HEAD P - MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

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_ Head P – Ministry of Home Affairs National security and organised crime _

Mr Alvin Yeo (Hong Kah): Sir, I beg to move,

That the total sum to be allocated for Head P of the Estimates be reduced by $100.

2010 was a milestone year in many respects for the Ministry. The terrorist threat continued to rear its ugly head as terrorists went on trial in the United States and India

while deadly bombings occurred in different parts of Asia and the Middle East. Closer to home, we have the recapture of Mas Selamat and his subsequent repatriation to Singapore. With further information garnered from his interrogation, three of his relatives were convicted for harbouring him during his escape.

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Last year also saw the opening of the two Integrated Resorts, amidst much fanfare and publicity. While the Integrated Resorts were rightfully credited with giving our tourism numbers a significant boost, the spectre of organised crime always looms over any gaming industry, lured by the potential profits from legal moneylending, prostitution, drugs and other attendant vices. These pose challenges on the security and crime prevention fronts.

Taking up the issue of national security first, one of the questions raised by the conviction of Mas Selamat's relatives for harbouring him was whether the message of vigilance against the terrorist threat was being taken seriously by the public or whether we have become complacent in assuming, because a terrorist incident has not occurred in Singapore for decades, that it never would. While the actions of the three relatives were rightfully attributed to misguided family loyalties, the same could not be said for the simulated Time Square incident. Hundreds of passersby walked past the car that was packed with suspicious-looking items and belching smoke. But only a tiny fraction of them took the trouble to alert the authorities. All in all, it was a sad indictment of the culture of complacency or, perhaps, apathy of our own people.

How does our Ministry cope with this disturbing state of affairs? This is critical because no matter how well-prepared and well-equipped our security forces, there is no way they can absolutely prevent a terrorist incident without the full support and cooperation of the public. If such an incident does occur, it is only through the strength and unity of our people that we will overcome the setback.

I hope the Minister can outline how we can better inculcate a sense of

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alertness in our people and the public spiritedness to come forward, or building the resilience of our societal bonds to withstand a racially-charged incident. I know that it is not an easy task to achieve and that the authorities have been trying to do this for sometime now. But it is too important for us to let up on it now.

Turning now to the threat of organised crime. This is commonly thought to be pervasive in gaming centres around the world. Once organised crime is entrenched, the syndicates are notoriously difficult to dislodge as they spread their tentacles into different strata of society and even go to the extent of using legitimate businesses and fronts to launder their ill-gotten gains.

Our crime agencies have had a distinguished record in stamping out the secret societies of old and other forms of organised crime in the past. But this poses a new threat as the international criminal syndicates are far more sophisticated and far better funded than the local gangs of the past. I hope the Ministry will make this priority for our crime investigation agencies going forward, and that the Minister will update us on the steps being taken to guard against the menace of organised crime.

Community dispute resolution

Mr Hri Kumar Nair: Sir, the Police Force has reported a growing number of people who treat the emergency hotline "999" as their first port of call, even for trivial matters or community or family disputes. The Police has said that it would be more selective in how it responds, giving priority to serious law and order cases. It is difficult to argue against this. Resources are limited. But this creates frustrations on the ground as calls are not attended to, or attended to quickly.

The problem is many people do not know who else to turn to if they need

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assistance especially if they considered it urgent. It has been suggested that neighbour or family disputes, for example, be directed to the Community Mediation Centres (CMCs) instead. However, this option is not viable. It is not immediate, it lacks enforcement powers, it requires both parties to agree to mediate and further legal proceedings are required in order to enforce any settlement arrived at. Could the Minister look into the possibilities of establishing a body to step into this bridge or empowering existing agencies to do so? Such a body must have powers of enforcement. For example, in the United Kingdom, local authorities are given extensive powers to deal with noise nuisances and impose sanctions. Unless a more convenient and effective option is available, "999" will continue to be the first port of call for many.

Public security

Mr Arthur Fong (West Coast): Sir, ask any tourist or foreigner who has visited or stayed in Singapore for sometime and they would tell you that safety and security in Singapore is one of the chief reasons that they stayed or enjoyed their visits here.

More importantly, Sir, amongst the criteria of well-developed infrastructures, a stable economy and a political environment, an efficient Civil Service and business-friendly facilities, global MNCs also cite safety and security as reason for them to inject billions of dollars of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) here.

Our citizens would be the first to tell their friends that the safety and security that many of us take for granted is often contrasted to the places they have travelled to. Our Home Team has been doing a good job in tackling crimes and inter-agency co-operations have kept up our branding as a safe and secured place.

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With a highly porous border, it is indeed a challenge in the control and patrol of these points. Twelve billion tourists visited us last year. More than 20,000 travelled to work daily from two of our land border checkpoints. We have been reminded many times that, in today's security climate, Singapore is a prized target for terrorists. Being a small and densely-populated island of six million, health pandemics can cripple our economy, lapses in food security can cause the population untold misery, and border security breaches would certainly unsettle our people.

Sir, is our resident population aware of these concerns and, if so, to what degree? What is the top security concern of our citizens in terms of public safety and security? Is there a survey done on how our citizens would react to threats or acts of terrorism or health pandemics? What are MHA's measures to understand the public security concerns? Would there be a survey of public security concerns being planned for?

Anti-terrorism measures

Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah): Mr Chairman, Sir, the Home Team has been successful in preventing a terrorist attack in Singapore so far. However, this has led Singaporeans and Singapore residents to take our country's safety for granted. We need to innovate to ensure that Singaporeans and Singapore residents are constantly on their guard against a catastrophic attack on Singapore soil. We need to organise more "dummy exercises" in town, in our heartlands and on our public transport. Instead of an ad hoc schedule, periodic exercises should be organised to ensure that everyone is familiar with the process of identifying potential danger, alerting the relevant agencies and personnel, evacuation

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and also that everybody has the ability to react on the scene to save lives.

Second, I would like to ask the Minister if our security and law enforcement professionals are periodically updated on the latest development in counter-terrorism strategies and technology. How often do they go for courses and theoretical, practical and physical training?

Thirdly, going forward, we need to see how our infrastructure and public facilities can be improved in their design and structure to deal with catastrophic attacks and minimise injuries and fatalities, for example, having designated evacuation sites near the buildings.

Terrorism

Mr Hri Kumar Nair: Sir, we live in an age where news of terrorist attacks around the world no longer surprise or shock us. Singapore has escaped thus far, but we know that we are on the terrorists' radar, and it would be naive to believe that we will always be safe.

We all agree that we have to remain vigilant. We have to accept some sacrifices and inconveniences in favour of security. Perhaps, the best example of this inconvenience is the increased security checks we face whenever we cross the border or get onboard an airplane. But there are some lines people will find difficult to cross. The best example of this was the fierce debate in the United States when their Transportation Security Administration (TSA) stepped up their airport screening measures using invasive see-through scanners and extensive pat-down procedures which some have called legalised molestation. The result is not only a public that is angry and unhappy, but higher costs and longer waiting times.

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But without more invasive procedures, how would our officers detect new types of devices which terrorists may bring onboard our aircraft or new methods of doing so? One cannot but feel the security services are always a step behind. We had to remove shoes after the shoe bomber. Then, new checks were implemented after the underwear bomber. And further, it does not appear that Singapore has taken the checks to the same degree as, for example, the Americans, while I had been through other airports where checks were perfunctory. What is a reasonable level of security checks?

I would like to ask the Minister where Singapore stands on this issue. How do we balance between protecting our people and borders and yet allow the flow of people and goods which are the lifeblood of our economy? What assurance do we have that our checks are rigorous enough to ensure the safety of travellers?

The Chairman: Ms Sylvia Lim, please take your three cuts together.

Brain drain from Police Force

Ms Sylvia Lim: Sir, I will be speaking on two cuts. First, brain drain from the Police Force. There are currently good career prospects for security professionals in Singapore. More business activity has meant more corporate security positions to be filled. In particular, the Integrated Resorts (IRs), with the casinos, require highly skilled and experienced security staff and have been aggressive in their recruitment.

I understand that quite a number of Police officers have resigned to take up jobs in the IRs, lured by significantly higher monthly pay. Has Police management been tracking this phenomenon? Can the Ministry give an indication of the numbers and experience of those who left? Is there a concern that we are losing valuable experience in our state Police? Has there

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been any response from Police management or the Ministry to confront this issue?

Gangs in prisons

Next, gangs in prisons. It is now known that people with gang affiliations will end up in prisons. It is also likely that gang members are recruited within prison walls.

Ten years ago, our Prisons Department implemented its zero-tolerance policy towards gangs in prisons where those found to be engaging in gang activities would be charged, segregated and punished. In 2009, the Gang Renunciation Programme (GRP) was added. Under GRP, gang leaders and members, who are assessed to be serious about leaving gangs, will be prepared and facilitated to renounce their gang membership in front of the prison population. According to Prisons Department's released data, as at 30th December 2009, 80 inmates have gone through GRP and renounced their affiliations publicly.

I have come across academic papers where ground research has shown that certain gangs like Omega are still active in prisons and active in recruiting members from within the prisons, often along racial lines. I would like to ask the Ministry the following:

(a) Does Prisons Department keep track of gang activities within institutions?

(b) Are our prisons fertile recruitment grounds for gangs?

(c) For those who have renounced their affiliations under GRP, what steps are taken to protect them from being hurt or victimised by other inmates or upon their release?

(d) To what extent has gang affiliation caused recidivism amongst inmates upon release?

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The Chairman: Mr de Souza, please take your two cuts together.

Organised crime

Mr Christopher de Souza: Mr Chairman, Sir, our Home Team needs to maintain vigilance against organised crime arising from the casinos, for example, the possibility of illegal moneylending, money laundering, vice and drug syndicates. We need more resources to fight this battle. We also need to update and strengthen our legislation to deal with the cross-border nature of such syndicates operations. The Interpol HQ in Singapore should be roped in to assist in this battle. Would MHA consider passing legislation which is tailored to deter organised crime syndicates from sinking roots or operating here in Singapore? At the end of the day, we must couple enforcement with strong and powerful legislation to deter organised crime from setting foot in Singapore.

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Another area of concern is at-risk youth being drawn into these organised crime syndicates. Our schools, law enforcement agencies, the social services sector, parents and youths themselves must all play a role in reducing youth crime.

Would the Minister share with us how MHA will work with the community to implement new measures, public education and community engagement programmes to deter youth from joining the lure of organised crime?

Loansharks

My next cut, Sir. Enhanced punishment for unlicensed moneylending activities was recently introduced. Would the Minister share with us how these measures have deterred loanshark activities?

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Apart from enhancing punishments, more can be done to work with communities and neighbourhood groups to educate at-risk borrowers of the negative consequences of borrowing on their families, neighbours and themselves. This would assist the would-be borrower to think twice, or thrice, before borrowing from loansharks. Would the Minister share with us the future plans for this type of community-MHA teamwork?

In addition, Sir, we need to do more to prevent loansharks from harassing innocent bystanders, in particular, the neighbours and subsequent homeowners, or even the owners of cars parked next to car of the borrower. Loansharks have become unreasonable in resorting to dangerous measures to recover their money and sky-high interest, blatantly harassing people whom they well know to be unrelated to the borrowers and innocent. They can also be very persistent and threaten the lives of innocent households, including the children in innocent households. What else can MHA do together with the community to deter loanshark harassment?

The Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office (Mr Heng Chee How): Sir, as today is 8th March, I wish all women a happy International Women's Day.

Now, on to the cut. Sir, with the enhancements to the penalties against loansharks and their runners, and the stepped up Police enforcement against these criminal elements, I believe more of such criminals have been arrested over the past six months. I would like the Ministry to update on the arrest figures of 2010 compared to 2009.

Sir, when we passed the changes to the law on illegal moneylending, we noted that there was a trend of loansharks using their borrowers as runners. I would like to know from the Ministry, based on ground intelligence and arrest profiles, whether

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this trend is persisting. While the use of hooligans and gangsters to harass borrowers is criminal and must be dealt with harshly, I am even more concerned with the use of "normal people" as runners, that is, non-gangsters. Some people may think that if harassers are not really gangsters, for example, if they are borrowers who could not pay, then the matter might be less serious.

My view is the opposite. I fear that if the trend towards the use of "normal people" as runners and harassers is not stopped, the threat to public perception of security would be even more serious. This is because the cancer can then be said to have spread to any part of the body and no longer limited to a particular organ. The public will then feel more and more insecure because regardless of whether they are borrowers or innocent neighbours, their homes can be vandalised by people fitting a broad profile.

For this reason, I continue to urge the Ministry to make borrowing from loansharks a crime. I know that with enhanced legislation, borrowing with a false address is already a crime. But that is not good enough, especially in the light of the behaviour of loansharks to target neighbours and innocent buyers of flats previously owned by borrowers. We have to deter the source.

Next, I hope that the convicted loanshark runners can also be made to serve Community Works Orders (CWOs) over and above any fines, jail terms or caning that they may be sentenced to. Their actions brought fear to the community and harmed the innocent. They should not be allowed to remain anonymous to society at large. The CWO should require them to clean blocks of graffiti, much of which is the work of people like them.

I would also like to find out from the Ministry whether persons convicted of

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vandalising common properties, such as scrawling on walls and splashing paint on doors of flats, can be ordered by the Courts to compensate the Town Councils and the innocent victims for the damage and clean-up costs. There is no reason why Town Councils or innocent parties such as neighbours should foot the bill to clean up after such vandals. We must increase the tangible cost to these vandals, so that they would not resort to these forms of harassment without thinking about the cost to themselves.

Sir, even as we do more to make borrowing from loansharks a crime and increase further the financial and social penalties against them, we must also do more to harden the physical targets against easy attacks. Today, loanshark runners can go right up to any front door in any HDB estate and splash paint, padlock the gate or even set it on fire. For places that have been subjected to intense, repeated attacks, and for which CCTV, police ambushes and patrols have not been able to deter the attackers, can additional modes of "target hardening" be considered?

The Chairman: Order. Mr Heng, please finish your cut. Mr Ang Mong Seng.

Mr Ang Mong Seng: ( In Mandarin ): [For vernacular speech, please refer to Appendix A.] Mr Chairman, many residents complained to me that they are being harassed by loansharks even though they did not borrow from them. The loansharks spray paint their door or even place a padlock on it! This has caused great inconvenience and stress to the residents who have to live under fear everyday and worry for their family's safety.

The root cause of this problem is that someone has "stolen" the address. This person has never lived in a certain HDB flat; but he went to the police station and changed his address to this "fake"

*Cols. 4317-4318.

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address. He then daringly borrowed from many loansharks. Since his identity card address does not belong to him, he does not bother to pay back. The loansharks rely only on the address to get the money back. The poor resident whose address was stolen was therefore harassed unnecessarily.

To reduce this kind of incidents, I suggest that the Police, with the help of HDB, use the Internet to affirm that people who come to change their address indeed live there. If the answer is "yes", then the Police will go ahead to change the address; if not, the Police may detain them on the spot and investigate why they are requesting a change.

I believe if we tightened the address-changing procedure, we can reduce the incidents of innocent residents being harassed by loansharks

Neighbourhood policing

Mr Arthur Fong: Sir, Members in this House had related incidents of loanshark harassment, break-ins, robberies targeting of senior citizens, vandalism and mischief, just to name a few. Our Home Team has been doing a good job in solving and preventing crimes, especially in our estates. Yet, our Home Team cannot be everywhere. This is where our residents can play a greater role in the safety and security of their community. Neighbourhood policing is not new – in Palm Springs, in UK, people form collaborations with the police to look after the community.

At my ward in Clementi, we have the Delta Citizenry. It is made up residents and RC members, guided and supervised by trained Home Team officers. Clementi NPC has been working with our grassroots to organise and form this

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citizens policing unit. Our initial efforts recruited some 325 members and we had another 200 signing up to be citizen cops during our recently concluded community day two weeks ago at Clementi Town Centre. It is not only the RC members who form the Citizens-On-Patrol (COP), our residents are now taking ownership. There is an obvious genuine interest from the citizenry to take charge of and play a role in their own safety.

The residents are pleased, especially so when we had a block that was targeted by loanshark runners, and the high visibility of Delta Citizenry prevented the mischief that the loanshark runners were targeting on this block. And also, a trained member of the Delta Citizenry also witnessed a robbery in place and was able to provide a very good description to the Police and the culprit was caught a few streets away with the loot in hand.

Although this programme is not a substitute for the Police, it is indeed an effective collaboration between the community and the Home Team. The activities that these folks in Clementi are involved in provide our residents opportunities to integrate, to increase mutual trust and inter-dependence within the community. I hope that the Ministry can consider rolling out such a programme in other divisions and to support this initiative further.

Crimes against elderly

Dr Ong Seh Hong: The elderly is a growing segment of our population. Apart from babies and toddlers, they are the age group most vulnerable to violent crimes.

Sir, Singapore is supposed to be a safe place to live, therefore, it is very disheartening to read in the papers whenever there is a violent crime against or elderly folks. Just last month, we read of a case of two teenagers punching an

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old lady on her face and all over her body in an attempt to snatch her handbag from her.

Notwithstanding the cases reported in the press, I am, however, happy to note that crime against elderly people had actually dropped by 22% last year. This is the good work of our Home Team and, in particular, our police officers are working very hard with the stakeholders and partners in the communities.

Although the statistics are encouraging, Sir, let me reiterate that our elderly folks are very vulnerable to violence and burglary, susceptible to scams and becoming easy victims and preys to crimes of all kinds. So, while the Police have increased their attention on other areas of crime, I hope that the elderly folks will not be left out and they should remain a key area for the Police.

Firstly, I would like to see continuous efforts to raise public awareness of the crimes against the elderly and to let the community know what they can do to help the elderly. Secondly, even the Police cannot be everywhere, it might be a good idea to work with the younger members of the families and those in the neighbourhoods to help the elderly folks. This has the benefit of keeping an extra eye to look after the senior citizens and, additionally, they can also help the Police to pass the message of crime prevention to the elderly. Sir, may I know what additional initiatives the Home Team has to protect our senior citizens so that they can continue to live and enjoy their golden years in a safe and secure community?

Emergency ambulance services

Assoc. Prof. Fatimah Lateef: Mr Chairman, Singapore is a city state with land area of 707 square kilometres and a population of five million. There is increasing utilisation of the emergency

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ambulance services (EAS), with increasing equity of the type of cases transported as well.

The average rise in the numbers of ambulance calls is at 6.5% to 8% per year. And the percentage of emergency calls has also increased from 60% to over 90%. Singapore is also highly urbanised, and with skyscrapers, this poses further challenge in waiting times for ambulances. Narrow landings, long corridors of various styles, lifts that do not stop on every floor yet, and delays in getting the elevators are some of the factors which affect response times.

Currently, there are approximately 45 ambulances stationed at 15 fire and satellite stations nationwide. Our waiting times are not improving as much as we want to. It has not gone up from the 2.5% in the last two decades for out-of-hospital survival rates for cardiac arrest. The number of paramedics needs a boost to increase the recruitment and also to meet future manpower needs. We need to continue to upgrade and enhance their skills, knowledge and also increase their job satisfaction rate and reduce job turnover rates. What are the Ministry’s future directions for the EAS in Singapore? Are there plans to increase recruitment, enhance infrastructure and hardware? And also, as we work very closely with the Medical Advisory Committee under the Ministry of Health (MOH), will there be any consideration or future plans to work together with MOH as well?

Traffic accidents

Mr Ong Kian Min: Sir, I wish to express my concern about the high incidence of accidents involving motorcyclists. The Traffic Police reported that motorcyclists and pillion riders remain the most vulnerable road users accounting for close to half of all road fatalities in 2010.

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I commend the new initiatives set up by the Traffic Police to reduce the number of accidents involving motorcyclists. The Expressway Familiarisation Ride allows new Class 2B riders a hands-on experience of the expressway under the supervision of a riding instructor without charge. The course will, indeed, provide newly qualified motorcyclists a smoother transition from the simulated environment and training routes around the driving centres to the faster and more challenging expressways.

Based on newspaper reports, the take-up rate for the expressway training has not been encouraging. Is this the matter of having to create more awareness, introduce more flexible timetabling or redesign the course for greater effectiveness? I would also like to ask what other steps are being taken or planned to improve rider safety.

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Sir, I understand from feedback from motorcyclist friends that when a motorcyclist is injured in a traffic accident and he is sent to hospital, the hospital staff is obliged to inform the Police. Apparently , it is a practice for the Traffic Police to use the accident report to conclude that the rider has committed an offence of careless riding. The logic is simple. If the motorcyclist had not been careless, how else would the accident have occured? So, since the accident had happened, he must have been careless.

However, such action leads to an undesirable unintended reaction. Unless the motorcyclist is so seriously injured that he has no alternative but to be taken to the hospital by ambulance, he would steer clear of the hospital so as to avoid the fate of being reported against and penalised. Instead, in the interest of self-preservation, he would rather go home

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and attend to his wounds through self-medication and seek medical treatment on his own the next day, if needed. This way, the chain linking injury to accident would be broken, and no report is filed by the hospital. I hope the Minister can look into this.

Youth-at-risk

Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah): Sir, the public has high confidence that our Home Team agencies are able to deal with the major crimes, maintain law and order and protect the safety of citizens. However, residents in the neighbourhood hope that the Police could do more to deal with the situation of wayward youth behaviour and gathering at neighbourhood locations, especially where they are causing noise nuisance or disturbances to residents. I would like to ask the Minister for an update on MHA study to give additional powers to Police to intervene upstream, for example, curfews for recalcitrant youth who have been a noise nuisance or requiring the youth to attend intervention programmes. This could prevent the early formation of loose gang groups. Also, what are the efforts to enhance outreach to at-risk youth and the other preventive measures? Do the neighbourhood police centres have the sufficient resources to work with each of the neighbourhood schools which we know are the recruitment sources of youth gangs?

I am glad that there is the cross-Ministry National Committee on Youth Guidance and Rehabilitation (NYGR) to drive and support a range of developmental, preventive and rehabilitative programme to reach out and help at-risk youth. This is a national-level committee and I believe the different agencies are well integrated. However, on the ground and at the neigbourhood level, the recurring feedback I have been hearing is that the various stakeholders within the community, like schools,

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Police, VWOs and the community organisation are still not well synergised and they do not talk to each other. Various gaps still exist. For example, I do receive feedback from the schools and parents at my constituency that there are often youth, not from the schools, hanging out outside the schools waiting to recruit students from the schools into their gangs. When the schools inform the Neighbourhood Police, the typical response is that these youth are not breaking any law and, hence, nothing much can be done. But we all know this is very often how the kids would join gangs and, later on, be on the wrong path

The community would do our part in whatever we can. But we would hope and need greater support from the Police as well. There is definitely more scope for improvements here.

Youth offenders

Mr Hri Kumar Nair: Sir, there has recently been public concern about the increase in youth crime. Statistics may show that youth crime is down but it is not just about numbers. As our society develops and education levels rise, we have come to expect better from our youth. It is therefore disconcerting to see them involved in illegal activities, particularly violent crimes. Our measures to rehabilitate youth offenders have therefore been put in sharper focus. They are at the age where the importance of support and opportunities is especially acute.

Our Courts have, since 2007, similarly urge the legislation to explore more creative sentencing options that might further assist youth rehabilitation. Currently, Courts can either make a provision order under the Provision Offenders Act, where the offenders go through a structured probation regime, where he or she will be placed under the supervision of a probation officer, and

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their progress reviewed by the adult or juvenile probation case committee respectively. The Courts are also empowered by Section 305 of the CTC to impose reformative training in lieu of any other sentence. This offender will be detained in the RGC for a period between 18 months and three years. While there, the offender undergoes a comprehensive rehabilitation programme in a close and structured environment.

Sir, researches have identified various factors that point to increased risk of offending. Troubled home life has seen absentee parents, trauncy, deprivation such as poor housing and homelessness, and peer group pressure. At the core, offenders lack a responsible adult figure in their lives to give guidance, moral, spiritual or otherwise. We must question if our current rehabilitation measures are sufficient to address these problems.

Other jurisdictions invest in a large armoury of options to deal with youth crimes. The United States, for example, has the Juvenile Mentoring Programme (JUMP). Grants are provided on the competitive basis to community-based non-profit organisations to implement and expand collaborative mentoring projects. Screened volunteers serve as mentors to youth, who need adult figures in their lives. These mentors will show troubled youth ways to use their leisure time more positively, with the aim of diverting them away from further offending. The programme has apparently seen positive results. Could the Minister share with this House what programmes the Ministry has and will be implementing to address the issue of youth crime?

Rehabilitated offenders’ work and shelter

Mr Christopher de Souza: Mr Chairman, Sir, the Prison has done a remarkable job to prepare some inmates for employment beyond the prison walls. However, some

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inmates find it difficult to get jobs and shelter after release.

I would like to suggest involving more of our neighbourhood communities, grassroots organisations and even the CDCs to help with their job placements. Could MHA consider initiating this Government community framework? We also need to conduct public education programmes and reach out to potential employers and companies to help them see the potential in and offer jobs to our ex-offenders.

Lastly, could MHA identify, provide financial and administrative support to and work with half-way houses to help ensure that recently released inmates, who are unable to turn to their families for help, will be provided with much needed shelter?

Committee on the prevention of reoffending

Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman: Sir, one of the key characteristics of dsyfunctional families is the incarceration of heads of households and, at times, both parents. Within such families, it is not uncommon to find the trend of these heads of households re-offending during behind the families to fend for themselves.

I recently met a woman whose husband was being incarcerated for the fourth time. She is now left to care for nine children, with the youngest being a one-year-old infant. She is not working as she is cannot afford to pay for the childcare fees for the young children. When probed further, one realised that she gave birth to a child each time her husband is released from prison. Each time, he re-offends and returns to prison, she is left to pick up the pieces again. This is certainly not the first time that I have met such a case.

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Sir, the above example raises the question as to why such a man would repeatedly re-offend and disregard the impact of his behaviour on his family. What happened each time he entered prison and he is released? Were there no rehabilitation during his period of imprisonment? Was the re-offending a result of failure to adjust to the mainstream society? Or is it society's failure to accept him? What is the level of community support and intervention for such a person and his family?

Sir, the key question is what do we do to ensure that these individuals do not re-offend? Have we understood the pathway in which these individuals travel? What can we learn from this pathway to ensure that we provide the neccessary support and intervention at the right junctions to redirect them to the mainstream crime-free path. In many of these cases, the life of crime dates back to the early years and often made complex by the kinds of family backgrounds that they come from.

Sir, preventing re-offending is beyond the work of one Ministry, like MHA. While MHA and the Prison service can take in these individuals as their custodians, the rehabilitation goes beyond what happens within the four walls of the Prisons. It involves the community, schools, social services, employers, mental health services, and so on. While we must ensure that each crime committed should be met with its commensurate punishment, we would need to find the right balance to ensure the desired outcome for rehabilitation to prevent re-offending. The social cost of re-offending goes beyond its subsequent acts of crime but more on its systemic effect on the significant others, like the women and children that they leave behind. I would like to ask the Minister for an update on the implementation or recommendations put forth by the Committee on Prevention of Re-offending presented last year,

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particularly, in strengthening community prevention to prevent re-offending. What are the challenges faced in implementing these recommendations?