FOREIGNERS WITH INFANTS FOR ADOPTION (Particulars)

Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam asked the Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Law if he will give the number of foreigners who have arrived at Immigration checkpoints for the whole of 1984 with infants for adoption in Singapore.

The Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Law (Prof. S. Jayakumar): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, my Ministry does not compile such statistics.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, has the Minister forgotten that when I spoke in this House on the Adoption of Children (Amendment) Bill, I asked the Minister for the number and he said that he would try and provide the number?

Secondly, would the Minister agree that he seriously misled this House when he told this House that:

'I do not have the figures but I can inform the House that the Immigration authorities were so concerned because people were arriving at the checkpoint with infants in arms requesting Social Visit Pass and longterm Social Visit Pass, and when they were asked why, they said,"Well, we want to have this child adopted by this relative in Singapore." The numbers are sufficiently large to cause concern and to introduce administrative measures requiring these persons to undertake that they will not proceed with adoption proceedings.'

The Minister now says that the -

Mr Deputy Speaker: Mr Jeyaretnam, have you finished with your supplementary question?

Mr Jeyaretnam: Will the Minister accept that he has seriously misled this House?

Prof. Jayakumar: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is no misleading and there is no inconsistency. We debated this on 18th March as well as on 29th March. I clearly said then that there were no figures. I did refer, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, to examples of many instances at the check-points when such foreigners came. But the Member for Anson must not be so naive or ridiculous to believe that all those who would want to circumvent our immigration regulations, whether for adoption purposes, whether for arms smuggling, whether for drug trafficking, would openly come to the check-point to declare their intent to do so.

12 noon

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order. End of Question Time. The hon. Ministers concerned will send copies of their answers to the Questions (See section 'Oral Answers to Questions Not Reached' (Cols. 91 - 92) which have not been reached to the hon. Members concerned and to the Clerk.