MEMBER FOR BOON TECK (Surrender of passport)

Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for Law and Science and Technology why the surrender of the passport of the Member for Boon Teck was not made one of the conditions of his bail bond after he was charged in Court in accordance with the usual practice.

The Minister for Law and Science and Technology (Mr E.W. Barker): Mr Speaker, Sir, it is not the usual practice for the Public Prosecutor to ask for the surrender of an accused person's passport as one of the conditions of his being afforded bail. Depending on the circumstances of each case, at the Public Prosecutor's request, the Court may make it a condition for affording bail that the accused must surrender his passport, for example, where there is a probability that the accused would probably flee rather than face the charges in Court.

When bail was granted to the Member for Boon Teck, the Deputy Public Prosecutor did not apply to the Court for the surrender of his passport because there was no evidence to show that he was about to leave the country or even had the intention to do so. The DPP, like the Director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, did not expect the Member to jump bail. As it turned out, the DPP and the Director, CPIB, were both wrong.