THEFT OF PUBLIC PROPERTY

THEFT OF PUBLIC PROPERTY: 10.

Mr Seah Kian Peng asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs whether there has been an increase in the incidence of theft of public property such as lightning strips and metal railings and, if so, what measures are being taken to minimise them.

The Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee) (for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs): Mr Speaker, Sir, the number of theft cases involving metals increased considerably last year. About 1,100 such cases were reported, representing an increase of some 570 cases (or about double the number) as compared to 2005. This increase can be attributed to opportunistic criminals capitalising on rising metal prices by stealing various metallic items for sale as scrap metal. Fuelled by the high demand in countries such as China and India, the price of metal is expected to rise even further in the next few years.

As to the types of goods stolen, they comprise cables and wires (44%), raw materials (9%), lightning conductors (6%) and urns (5%). These were among the most common items stolen last year.

Column: 1372

Other items include metal pipes, bars, strips, dry-riser lugs, signs and drain covers.

Of these theft cases, items made of copper accounted for about some 62%, followed by those made of aluminium (13%). The remaining cases involved other types of metals, such as stainless steel, steel, brass and bronze. This trend reflects the price increases of both aluminium and copper compared to steel. The total value of metallic items stolen last year was estimated at about S$4 million.

Sir, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) has adopted a three-pronged strategy to combat this phenomenon, encompassing, firstly, enforcement; secondly, creating awareness; and, thirdly, prevention measures.

Towards this end, Police has stepped up enforcement efforts against both thieves and errant dealers. Hence, last year, Police arrested a total of 200 persons for committing 150 cases of metal theft. MHA also recently amended the Secondhand Dealers Act, introducing a more focused approach to specifically provide for the inclusion of "cables and wires made of copper" in the Second Schedule list of secondhand goods to be covered under the Act. Other key changes include requiring the buyer’s details to be amongst details required to be submitted by the dealers to Police, and also increasing penalties for greater deterrence. In this way, we will more effectively deal with the disposal of such stolen goods by secondhand goods dealers, otherwise known as "fencing".

To create awareness, SPF will conduct briefings and issue crime advisories to licensed scrap yard dealers to alert them of this crime trend and the consequences if they are found to have transacted in

Column: 1373

stolen metal items. Through public education campaigns, Police intends to solicit public assistance to act as its eyes and ears to deter such crimes. In addition, SPF has engaged stakeholders, such as PowerGrid, HDB, Town Councils, Singapore Cable Vision and NParks, to improve their respective crime prevention measures. As a result of this collaboration, useful measures, such as the embossing of metal items with organisational identification, replacing of metal with alternative materials such as concrete, and beefing up patrols by their own personnel, have been implemented.

Let me assure Members that Police will do its best to keep the metal theft situation in check. Let me also urge the public to play a part by being more vigilant. Some culprits are able to steal in broad daylight as witnesses assume that they are legitimate workers engaged to remove the metal items. If Singaporeans see such suspicious activities, they should immediately call the Police or town councils for verification or assistance.

Mr Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade): Sir, offenders who commit such crimes now are charged under the Vandalism Act, I believe. But thieves who steal lightning conductors are not mere vandals. Given the surge in such cases, in fact more than 100%, I want to ask the Ministry whether they can consider more effective deterrent measures, including making the punishment a lot stiffer.

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, I believe that the legislative arsenal which is now available is adequate because offenders can be charged under different sections, depending on the severity of the offence, number of items taken and whether they have antecedents. These include section 379, which is theft under the Penal Code and also vandalism, as the Member has mentioned. Under section 3

Column: 1374

of the Vandalism Act, besides attracting a penalty of imprisonment of up to three years, it also attracts mandatory caning of at least three strokes. So I think that is pretty tough already. Indeed, those with antecedents can also be subject to the corrective training regime, and some have indeed been punished under the corrective training regime which has a mandatory punishment of five years.

Let me assure the Member that we will continue to monitor not just the punishment regime but the entire slew of measures that we have taken. The somewhat assuring news is that when this problem surfaced last year, it reached a high of about 131 cases in August, but it trended down to about 80 in December but went up a bit in January to 112. So it is not, of course, a time to claim victory. But let me say that the collective measures taken by everybody, in particular, the stakeholders, are important. So HDB has taken some measures. For example, NParks has taken measures to replace their metal bollards with concrete bollards. Community vigilance is also important because some of these things are stolen at night. If Singaporeans see these people loitering around, they should alert the Police. I think it was Mayor Zainudin who was interviewed together with Mr Seah Kian Peng in a The New Paper article who called for community vigilance. So, let us work together. Let me assure Mr Seah that, indeed, I will personally monitor the trend and see whether tougher actions are necessary.

Dr Teo Ho Pin (Bukit Panjang): Sir, may I ask the Senior Minister of State what is the profile of these offenders? Are they mainly locals?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, of the 200 offenders who were caught last year, about half were foreigners and half were locals.