MR TOOK LENG HOW (Slipping out of Singapore undetected)

MR TOOK LENG HOW:

(Slipping out of Singapore undetected): 1.

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan asked the Minister for Home Affairs how Took Leng

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How could have slipped out of Singapore undetected and whether this implies that there is some lapse in border control that has to be tightened.

2.

Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what are the causes which enabled Mr Took Leng How, whose passport has been impounded by the police, to slip out of Singapore despite the tightened security checks at our borders; (b) whether there are any other unreported cases of people who managed to slip in and out of our CIQ checkpoints successfully; and (c) whether there are any audit checks carried out to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.

The Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to take Question Nos. 1 and 2 together as they are related?

Mr Speaker: Yes.

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Mr Speaker, Sir, the Police is currently concentrating their efforts on the investigation of the murder of Huang Na. Once investigations are completed and the case is tried in court, a clearer picture on many details, including how he left Singapore will be known. For now, we should let Police carry out its investigations.

Sir, let me assure the House that we treat the security at our checkpoints seriously. Since September 2001, security checks at all our checkpoints have been stepped up. These efforts have paid off by deterring people from sneaking in or out through our checkpoints. The Home Team arrested 81 illegal immigrants trying to enter Singapore through the land and sea checkpoints in 2003, a decline of some45% compared to the 147 arrested in 2002. 154 immigration offenders were

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arrested trying to depart Singapore from the land and sea checkpoints in 2003, a decline of some18% compared to 187 arrested in 2002.

Sir, to ensure that the checks at the checkpoints are robust, Police and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) regularly carry out intrusion tests to critically assess and test the security performance of our checkpoints. After Action Reviews are then conducted to draw learning points for improvement.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo (West Coast): I would like to ask the Minister whether the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority was alerted to the fact that Took was actually called up by the Police to assist with the investigations of the case.

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, like I have said, the case is still being investigated and the case will come before the courts.It is better for that process to be completed before we discuss any details.

Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong (Non-Constituency Member): Sir, has the Ministry been monitoring the snakeheads operating in Singapore who are ferrying people in and out of Singapore illegally?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, as Mr Chia knows, we are mindful that we have to target snakeheads, not only illegal immigrant offenders. Where possible, we also try to smash syndicates, as recently happened in a case, not in Singapore, which involved a Malaysian in Malaysia.With close cooperation, we were able to smash that syndicate. So, definitely, this is one of the points that ICA and Police will look at.

Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan (Hong Kah): Sir, I note the Minister's reply that investigations are still underway. But regardless of this, because of the

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possibility of his having escaped through the border, was there any tightening of border control measures after this incident?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, as the House knows, we take our border security seriously. And, indeed, particularly after September 11, many measures have been implemented to tighten our borders. As of now, following our assessment, whatever gaps that may appear, arising from Police investigations, have been closed up.

Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong: Sir, sinceborder security has now been tightened,how can anybody actually manage to sneak out of Singapore?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, we are entering into the realm of the details which, I think, we should leaveaside until after investigations are completed and the case is set in court.