ILLEGAL ENTRY INTO SINGAPORE (Use of fake or stolen passports)

Column No : 468

ILLEGAL ENTRY INTO SINGAPORE:

(Use of fake or stolen passports): 1.

Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) how easy is it for people to sneak into Singapore by using fake or stolen passports; (b) how did the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority fail to detect (i) a Filipina who returned to Singapore 12 times using a different passport; (ii) a China woman who returned to Singapore twice using a different passport; (iii) the Croatian war criminal, General Ante Gotovina, who sneaked into Singapore thrice undiscovered in 2003; and (c) how do all these security breaches portend our homeland security's ability to guard against terrorist infiltration.

The Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Mr Speaker, Sir, last year ICA cleared more than 130 million people through our checkpoints. Sir, given the sheer volume of travellers, it is not reasonable to expect ICA to be able to pick out every single mala fide visitor. Indeed, Sir, no country has achieved such standards based on current technology. ICA takes an approach that balances security imperatives with clearance efficiency, adopting a multi-layered people clearance framework to sieve out and prevent the entry of undesirable persons.

We currently require foreigners holding certain travel documents to apply for visas before they arrive in Singapore. ICA would only approve the application if ICA assesses that their visit to Singapore is bona fide . The traveller's particulars, facial image and visa information will be transmitted to ICA's checkpoint clearance system prior to his arrival in Singapore. This helps to detect travellers who attempt to enter Singapore with a tampered passport, or without a valid visa.

At the checkpoints, all travellers, arriving or departing Singapore, are subject to face-to-face immigration checks and passport screening. ICA has developed an integrated people screening system known as Matrix. This system is capable of high speed, accurate travel document detection and counter-forging capabilities. The travellers' particulars will also be checked against our records. In addition, ICA officers will conduct risk profiling by asking them questions on why they are visiting Singapore and observe their reactions. Should a traveller fail to meet our entry requirements, react suspiciously or if his purpose of entry is doubtful, he will be referred to the Duty Officer at the checkpoint for more in-depth checks.

Sir, last year, ICA detected about 1,000 foreign visitors who attempted to enter Singapore using dubious travel documents. Another 78 foreign visitors were detected attempting entry by impersonation, that is to say, using passports that belong to someone else.

For travellers suspected to be ex-immigration offenders or persons of security interest, ICA will run their fingerprints through the Biometric Database for Immigration Clearance (BDIC) System which was introduced in June last year.

Sir, as for the three cases of illegal entry that Mr Steve Chia mentioned, the Filipina and Chinese woman had used genuine passports issued by the proper authorities under a different identity to re-enter Singapore. Therefore, it is not just Singapore that must ensure that only bona fide travellers are allowed in. Other countries must also play their part to ensure that their passport issuance procedures and controls are robust.

Combating this modus operandi was one of the main reasons for introducing the BDIC system. In fact, it was the alertness of the ICA officer to take and screen the Filipina's fingerprints through this system that she was caught. As for the Chinese woman, she was eventually detected by the Police's crime database upon her arrest.

Since the implementation of the BDIC system, ICA has detected more than 700 ex-immigration offenders and other persons on record attempting to enter through our checkpoints by using false identities.

As for the stolen passport used by the Croatian war criminal, at that time, our checkpoints did not have real-time access to Interpol's database.

Sir, there is a limitation to the number of lost and stolen foreign passports that can be blacklisted in our database. We understand that Interpol currently has more than 10 million lost or stolen passport records in its database. Obviously, it is not practical for any country to simply store all these into its database. As such, ICA had to prioritise in deciding which lost or stolen passport information should be listed in its blacklist. Now even if ICA were to increase its capacity to store information on lost passports, it can only store a fraction of the number of passports reported lost or stolen by Interpol. It is for this reason that ICA is actively engaging Interpol on how ICA can have access to the new Mobile Interpol Network Data (MIND) system that will facilitate real-time screening against Interpol's database during immigration clearance.

The false identity in the passport used by the war criminal was also unknown and unavailable at the time of his purported travels in Europe and the region, including Singapore in 2003.

Sir, whilst it is impossible for ICA to detect every single mala fide traveller, what we can do is to make it as difficult as possible for undesirable persons to slip into or out of Singapore. That is why when we discover shortcomings or gaps in our systems or procedures, we will analyse what went wrong, and take prompt corrective action.

In this regard, ICA is pursuing several new measures to deter and detect foreigners who attempt to use fake or stolen passports to enter Singapore. For example, apart from listing lost or stolen foreign passports, including blank passports, in ICA's clearance system whenever it receives such information from its foreign counterparts, ICA has been beefing up its intelligence capabilities. ICA works closely with Home Team agencies and its foreign counterparts to issue regular intelligence alerts to frontline officers on the latest modus operandi of passport abusers.

In addition, ICA has been actively engaging Interpol to share information on lost and stolen passports. A project, expected to be completed by the end of this year, will leverage on Interpol's database system to allow online checks at the checkpoints for passports that have been reported lost or stolen.

ICA is also studying enhancing the BDIC system to make use of facial and photo recognition technology to enable real-time screening of travellers against a database that includes known terrorists and wanted persons during immigration clearance. This will help us detect any person assuming a different identity or using a different passport to gain entry into Singapore.

Also, later this year, ICA plans to start issuing biometric passports and will equip the checkpoints with scanners that can read biometric passports. As more countries issue biometric passports, this will further restrict the space for terrorists' movement by tightening passport controls.

In summary, Sir, ICA will continue to review and enhance its multi-layered people clearance framework to deter undesirable persons from using fake or stolen passports to enter Singapore.

Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong (Non-Constituency Member): I thank the Senior Minister of State for his long and comprehensive reply. I have two supplementary questions. First of all, how can other countries issue new passports to their citizens under a different name for them to come to Singapore? Something must be done, especially with our Asian counterparts, to send the message to them.

The other point is, with all these new securities that are being added, with Interpol and biometric scanning, are we going to expect zero case now or minimum? What kind of assurance can we get that there will be no more such breaches in security?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, in this age of interglobal travel, cooperation amongst countries is important. So Mr Steve Chia is right in that other countries must also tighten up their system. So really, in this case, it is up to the Filipino and Chinese authorities to recognise that something went amiss and to ensure that the passport issued to a person is the correct person.

The other question, I think nobody can give an assurance. But the assurance that I can certainly give is that MHA officers will do their best. That is why I gave a comprehensive answer - to reassure Singaporeans that security is foremost in our minds. And even as we will ensure clearance efficiency - I think that is the point Mr Steve Chia and others have also brought up - nevertheless, with training, proper technology and upgrading of equipment, we will ensure that a proper balance is struck.

Mr Steve Chia Kiah Hong: Sir, a point of clarification. Did the Ministry report or complain to the Chinese and Philippine governments about these breaches in their system? Should we not report to them that something is wrong with their system?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, I think these breaches are known facts. This happens also with other countries. So, it is a matter of tightening up the system. In time, hopefully, with the biometric system, these breaches would be a thing of the past.