caused the offences in the first place.

Mr Amrin Amin: Certainly, the Member's concerns are correct, it is something that we are doing. We are also working closely with MSF to see how we can better support ex-offenders, in particular, preventing youths from joining gangs or rejoining gangs. So, there are various programmes and we are happy to invite Mr Murali to join us and we will see how we can share more about our work.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: Thank you. Mr Chairman. I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary Sun for that reply. Just two clarifications for her.

The first is, is there a pathway for LTVP holders to obtain permanent residency if they are in a stable marriage with a Singapore Citizen spouse? That is because there is considerable uncertainty without such a pathway, there might even be cases where a Singapore Citizen child might grow up without knowing whether one of their parents has the right to remain in Singapore.

The second clarification is: would she be able to elaborate on the housing situation, maybe at the MND's Committee of Supply, for such families or, otherwise, put more information out because, again, there are a lot of uncertainties out there for such families about what are their rights for housing and how can they achieve stable housing?

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Ms Sun Xueling: I thank the Member for his clarification. We recognise the importance of keeping Singapore Citizen families, especially those with Singapore Citizen children, intact as far as possible. Each PR application is evaluated holistically on a set of criteria which includes factors such as the individual's economic contributions, qualifications, age and family profile to assess the applicant's ability to contribute as well as integrate well into society.

I had mentioned the LTVP+ in my response. It was introduced in 2012 to provide more support to foreign spouses of Singapore Citizens whose marriages have been stabled over time. It also has quite a lot of benefits. It provides greater certainty of stay, additional benefits such as inpatient healthcare subsidies that already are at a level, that is similar to that of Permanent Residents (PRs). Whether or not, the foreign spouse qualifies yet for PR, I think the fact of the matter is that when you have the LTVP+, you are assured of a significant length of stay in Singapore. He or she can also continue to remain in Singapore and also seek permanent residency when the time comes.

On the Member's question on rental housing, I had shared in my reply that when there is a Singapore Citizen child, or a PR child involved, then the Singapore Citizen and the non-resident spouse can apply for rental housing. If there are other family structures, then HDB will look at it on a case-by-case basis. If the Member would like further discussion on it, depending on how much time we have at MND's Committee of Supply, I will try to take it up at that juncture as well.

The Chairman: Mr de Souza, would you like to withdraw your amendment?

Mr Christopher de Souza: I would like to thank the Ministers and the office holders for their comprehensive replies. We all know Home Team is a master at multi-tasking, having to deal with COVID-19 now, new and emerging threats and over and above that, keeping law and order in Singapore. So, on behalf of my fellow Parliamentarians, we put on record our thanks and appreciation to all the arms and bodies that report to MHA. With that Mr Chairman, I seek leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $6,184,681,500 for Head P ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $814,275,900 for Head P ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.