Adequacy of Existing Criminal Legislation in Protecting Singaporeans from Offences and Crimes Committed by Foreigners

Mr David Ong asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs whether the Penal Code and other criminal legislation are sufficiently adequate to protect Singaporeans from offences and crimes committed by foreigners against them, in light of incidences of foreign suspects who have absconded.

The Second Minister for Home Affairs (Mr S Iswaran) (for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to reiterate a point that was made in this House earlier this year in reply to a Member's question. And that is that all accused persons are treated equally under our laws, regardless of whether they are Singaporeans or foreigners, and regardless of whether the victim is a Singaporean or a foreigner.

Page: 375

Notwithstanding some high-profile incidents in recent months, foreigners do not disproportionately account for crimes committed in Singapore.

When setting bail conditions, the Police and the Courts take a variety of factors into account to assess the flight risk of the accused. These include the gravity of the offence, the extent of the accused person's roots in Singapore and whether the person has attempted to abscond previously. Ultimately, given that guilt is yet to be established by the Courts, a balance has to be struck between ensuring that the accused person will be present to face charges, and not unduly curbing his movement.

When a person absconds, the bail sum pledged by the surety may be forfeited. The Police will arrest the wanted person if he is still in Singapore. In the event that the accused person flees overseas, Police may issue an INTERPOL Red Notice. Police forces in INTERPOL member states will then help to locate and arrest the accused person. The wanted person may then be extradited back to Singapore. Absconding from bail is also an aggravating factor which could result in a higher sentence when the accused person is later brought back to face charges against him.

I want to assure Members of the House that MinLaw, MHA and its agencies regularly review our laws, procedures and the bail system to ensure that they remain relevant to the crime situation and security needs of Singapore.

Mr David Ong (Jurong): Mr Speaker, I thank the Second Minister for the assurance. There is some disquiet amongst Singaporeans over the several incidents involving foreigners injuring Singaporeans, and had absconded. I can empathise with the Singaporeans' feeling of a sense of injustice and rage as guilty foreigners flee after committing a crime. How may we strengthen the legal process, including our courts system, to ensure that justice is done? May I ask the Second Minister if he would consider tightening the Criminal Procedure Code to prevent a repeat of future flight of probable suspects involving crime of causing grievous hurt?

Sir, my next supplementary question is: can this House send a strong and clear signal of intent to protect everyone in Singapore, regardless of nationality, against bullies who take the law into their own hands and cause grievous hurt.

Mr S Iswaran: Mr Speaker, Sir, I believe the second point was an exhortation. I will deal with the first, which was a question. Can we tighten the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) and what can be done? I would like to go back to the point I made in my answer to re-emphasise it. Bail is an important part of the criminal justice process that we have. In establishing bail and conditions applicable to it, the Courts have to reconcile two important considerations. On the one hand, it has to ensure that the interest of the criminal justice system is served and perpetrators brought to task. On the other hand, it also has to respect the presumption of innocence and the right of free movement of the individual until he or she is proven guilty. This is an important process. The Police works with the prosecution to make sure all the facts are brought before the Courts, so that the Courts can make a full and informed decision on the matter. What it also means is that in the process, there may be some instances where you may have flight. The objective of the exercise is to minimise flight risk so that we do not have such incidents.

Page: 376

As I have mentioned before, MinLaw and MHA continually review the process and we will also look at whether the bail system and the CPC can be enhanced to tighten this specifically.