BICYCLE THEFTS (Statistics)

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BICYCLE THEFTS:

(Statistics): 16.

Dr Ong Seh Hong asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) if he could provide the statistics of bicycle thefts for the past five years; (b) whether there is an increasing trend of such thefts; (c) what are the "hot spots" of such thefts;

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(d) what is the plan of his Ministry to overcome such a problem; and (e) will his Ministry consider the re-introduction of mandatory registration of all bicycles.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Home Affairs (Encik Mohamad Maidin B P M) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Sir, the number of cases of bicycle theft averaged around 400 cases a year from 2000 to 2004.

In the first half of this year, 435 cases were reported. Sir, in the past, Police had sometimes grouped bicycle thefts under theft and other offences. The trend came to Police's attention late last year and has since been closely monitored. This may account for the higher number of cases reported for the first half of this year. Police has noted the recent increase in bicycle theft cases, and is working with various groups to

deal with the problem in a comprehensive manner.

There are, however, no particular geographical locations or 'hot spots' that are more prone to bicycle theft. Bicycle theft cases take place island-wide at areas ranging from common areas of public housing estates to streets, commercial premises, landed residential premises, outside MRT stations and at private apartments or condominiums.

In 2004, nine out of 10 bicycles stolen in public places were not secured at designated bicycle bays. Instead, the vast majority of those stolen were secured to lamp posts, railings and pipes.

Police has been working closely with grassroots organisations and the local community network to formulate Community Safety and Security Programmes (CSSP) to deter and detect bicycle theft.

One recent example was the "Lock-your-ride, Mark-your-bike - Bicycle Theft

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CSSP Project"

by the Citizens' Consultative Committees (CCCs), Residents' Committees (RCs) and Neighbourhood Committees (NCs) in Pasir Ris East and West Divisions, and the Pasir Ris Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC). The CSSP project team developed an education programme to educate bicycle owners on how to protect their bicycles from theft. This encompassed encouraging residents to use locks and chains to secure their bicycles and introducing a database of bicycle owners and their bicycles in the Pasir Ris area, under which bicycles would be prominently marked with serial numbers to deter theft, and the respective owners' particulars and contact details would be recorded in the database. When a stolen or lost bicycle is recovered, this database will help identify the owner.

Another initiative is a project by Ang Mo Kio Police Division and Temasek Polytechnic to design a bicycle bay lock that locks all the important components of the bicycle. Thus far, this new bicycle bay lock has been implemented in 31 blocks in Sengkang with a total of 180 stands.

Sir, besides engaging the grassroots organisations, Police will continue to work with relevant agencies such as SMRT to install CCTVs at strategic locations at various MRT stations, like Pasir Ris, Tampines, Kembangan MRT stations, to deter bicycle thieves and detect suspicious activity. Efforts to engage SMRT staff to look out for bicycle theft have also been helpful, with the arrest of a bicycle thief by Pasir Ris MRT staff on 1st April this year. This initiative is currently being monitored and evaluated for possible expansion to other neighbourhoods in Singapore.

In addition, Police will continue to educate the public through crime

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prevention exhibitions and house visits, which will be conducted throughout the year.

As to whether we should re-introduce mandatory registration of bicycles, Sir, the Ministry of Transport is of the view that such a move would not only be regressive but unnecessarily subject bicycle owners to onerous requirements. Bicycles have been exempted from registration requirements since 1982 as they are increasingly used for recreational purposes rather than as a mode of transport. Developed countries like the UK, Japan, USA, EU countries, Australia and New Zealand also do not require bicycles to be registered.

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LIFE-SCIENCE EDUCATION: 17.

Assoc. Prof. Ong Soh Khim asked the Minister for Education (a) if there is too much emphasis on life-science education as the primary and secondary schools, Institutes of Technical Education, polytechnics, funding agencies and universities are all investing in life-science studies and research; (b) if students have been influenced into thinking that life-sciences hold the key to the future and in taking up life-science as their future choice of study; and (c) whether this will reduce the crop, in particular good students, in taking up studies in engineering and physical sciences.

The Minister for Education (Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is not surprising that interest in the life sciences has caught on in our schools and tertiary institutions. It is now recognised, not just in Singapore, but all over the world, that the life sciences are opening up new economic opportunities and will have a major impact on human society in the 21st century.

But while there has been increasing interest in the life sciences, the number of students pursuing engineering-related

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disciplines or the physical sciences remains substantial. If we look at the candidature for the 'O' levels, for instance, the number of students at the 'O' levels taking Biology and Chemistry has increased in recent years, to 30% for Biology and 43% for Chemistry in 2004. But the 'O' level Physics candidature has also increased, to 42% of all 'O' levels candidates. I should also mention that more than half of our students take combined Sciences at the 'O' levels and about 90% of students who take Combined Sciences take Physics in combination with either Biology or Chemistry. So Physics is very much alive in our secondary schools. Likewise, while at the 'A' levels, Biology and Chemistry candidature has grown to 26% and 65% respectively, 'A' level Physics candidature remains a significant 60% of all candidates.

The picture is similar at the tertiary level. ITE's Biochemical Technology course, which is its only life sciences related course, had an intake of 160 students in 2005, which is 1.3% of ITE's annual planned intake of 12,000. More than 50% of ITE students take engineering-related courses. At the polytechnics, about 2,200 students signed up for chemical and life sciences courses in 2005, compared with 4,800 students taking up engineering courses in 2005. For NUS and NTU, about 850 students entered life sciences courses in 2005, compared with about 4,400 students in engineering and nearly 600 students in the physical sciences.

Singaporeans have been and will remain pragmatic. Ultimately, it is the availability of jobs and perceptions of career prospects that will determine the popularity of various courses. But no one can know, with any certainty, exactly what types of skills and knowledge will be demanded in future. Therefore, our educational institutions avoid making large bets on the future, or moving well ahead

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of the job market. Their pattern of intake of students into different disciplines reflects current economic opportunities as well as the future demands that can already be anticipated by industries. It is based on industry feedback. The tertiary institutions also seek to ensure a good spread of talent across all the key disciplines.

At the school level, we provide a foundation of learning across a broad base of subjects, to give our students greater flexibility to further their studies in different areas. At the post-secondary educational institutions, some specialisation and ---

3.00 pm

Mr Deputy Speaker: Order. End of Question Time.

[ Pursuant to Standing Order No. 22(3), Written Answers to Question Nos. 17-18, 20, 24-25, 27-31 and 34 on the Order Paper are reproduced in the Appendix*. Question Nos. 19, 21-23, 26, 32-33 and 35 have been postponed to the next available sitting of Parliament. ]

*Cols. 1453-1474.