Hansard, Monday, 19 March 2018

1 Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider introducing some policy enhancements to help employers cope with unexpected and huge medical bills when their domestic helpers are diagnosed with mental and critical illnesses that fall outside the coverage of the compulsory insurance.

2 Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether insurers provide data to the Ministry regarding the claims made on the compulsory medical insurance policies of domestic helpers; (b) if so, what proportion of medical bills reached or exceeded the claims limit in the past three years; and (c) what measures are available to assist employers when domestic helpers are diagnosed with unexpected serious illnesses.

You can take Question Nos 1 and 2 together.

Sir, employers of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) buy medical insurance for their FDWs directly with insurers. Insurers are not required to provide individual claims data directly to MOM.

MOM regularly tracks hospital bills from public hospitals to ensure that our employers have adequate coverage for their FDWs. Based on the records of public hospitals, the current compulsory minimum coverage of $15,000 was sufficient to meet 97% of all inpatient and day surgery bills for FDWs in the last three years. For the minority of employers who face genuine difficulties in paying their FDWs' medical bills, they can seek help through the medical social workers at the relevant healthcare institutions. Medical social workers will assess each case individually and provide assistance based on their needs.

MOM regularly consults relevant stakeholders, such as insurers, employers and employment agencies, and reviews the minimum insurance coverage to ensure adequate protection at affordable premiums for our FDW employers. We are mindful that mandating higher insurance coverage will raise premium costs for all employers. Notwithstanding, our current policy already allows employers who are concerned about the risk of higher medical bills to have the option of taking up insurance plans with higher coverage.

Sir, I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I just want to ask two supplementary questions.

Firstly, will MOM be reviewing the insurance coverage, as 3% of employers, which is about 6,000 to 7,000 people, still face huge medical bills beyond the current coverage of $15,000? And there is little or no help for those FDWs who get inflicted with critical illnesses, chronic conditions, mental conditions and other conditions requiring long-term or critical intensive care. And, sometimes, the bills balloon to the hundreds of thousands.

The second question is: how will MOM ensure that FDWs employed by employers are free of major medical conditions, such as mental illnesses, including depression and those physically undetectable at point of hiring?

Sir, I thank the Member for the two very important supplementary questions. First, about the medical insurance coverage for the 3% of FDW employers, I would like to clarify that it is not 6,000 to 7,000 employers who are facing difficulties in paying very huge bills. In the last three years, according to our statistics, there are 1,900 cases of FDWs who have chalked up bills. Across the last three years, a total of 170 actually had incurred more than $15,000 of medical bills. On average, it is about 55 cases a year.

For these cases, they can seek assistance from the Medical Social Workers to defray part of the medical costs, if they genuinely have difficulties in meeting the medical bill payments.

Can I ask the Member to repeat his second question, please?

How does MOM ensure FDWs are free from medical conditions?

Thank you. For all first-time FDWs coming to Singapore, they are required to undergo a full medical examination at our healthcare institutions in Singapore. So, it is a time where our doctors in Singapore will examine these FDWs to pick up any symptoms. Mental illnesses are not covered but some major illnesses, such as heart conditions and all that. This is so as to reduce the risks of FDW employers employing an FDW who may have potential major illnesses.

I thank the Minister of State for his answer. I have met Clementi residents who are elderly and who, therefore, are not in a position to shoulder the cost of healthcare for their domestic helper, if the domestic helper has a serious illness exceeding the insurance cover.

I have received feedback that some FDW agencies do not provide enough information about insurance plans with enhanced cover at the point of hiring. Would the Ministry consider encouraging FDW agents to provide better information to prospective employers?

Secondly, what avenues are there to expedite claims for FDW insurance in the event that the insurer is taking a long time to process the claim?

Let me answer the second question first. For FDW employers who have difficulty in claiming the insurance coverage for the medical bills incurred by the FDWs, if the delay is excessive, the employers of the FDW can always approach MOM for assistance.

As for the Member's first question of FDW employment agencies providing adequate information to employers on medical coverage, we have been working closely with employment agencies to highlight to them the need to explain to them the various medical insurance coverage for the FDWs where the employers can make a decision. So, given the feedback by the Member, we will continue to engage our employment agencies to require them to more proactively disseminate the information to FDW employers, particularly the first-time employers who may not be familiar with their medical insurance.

On the other hand, MOM also provides information through our newsletters to FDW employers to provide information on medical insurance coverage. On MOM's website, such information is made available. For those who are more Internet-savvy, they can seek out all these information from the MOM website. In particular, for the Member's elderly residents who may have medical insurance issues for their FDWs, if the Member so wishes, he can let me have the information so that MOM will look into it.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I, too, have a resident staying in a private estate, not poor by any means, stuck with the same situation where his domestic helper incurred a bill of more than $15,000 for a critical illness. He can afford to pay; it is just very difficult for me to explain to him that he has to pay that large sum of money for a domestic helper who is not related to him. In situations like these, what does MOM advise?

I thank the Member for the very useful question. As it is now, although the mandatory, compulsory medical insurance for FDW is capped at $15,000, employers actually are at liberty to buy insurance that has a higher coverage. So, we will continue to encourage our employment agencies to disseminate this information to employers that, for peace of mind, if they worry about the risk of higher medical costs in future, they have the option of buying higher insurance coverage. But for those who are genuinely having difficulties to pay the higher medical fees incurred by the FDWs, they are encouraged to seek assistance from the Medical Social Worker (MSW) at the hospitals.

From our statistics, very few employers are genuinely facing financial difficulties, like for the case that the Member mentioned. I think, on average, there are three to four cases of FDW employers having to face medical claims of above $50,000. So, the number is fairly small. In the case of the Member's resident, he has the financial means to pay, so, he does not need assistance from the hospitals. But for those who genuinely have difficulties, they are always encouraged to approach the MSW for assistance.

3 Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Transport (a) how does LTA specify the methodology of traffic impact assessments, especially for new housing developments in mature estates; (b) whether the planning assumptions for traffic impact assessments assume a "car-lite" future; and (c) whether a range of vehicle population scenarios is considered when making such assessments.

LTA requires developers to conduct transport impact assessments (TIAs) to identify the impact of new developments and redevelopments on the surrounding road network and recommend mitigating measures. This applies to both new and mature estates.

LTA publishes guidelines on how developers should conduct the TIAs.

First, developers should establish the baseline traffic demand before the development is built by carrying out a traffic survey. Developers also have to estimate the future growth in traffic volume due to external factors, such as the vehicle growth rate and other new developments in the area.

Second, developers should assess the additional traffic that will be generated by the planned development. This is typically done via surveying a comparable development and adjusting for a lower vehicle mode share if there are future improvements in public transport and active mobility access to the development when it is ready.

LTA does not require the TIA to consider a range of vehicle population scenarios, nor for a specific car-lite scenario. However, by factoring in the vehicle growth rate, which is currently zero for non-commercial vehicles, and enhancements to public transport and active mobility infrastructure in the vicinity, the developments will account for a reduction in the usage of private cars over time.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for his answer. Some mature HDB estates had the road designs, especially the smaller loop roads, built at a time when vehicle norms were quite different from today. As a result, some residents are concerned when there are additional residential developments coming up, such as in the town of Clementi where I serve.

What measures will the Ministry consider to, at least, ensure the vehicle congestion is moderated? Secondly, what measures will the Ministry consider to minimise potential risks to elderly pedestrians arising from increased vehicle numbers?

I would like to thank Dr Tan Wu Meng for the two supplementary questions. LTA does take into account relevant factors, such as new developments and road size, when making TIAs. As what Dr Tan mentioned in his supplementary question regarding size of old roads as well as potential congestion, as part of the TIA, the developer will have to identify the development's impact on the surrounding transport network and recommend necessary measures to mitigate some of these potential negative impact, including congestion, as mentioned by Dr Tan.

Some of these possible transport improvement measures will include staging the developments to prevent a surge in traffic demand or road widening whenever possible and also to encourage the use of public transport and active mobility modes of transport.

As to the second question on how we ensure safety for the pedestrian, whenever possible, LTA will work with URA to build overhead pedestrian networks so that the elderly do not have to cross the busy roads. When overhead link bridges are not possible or not appropriate, LTA will also identify Silver Zones to make our roads even safer for the elderly. To update the Member, we have implemented 15 Silver Zones over the years. We will increase the number of Silver Zones to 50 by 2023. I am happy to work with Dr Tan Wu Meng on the possible plans to make the roads safer for his residents in Clementi.

4 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Transport (a) what are the criteria to assess the need for traffic speed regulating measures in a housing estate; and (b) how often are these measures reviewed to assess their adequacy after the measures are installed.

Sir, the main objective of regulating traffic speed is to enhance safety of road users. For roads serving residential estates, LTA would set lower speed limits. LTA would then implement traffic speed regulating measures to remind motorists to keep to the speed limits. Such measures include warning signs or markings, speed regulating strips and road humps.

To further enhance the safety of vulnerable roads users, such as school children and elderly pedestrians, LTA would also implement special schemes. All Primary and Secondary schools have School Zones along their frontage. School Zone features include speed regulating strips and red-textured road surfaces to alert drivers to slow down.

Silver Zones are implemented in residential areas with a large elderly population and a relatively higher accident rate involving the elderly. Silver Zone features include pinch-points to narrow, and chicanes to curve the road, to get motorists to slow down.

In addition, accident statistics are monitored on an ongoing basis to assess the adequacy of the speed regulating measures. LTA also conducts a review whenever there are substantial changes to the built environment around the road.

Such infrastructural speed regulating measures are complemented by the Traffic Police's speed enforcement cameras and regular enforcement operations.

I thank the Minister for his reply. Can I request LTA to work with the Traffic Police to take enforcement action against speeding vehicles with very noisy exhaust engines and they rev their engines when they speed? Because this causes great disturbances to our residents, very often giving them rude shocks and this happens very often along Alexandra Road, an area where I serve. May I request LTA to install a camera along this stretch of road?

I will ask LTA to discuss with the Traffic Police. I happen to be quite familiar with Alexandra Road; my office is along that stretch. My experience so far has been relatively pleasant. I do not encounter speeding and noisy exhaust, as related by the Member. But I, too, dislike motorists with noisy exhausts. If, indeed, there are many such incidents, we will try to fix it.

5 Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether there are any persons convicted under section 409 of the Penal Code who are currently serving imprisonment sentences based on the interpretation of the law as it existed before the decision of the Court of Appeal of 1 February 2018 limiting the use of the said provision to professional agents; and (b) if so, what steps will the Government take in respect of the sentences of these persons.

Thank you, Sir. There are now 12 persons serving sentences for offences under section 409 of the Penal Code. [Please refer to "Clarification by Minister for Home Affairs", Official Report, 20 March 2018, Vol 94, Issue No 70.]

They were convicted and sentenced before the High Court reviewed and changed the interpretation of the law regarding section 409. The Public Prosecutor does not intend to file any applications in respect of them.

I thank the hon Minister for his answer. I have two supplementary questions.

First, is the approach taken in these 12 cases different from the approach taken in the well-known case issued in September 2015, when the prosecution actually appealed on the basis that a sentence was manifestly excessive? The reason for the prosecution doing so is explained as that it is a stakeholder in the criminal justice system and it must also do its part to ensure a fair and proportionate sentence.

Second, may I ask whether the Home Detention Scheme and the Remission Scheme would be afforded to the persons involved in this Court of Appeal decision as well as the 12 cases that the hon Minister mentioned? If so, would the Court of Appeal decision be a factor for the Executive to consider in making an appropriate determination in these schemes?

The first question is, by reference, to Airocean.

May I clarify, it is not the Airocean case. The Airocean case dealt with an acquittal issue. I have here an article from Channel NewsAsia published on the —

Where the Public Prosecutor appealed? You are referring to the case where the Public Prosecutor appealed?

That is so, Sir.

Okay. By reference to that case or by reference to the Airocean case, whichever, the position here is slightly different. Section 409 covers a broad range. Professional agents or agents form only one category. It covers public servants. It covers various others.

For example, if you look at these 12, three of them are public servants. [Please refer to "Clarification by Minister for Home Affairs", Official Report, 20 March 2018, Vol 94, Issue 70, Clarification section.] So, it is very different. They were convicted qua public servants; they hold very different positions, senior to junior. There is no intention of doing anything about them. The High Court and Court of Appeal's interpretations do not affect them. One is an attorney and another eight are agents of various kinds, like insurance agents, real estate agents. So, you can see that the principles applied in the context of Airocean for revision as well as for appeal in the other case, do not apply.

If I may go further, we have talked about 16 cases, at least, where directors, qua directors, have been convicted in the past 40 years. There have been more than that; but 16 reported cases. What would hypothetically be the position if one or more of them would be serving sentences now? I think that can be looked at; you can argue it either way. But if you look at, for example, the last case on revision. In Airocean, one director pleaded guilty. It was a conviction under the Securities and Futures Act (SFA). It was a prosecution under the SFA. The others claimed trial. At trial, eventually, they were held to be not guilty because the fact that was said to not have been put out was held by the Court to be not material. So, you can imagine, therefore, on the very same facts, the earlier conviction, in all fairness, ought not to stand.

Here, if any persons are serving as directors, they would have been convicted properly on the facts and on the law as had been applied by the Courts. Whether subsequently a change in law should, therefore, apply to anyone who is currently serving, or any of the several cases which have been dealt with over 40 years, there is, as Mr Pillai would appreciate, a lot of learning on that.

The Member's second question was on Home Detention. Is the Member asking by reference to these 12 cases or the City Harvest cases? City Harvest? Okay.

On the 12, I will need to go and check. I think some may already be serving under Home Detention because there are some principles which are laid out under the rules. As for the City Harvest case, we looked at the principles that are applicable and we took advice from AGC as to whether, under the law, they would be entitled to community-based programmes, which will include Home Detention. We have now a policy and, if that policy is applied by the Commissioner of Prisons, those convicted in the City Harvest case will not qualify for Home Detention. It is something to be decided by the Commissioner of Prisons. He has got the discretion. But if the policy is applied, and that policy has been cleared with AGC, then they will not qualify.

6 Mr Yee Chia Hsing asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether extended operating hours beyond 10.30 pm can be allowed for low vice risk-exempt massage establishments at which massage or foot reflexology services are administered in full view of the public.

Mr Speaker, "open-concept" massage establishments provide massage services in full view of the public. They are exempted from the need to apply for a massage establishment licence.

At the reading of the Massage Establishments Bill in November last year, several Members of Parliament had cautioned that "low-risk activities" that are not required to obtain a massage establishment licence could, nevertheless, be fronts for vice activities.

Indeed, while open-concept massage establishments operate in full view of the public, they can offer any kind of massage to adult customers. This is why even though open-concept massage establishments are exempted from licensing, they have to adhere to a number of conditions. This is to prevent them from being used as fronts for vice, as pointed out by Members of this House. These conditions include ensuring that there are no rooms, partitions or cubicles within the premises that allow massage services to be provided in private; not obscuring any windows and entrances; and operating only from 7.00 am to 10.30 pm daily.

If the operator of an open-concept massage establishment wishes to deviate from any of these conditions, the risk associated with the establishment becomes higher. The operator is thus required to apply for a licence instead.

Therefore, should an operator of an exempted open-concept massage establishment wish to operate beyond the stipulated hours, they should apply for a Category I massage establishment licence and request for extended operating hours. Police will assess these requests on a case-by-case basis.:

I thank the Second Minister. May I clarify: because I read from the newspaper that above the Badminton Hall, there is this very big open-concept massage place. If they apply, then can they get to operate beyond 10.30 pm? Because for a lot of these open-concept massage places, in fact, from 10.00 pm to past midnight is actually the peak-hour timeframe for them.

Mr Speaker, in response to Mr Yee, they will first have to apply for a Category I massage establishment licence. Then having secured the massage establishment licence at Category I level, they can ask to be considered for extended operating hours. The Police will look into the various factors, for example, proximity to residential areas because the stipulated hours were introduced in the first place in response to concerns about massage establishments operating 24 hours near residential areas. The Police will also look at the track record of the operator, whether they have been able to observe, adhere to the conditions that were previously set for them. And, of course, if relevant, the Police will also ask for feedback from the community.

7 Ms Sun Xueling asked the Prime Minister (a) what is the progress of the third Government-to-Government project between Singapore and China, that is, the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative Project; and (b) whether the industries beyond the logistics sector are actively seeking opportunities for collaboration between both countries.

Mr Speaker, Sir, Singapore and China enjoy strong and substantive ties and our multi-faceted cooperation have continued to evolve with the times, deepening and broadening over the years. The China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstrative Initiative on Strategic Connectivity (CCI) is a long-term Government-to-Government (G-to-G) effort that serves as a key priority demonstration project associated with China's Belt and Road Initiative. Launched in November 2015, it has made good progress in catalysing the economic development of western China and Southeast Asia by enhancing connectivity in the areas of financial services, aviation, transport and logistics and information and communications technology (ICT).

Under the CCI Financial Services Pillar, cross-border financing deals totalling RMB 25.3 billion, or around S$5.2 billion, have been completed to date, providing Chongqing corporates with more financing options and raising their international profile. Aviation connectivity has also grown significantly, from five flights to 14 flights per week between Singapore and Chongqing.

The CCI-Southern Transport Corridor (CCI-STC) project was established under the CCI in 2017. The corridor aims to link Chongqing to Qinzhou or Beibu Gulf, Guangxi, in the south by rail and from Qinzhou to Singapore and beyond by sea, thereby enhancing multi-modal connectivity between western China, Southeast Asia and to the rest of the world. The CCI-STC has been referred to by China’s President Xi Jinping as the international land and sea trade corridor or 国际陆海贸易新通道 that connects the overland Silk Road Economic Belt with the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

For example, the CCI-STC will significantly reduce the amount of time needed to transport goods between Chongqing and Singapore to about a week. This is a third of today’s alternative routes and will result in savings in logistics costs. Since December 2017, three block train services have been commissioned between Chongqing and Guangxi per week. As volumes grow, this is expected to become a daily service. Singapore’s port operator, PSA, and home-grown shipping line Pacific International Line (PIL) are also working to create more seamless rail-sea connectivity that will also help Singapore’s transshipment flows and services, for trade between western China and Southeast Asia.

Mr Speaker, Sir, as opposed to the earlier G-to-G projects which had geographical boundaries, the CCI’s emphasis is on building networks. The CCI-STC is an open platform and I am glad that Chongqing’s neighbours Guangxi, Guizhou and Gansu have all come on board to jointly develop this trade corridor. We will continue to work with our Chinese counterparts, especially MOFCOM and the Chongqing leadership to engage more provinces in western China to expand this network.

Improved connectivity between regions enables companies from both sides to export and import goods more efficiently to and from Southeast Asia and other parts of the world. As cross-border trade activities increase, demand for related services like finance, legal and other professional services will also increase. These, in turn, create more opportunities for our businesses and our people. For instance, Moneymax Financial Services and AP Oil International have launched a suite of financial leasing services. WiseNet Asia has also entered Chongqing to provide HR recruitment services. I am glad to note that a Singapore agri-tech startup, SmartAHC, has also developed solutions for deployment in Chongqing.

Through the CCI, we hope to improve the overall business environment in western China. Companies from both sides can look forward to expanding their presence into western China and Southeast Asia. International Enterprise Singapore, together with trade associations and chambers, such as the Singapore Business Federation and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI), have actively engaged our companies, from MNCs to SMEs, to explore opportunities in western China. SCCCI has recently set up a representative office in Chongqing to serve Singapore businesses in Chongqing. We have seen keen interest in sectors like healthcare, tourism, eldercare and food and beverages. I hope that more companies will use the CCI platform to venture into western China.

I thank the Minister for the reply. I would like to enquire whether the pace of development of the CCI project is coming along as planned, given senior leadership changes at the Mayor's level on the Chinese side; and, secondly, what has been the feedback from our Singapore business community for pursuing projects in Chongqing. For instance, has local Chinese government support been forthcoming?

Mr Speaker, Sir, the answer to the first supplementary question is, yes, we are on track. The answer to the second question is, yes, we have been getting support from the local Chongqing authorities, including the neighbouring provinces that have joined the CCI-STC recently. We are also working closely with the central authorities, especially MOFCOM, to bring in more partners.

8 Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Prime Minister (a) what is the outcome of investigations into the interruptions and service degradations in Singpass and Corppass services on 8 and 9 February 2018; (b) what redundancy mechanisms and systems are in place to maintain uninterrupted Singpass and Corppass service provision; and (c) what lessons have been learned from the recent interruptions.

Mr Speaker, Sir, on 8 February from 10.30 am to 5.15 pm and, again, on 9 February from 10.30 am to 3.15 pm, users had difficulty logging in to Singpass and Corppass. The services were intermittently slow or not responsive during these periods.

The slowdown was caused by a software bug in the Authentication Server provided by Gemalto, a commercial vendor. This software bug was previously undetected and had only manifested after an enhancement to the Singpass and Corppass system in January 2018. We have verified that the enhancement complied with all technical specifications and was properly tested. However, the interaction between the enhancement and the software bug caused some records to persist in the system, instead of being automatically removed 30 days after they expired, which was the root cause of the slowdown.

Gemalto has acknowledged the software bug in their product and has been helpful and cooperative in the recovery process. We drew two key lessons from this experience.

First, while the bug itself was elusive, the symptoms – the slowdown in system performance – could have been detected earlier. Our early detection and warning capabilities can be improved and will be improved. We intend to do so by enhancing the software checks and diagnostics so that, in such cases, the engineers can act before the system condition worsens to a state that would affect users.

Second, while the system had the hardware backup to deal with hardware and infrastructure failure, such redundancy did not address the unknown internal software bugs of this nature. We will review the system design to improve all-round resiliency, beyond just hardware resiliency.

As a broader point, this episode shows that for our critical systems that rely on products from commercial providers, there is a need to work more closely with these providers and to better understand and ensure that these products operate as they are intended to. This will allow us to improve system design and put in place the probes and sensors to improve early warning. We will take these lessons and apply them to the development and maintenance of other Government systems.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for his detailed update. I have three supplementary questions.

Firstly, does the contract with the commercial provider provide for liquidated damages or other such responses in the event of a failure to provide adequate service and, if so, are these measures in the current contract adequate?

Secondly, is there any stress testing of the system to help detect potential points of failure before they manifest and affect users?

Thirdly, would the Senior Minister of State be able to provide some assurance about the on-going analysis that will take place moving forward because I have received feedback from my residents in Clementi that even after the system was restored, they still found that the two-factor authentication text messages could take an inordinate amount of time to be delivered to their phones?

I thank Dr Tan for the questions. We are reviewing the contracts with our commercial providers, both with respect to the incident as well as with what we will be engaging in going forward.

Secondly, as far as stress testing is concerned, yes, indeed, the testing process does include putting the system under some degree of stress and load. In this instance, there were several factors that occurred simultaneously which resulted in a combination of an interaction between two pieces of software and an unusually high load all at the same time. So, this particular instance was not something that was envisioned or tested against. But in general, the system is tested against conditions of stress and load. But, again, we will review and update our procedures, going forward, having learnt from this incident.

On the analysis about the two-factor authentication, we will study the issue with respect to the text messages. We were not aware that there is a particular problem at the moment. It may be that the delay varies over time as the load varies over time. So, at particularly busy periods, there may be some lag. This busyness cannot always be associated with the Singpass system itself. There may be other instances of the telecom co-providers being under load, which may also result in some lag.

In the long term, our plans for the two-factor authentication on National Digital Identity would, hopefully, get around this with the Singpass Mobile approach that we have briefly described.

9 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for National Development whether official translations are made of new place names.

Mr Speaker, to name a new street or building, the developing agency or private developer makes an application to the Street and Building Names Board (SBNB).

For street names, applications are made in English. Chinese translations of the approved English street names are then proposed by the Ministry of Communications and Information, in consultation with the National Translation Committee's Chinese Resource Panel, as necessary. The approved English and translated names of new streets are then made available on the URA website. For building and estate names, no official translations are made.

I thank the Minister for his reply. I have two supplementary questions. One, would the Minister also advise what is the situation regarding translation to Malay and Tamil? Two, would it be possible for the Government to consider setting up a portal whereby members of the public can access this portal to actually have the official names of any street in Chinese, Malay and Tamil?

Mr Speaker, Sir, I think we have to go back to the history to understand why the translations are made specifically in Chinese. In the past, we had street names in English and Malay, but the various Chinese dialect groups had their own dialect versions of the names. There was confusion and it created inconvenience. That was why in 1968, the then-Ministry of Culture decided to set up a committee to standardise the Chinese names and this committee went about doing so, and that practice of providing official translations of street names in Chinese has continued till today.

We do not do so for Malay and Tamil. We have not done so in the past and we still do not do so because the issue of different translations did not arise in these languages. For that matter, there are quite a number of streets where the names are transliterated from Malay and Tamil. For example, Jalan Bukit Merah which is in Malay, and Neythal Road which is in Tamil. So, the need for these different translations did not arise in the past and there was never a need to do an official translation in Malay and Tamil. But there was a necessity to do so in Mandarin for the reasons I have explained earlier.

And as I have stated in my reply, the names in English and Mandarin are all available on the URA website.

10 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for National Development whether he can provide an update on the timeline of the Ministry's plans to implement a ban on domestic trade in ivory.

Mr Speaker, as indicated in our previous reply to Mr Louis Ng, the Government is presently studying the implementation of a domestic ban on the sale of ivory in Singapore. There are many stakeholders to engage, as well as operational details that need to be worked out as part of this study. AVA will provide further updates and make an announcement on this matter when ready.

Sir, I appreciate I have asked this before, but it has actually been a year since I last asked this question. Can I also ask the Senior Minister of State whether Singapore is studying how Hong Kong has implemented their domestic ivory ban, considering that Hong Kong has a far larger ivory market and has given three years for the full stock disposal?

Sir, I think different countries have got different domestic concerns and different market structures. So, it will not be so easy to transpose what is practicable in another jurisdiction to Singapore. But if the Member is concerned about the proliferation of the ivory trade, be assured that, actually, since the prohibition and international ban in 1990, there are no commercial import and export of ivory in Singapore unless there are explicit permits given by AVA. So, this current review pertains to how we want to even tackle any pre-Convention stocks that are in Singapore to be managed by domestic businesses. And I think as we engage the local businesses, we hope to be able to make the announcements soon.

Sir, can I just ask how soon, so I would not keep asking the same question again?

Soon – when all the details for operationalising this have been finalised and our stakeholder engagement has been completed.

11 Miss Cheng Li Hui asked the Minister for Education (Schools) (a) what is the number of students who suffer from depression and other mental conditions over the last five years; (b) what are the main causes for such cases; and (c) what resources are channelled towards identifying and watching out for the at-risk students.

Mr Speaker, Sir, the number of students suffering from depression or other types of mental health conditions is difficult to determine as students and parents may choose not to disclose the student’s condition for a variety of reasons. Some remain undiagnosed due to a lack of awareness of the mental health condition or for fear of stigmatisation.

Mental health problems among students, including depression, are often the result of multiple factors, including relationship issues at home or among friends, difficulties in coping with high expectations or different demands in school, experiencing setbacks in life or having a family history of mental illness.

MOE has been working with agencies, such as MOH, HPB, Institute of Mental Health and MSF, to provide support for our students. Schools monitor the socio-emotional and mental well-being of students, primarily focusing on social and emotional learning and building strong support networks. Our teachers are equipped to identify students in distress, provide timely support and refer them to the school counsellors for counselling support. Those requiring further assessment and intervention will be referred to medical professionals.

I thank the Senior Minister of State. I have three supplementary questions. First, how are teachers trained to identify at-risk children? Second, for every child, how do the schools then work with their family, Family Service Centres and mental health clinics to help them? Third, for the children who are identified in Primary school and moving on to Secondary school, is there a process for the schools to pass information to the next education institution?

Sir, the training of teachers involves a number of components with respect to behaviour, cognition, interaction with peers, as well as interaction with adult authority figures, how the students react to and interact with the rules in the environment of the school. It is not something that is an aside; it is something central to how teachers are trained to react to and to interact with the behaviour of students. So, as part of that training, coming out of that, abnormalities of behaviour, abnormalities of adjustments, abnormalities of coping are very much part of what would be considered the core of teacher training.

Certainly, a multi-agency approach is taken. I think the Member was asking about the way in which the teachers work with other agencies. But, of course, this is predicated on the consent and understanding of both the students and the family and whether the teacher is aware of the child's condition. There are instances where they prefer for this information not to be shared and to work with community partners or healthcare partners and not actually discuss this with the teacher. It is hard to say whether this is ideal or optimal, because it is a very wide field, and there will be circumstances where it is appropriate for the family, for the child to make that decision and keep the matter private. But, in general, it would be better if the teachers could be involved in this process. But I do not think we want to be prescriptive about this process.

Lastly, on the issue of the handover of information from the Primary school to Secondary school – again, it depends on the specifics of the case, about the extent to which the educational professionals are aware of the child's mental health issues. If we talk in general terms, we do want some opportunity for privacy, for some opportunity of parental consent and for the child to have some control over the issue, especially if it is an issue that is resolved and is no longer causing any problem or affecting the child.

On the other hand, for the same circumstance, you can make an argument that the educators in the Secondary school need to know on the basis of the child's risk of something happening. But not to be prescriptive again, is whether to perhaps remove entirely the family and the child's ability to have some input into that process of privacy. It is a case-by-case basis. We take it and, in general, we would hope that the education service could play a role in helping these children.

12 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Defence (a) since 1999, what has been the number of SAF personnel who have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other psychiatric ailment during or after deployment for overseas operations; (b) what support is available in terms of psychiatric or other treatments required for affected personnel; and (c) in cases where affected personnel have not recovered or have not been diagnosed before leaving service, what are the medical and welfare support available to affected veterans after they leave service.

Mr Speaker, over the last two decades, more than 6,000 SAF personnel have been deployed for overseas operations. Only one serviceman was diagnosed to have developed PTSD after his deployment.

The incidence of all psychological disorders amongst SAF personnel on overseas deployment is not higher than SAF personnel in general or the incidence among the general population.

The low rate can be attributed to the selection, pre-deployment training and mental health support system in place for our servicemen. This includes physical preparation, psychological screening, briefs on threat assessments, job descriptions and security procedures, as well as avenues available to contact their family members or seek help for personal matters while overseas.

The IT connections, despite being in remote areas, such as Iraq and Afghanistan are good, so SAF personnel are able to speak to their family members frequently. On their return, all personnel undergo an assessment of their psychological well-being for early intervention by counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists, if necessary.

Compensation for psychiatric or psychological disorders follows that of the overall framework for injuries and disabilities arising from service. Consults and treatment of affected personnel are fully subsidised at Government restructured hospitals, clinics and community hospitals, for as long as required, even after his term of service. For servicemen whose disorders were due to service but manifested after they have left the SAF, they are also eligible to the same terms of treatment.

13 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Manpower what constitutes claims for "wrongful" or "unfair" dismissal which will be heard by the Employment Claims Tribunal.

Mr Speaker, the Employment Act (EA) provides remedies against two forms of wrongful dismissal.

The first form of wrongful dismissal involves dismissal on grounds other than poor performance, misconduct or redundancy. If the employer dismisses an employee because of his poor performance or misconduct, the employer must be able to substantiate his case.

The second form of wrongful dismissal involves pregnant employees whose contracts have been terminated without their receiving maternity benefits.

Both forms of wrongful dismissal claims will be heard by the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT), after the EA is amended.

Sir, the typical recourse for wrongful dismissal has been the notice period, the argument being that the only loss that one has suffered is the loss of not having given notice. So, can the ECT also recognise damages that go beyond the notice period, so that we also recognise the mental and emotional anguish that one has suffered in such situations?

Sir, there are a range of remedies. It really depends on the facts of the case. It depends on whether the employer was able to substantiate the claims and, if he is unable to, the employer may be ordered to reinstate the employee, to provide compensation. And if the employer does not comply with the order, then he can also be prosecuted.

As to what the compensation should include, it is up to the ECT to assess and that will also depend on what was presented to the Tribunal by the claimant in terms of the range of losses suffered.

I have three supplementary questions for the Second Minister. Firstly, whether constructive dismissals, forced resignations, non-renewal of contracts and non-confirmation during probation are covered under section 14 – wrongful or unfair dismissals.

Second question: whether employers should be required to give reasons when terminating the contract with notice and salary in lieu of notice.

Third, whether MOM will consider coming up with a set of FAQs or guidelines publicly to provide more clarity and certainty as to what amounts to an unfair dismissal.

Mr Speaker, I shall try and answer all three questions.

The first is on two different sets of dismissals. One, on constructive dismissals or forced resignations, the answer to the question is yes. The ECT will look into these. The second set has to do with non-renewals of contracts and non-confirmation during probation. These are not the same at all because, in such instances, there was already an agreement that the contract would come to an end, if not renewed, or there may not be continued employment after probation. These two types of situations do not fall within the ambit of wrongful dismissals, but, if any contract terms were not met, then the employee can certainly bring the matter up to the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management. So, that is on the first question.

On the second question on whether the employer should be required to give reasons even when terminating a contract with notice or salary in lieu of notice, well, in most employment contracts, the employee may resign with notice and not provide reasons. So, the same applies to employers. They can also terminate with notice and not provide reasons. But this does not stop the employee from taking up the matter with MOM or the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management, if other contract terms were not met, or if he believed that his dismissal was wrongful in some way.

On the third question on FAQs, the short answer is yes. MOM will work with our tripartite partners to do so.

Can I just confirm that for wrongful dismissal, the ECT can recognise damages that go beyond the notice period; they do not just compensate on the one or two months' notice that they were not given?

It will depend on the claims of losses, in this case, that the employee puts up, and then the ECT will have to assess. I think it is very hard to say in the absence of facts of the case.

14 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Manpower (a) why are employers required to pay the salaries of S Pass holders electronically but not for work permit holders; and (b) how does the Ministry verify that the amount stated in salary vouchers tally with the cash amount paid to workers.

Sir, under the S Pass framework, there is a minimum salary requirement specified by MOM. Electronic salary payments were, therefore, made mandatory for S Pass holders to ensure that their employer has documentary proof of meeting the minimum salary requirement in order to enjoy the S Pass privileges.

MOM did consider making electronic salary payments mandatory for work permit holders. However, during our consultations with workers, employers and unions, some work permit holders expressed a preference to receive their salaries in cash as it is more convenient for them. Some work permit holders also gave feedback that they would face difficulties in maintaining a minimum account balance of $500 in their bank account to avoid being charged a fee by the banks.

On the other hand, small and micro SME employers like family-run shops or mom-and-pop shops who employ work permit holders have also expressed difficulties paying salaries electronically as they would need to incur additional administrative fees and resources to do this.

Nevertheless, our laws already require employers of work permit holders to pay salaries electronically if requested by the workers. Today, two-thirds of these workers receive their salaries electronically. To further encourage the adoption of e-payment of worker salaries, MOM introduced an online facility in 2014 to facilitate employers opening bank accounts for their work permit holders when applying for their work permits.

In addition, MOM also mandated the issuance of itemised payslips and written key employment terms since April 2016. Workers should ensure that they are paid the amount stated in their salary vouchers. And when there is any discrepancy, workers should seek clarifications from their employer and not sign on the salary vouchers. If workers are not able to resolve such disputes with their employers, they should seek help from MOM immediately. Sir, no employer should ask their workers to sign on salary vouchers in advance or on blank salary vouchers. Anyone who has information on employers who do this should report this to MOM and action would be taken against the errant employers.

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. Can I just check with the Minister of State whether MOM does track the number of employers that open a bank account for their work permit holders when they apply for their work permits? And two, does MOM know what proportion of work permit holders currently have bank accounts here in Singapore?

Sir, as mentioned in my reply, right now, more than two-thirds of the work permit holders are paid using the e-payment. From our statistics, as regard the provisions of the online e-payment during the application process for the work permit, close to two-thirds of the employers have actually chosen to open e-payment accounts for their employees.

Just one last clarification, Sir. If I could ask if MOM is willing to incentivise the process so as to try to incentivise the employers when they apply for the work permit to apply also for the bank accounts for their work permit holders. In that way, we can reach 100% of the work permit holders having bank accounts here in Singapore.

Sir, I thank the Member for the suggestion. We will continue to consult the employers, the employment agencies and also the work permit holders to explore the possibility of making a comprehensive e-payment system for the payment of salaries.

But, as mentioned in my reply, not all the permit holders actually prefer to receive their salary electronically for a range of reasons. And also, not all the employers are able to do this because of administrative fees and other constraints. So, I think we should provide a framework where those who need e-payment of their salary will be able to do so and, at the same time, to also allow for some flexibilities for those who are genuinely not able to adopt this payment method, so that there will be flexibility and also convenience between the employers and employees.

Nonetheless, I take the Member's point. When we continue to do our policy review, we will find ways and means to further encourage our employers to adopt this e-payment method.

15 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Law what measures are in place to minimise the time between when land is acquired by the Government and when that land is developed for the purpose for which it was acquired.

Mr Speaker, the Government carefully scrutinises all proposals for land acquisition. We weigh all available land options on their suitability to meet the requirements of a public development, before deciding on any land acquisition.

Where private land is needed, MinLaw and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) work closely with the landowners and developing agencies to ensure that the acquired land can be handed over in time for development. Affected landowners are given sufficient time to make alternative arrangements, such as relocating to a replacement property.

The time taken for agencies to commence and complete development of acquired land parcels vary, depending on the scale and complexity of the project. Once the state takes possession of the acquired land, development works, generally, commence shortly after.

16 Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) (a) how many times were awarded Government incentives clawed back from companies in each of the last five years; and (b) what were the main reasons for the claw-backs.

Mr Speaker, from 2013 to 2017, there were, on average, about 100 cases per year where MTI agencies had to claw back incentives from companies they were awarded to. This made up less than 1% of total incentive cases over the same period. These cases were largely attributed to non-fulfilment of deliverables or non-compliance with terms and conditions that were set out before the commencement of the projects.

I thank the Minister for his answer. Just two supplementary questions. Firstly, how is the verification of compliance with conditions of incentives generally done? I would assume that there would be declarations made by the company and penalties attached to false declarations. So, is it generally going by declarations made or is there further verification that is attempted to be done by the agencies?

Secondly, is there more that can be done by the auditors, because I assume, in most cases, companies which received these incentives are audited. Can some of the burden of checking be handled by auditors? One assumes the auditors do, actually, based on sample checks, check compliance with the Government's incentives, but they may not do so in all cases, I am supposing. So, is there more that can be done to require the auditors to flag out cases of non-compliance so that some of that burden of checking is outsourced, as it were?

Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for his suggestions. There is a spectrum of ways in which verification, as the Member put it, can be done. This starts from declaration by the companies, obviously. But it also extends to the checks done by our agencies and also, in some cases, there is feedback that is received and they act upon that.

The Member's point on external auditors, the remit of external auditors, in general, is, as the Member would appreciate, to render an opinion as to whether the accounts of the company are true and fair. It is not really about ascertaining compliance with conditions attached to Government's incentives and grants. However, if the auditors themselves are prepared to do it further, it is not costless. It will entail a cost. The question then is who bears the cost of doing that. But I think it is an idea we can think about.

In general, I want to make a point that, as I have said in my reply, these claw-backs constitute a fraction of 1% of all such awards. So, materiality of the issue should be taken into account.

17 Miss Cheng Li Hui asked the Minister for Transport (a) what is the number of applicants for Private Hire Car Driver's Vocational Licences (PDVL) who do not possess a GCE "O" or "N" Level pass in English; (b) what is the number of such applicants who then sat for the Workplace Literacy Computer Adaptive Test for Conversational English; and (c) whether there are plans for PDVL tests to be conducted in the major mother tongues.

Mr Speaker, more than 90% of our PDVL applicants possess at least a D7 grade in GCE "O" or "N" Level English exams. The rest of the applicants passed the Level 3 Listening, Reading and Speaking modules of the Workplace Literacy Computer Adaptive Test instead.

Private hire car drivers must be able to read and speak simple English. This is so that they can navigate roads and buildings, the names of which are primarily in English. This also ensures that the drivers can communicate effectively with all commuters, both Singaporeans and including tourists. This is why the PDVL course and test are conducted in English. There are no plans to conduct the tests in other languages.

18 Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked the Minister for Transport when will LTA be rolling out the active mobility paths within Boon Lay constituency (Boon Lay and Jurong West) and when will the path connection to the adjacent Jurong Lake District Development be carried out.

Mr Speaker, LTA will construct dedicated cycling path networks (CPNs) in all HDB towns by 2030. We have built CPNs in nine towns and will do so in another six towns by 2023. CPNs in the remaining towns, including in Boon Lay and Jurong West, will be ready after 2023. We will keep in mind Mr Patrick Tay's suggestion to connect the CPN in Boon Lay and Jurong West to that in Jurong Lake District.

19 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Health whether the Ministry will consider allowing an applicant to apply for a second mobility device under the Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund (SMF) when the first device falls into an irreparable state.

Mr Speaker, MOH has put in place the SMF to support seniors to age in place. As part of the SMF, Singaporeans aged 60 years and above can apply for means-tested SMF subsidies to offset the cost of assistive devices, including mobility devices.

Our priority is to target SMF subsidies at helping seniors with the purchase of their first device. Nevertheless, we recognise that there may be exceptional cases where seniors may need to apply for a replacement device but have no financial means. In such cases, the Agency for Integrated Care will assess and approve applications on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the senior's circumstances.

Order. End of Question Time.

[(proc text) "to amend the National Library Board Act (Chapter 197 of the 2014 Revised Edition), and to make consequential and related amendments to the Copyright Act (Chapter 63 of the 2006 Revised Edition)", (proc text)]

[(proc text) presented by the Minister for Communications and Information (Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim); read the First time; to be read a Second time on the next available Sitting of Parliament, and to be printed. (proc text)]

[(proc text) Order for Second Reading read. (proc text)]

Mr Speaker, Sir, on behalf of the Minister for Law, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

This Bill is closely related to the next Bill on our Order Paper, the Evidence (Amendment) Bill. Sir, may I, therefore, suggest, with your permission, that the debate on both Bills take place now as both these Bills are closely related? Members would be welcome to raise questions or express their views on both Bills during this debate.

But we would still have the formal Second Reading of the Evidence (Amendment) Bill as well, to ensure that procedural requirements are dealt with. However, the proposal is to have the substantive debate for both Bills take place now to avoid duplication or overlap, so that all substantive arguments can be captured cogently in a single debate.

Please proceed.

Thank you, Sir. Mr Speaker, the Government has made important changes to the criminal justice system over the past decade. These changes have been towards a more progressive, balanced and modern criminal justice system that protects society from crime.

In 2010, we repealed and re-enacted the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), after a sustained period of review of more than two years. In 2012, we amended the Evidence Act to reduce the stress that complainants of sexual offences experience during the Court process. In 2012, we made calibrations to the death penalty regime. And in 2015, the Government began funding criminal legal aid, through the Law Society.

The amendments in these Bills continue in this spirit. Let me recap the key principles which underpinned the revisions to criminal procedure in 2010.

First, the presumption of innocence must be respected. Second, there must be fair processes – they must reflect a balance between various interests and each society must decide for itself what a fair balance is. Third, accurate outcomes – the system must be effective at arriving at the truth to ensure that the guilty are held accountable and the innocent are not convicted.

The current amendments are made with the same principles in mind. We made a sustained effort to obtain and consider feedback. Public consultation was held for a month in July to August 2017.

We received around 30 contributions from a wide spectrum of society: the general public, civil society organisations, banks, technology companies and the Bar.

We also had extensive dialogue with the Law Society and the Criminal Bar from the start of the public consultation until January this year when we had a dialogue with the Criminal Bar and then we took on board a number of their suggestions.

The Law Society President, Mr Gregory Vijayendran, acknowledged this in his address at the Opening of the Legal Year 2018 when he said, "The Bar appreciates the constructive consultations we have had with the Ministry of Law on amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code. The Law Ministry officials have shown considerable respect for the Law Society's perspectives, a number of which were accommodated. Even when we agreed to disagree, the process was positive and the dialogue, candid."

Finally, there were on-going consultations with the Judiciary, the Attorney-General's Chambers and other Ministries. There was broad support for the amendments proposed. I would add that we are, concurrently, in the midst of a fairly fundamental review of the Penal Code. The Penal Code Review Committee comprises representatives from the Judiciary, AGC, Criminal Bar, academia and the Government.

The proposed changes to criminal procedure that we are discussing, taken together with the proposed changes to the Penal Code, will put our criminal justice system on a strong footing going forward. Let me now deal with the overview of the changes.

The amendments can be split into three main categories. First, investigative processes. Second, Court procedure. Third, sentencing powers of the Court. Under these three categories, there are more than 50 discrete proposals. I will not go through the technical amendments in detail, although Members are welcome to ask questions, but I will briefly cover the non-technical amendments.

Let us start with "Investigative Processes" and the introduction of video recording of interviews (VRI). Under the current law, law enforcement agencies taking statements under the CPC can only do so in writing. The Bill will allow such statements to be taken via video recording. This will assist the Courts to try cases more effectively when investigation statements are sought to be admitted in a criminal trial.

First, they will be able to take into account the interviewee's demeanour when deciding on the weight to be accorded to statements. Second, video-recordings also provide an objective account of the interview, to assist the Court in deciding on any allegations made about the conduct of the interview.

The implementation of VRI requires significant investment of infrastructure and training. It will, therefore, have to be implemented in phases.

In the first phase of implementation, we intend to make it mandatory to conduct VRI for suspects in rape offences under section 375(1)(a) of the Penal Code.

However, we recognise that there may be instances where there is a need for exceptions. These are set out in the legislation. For example, there may be a need to record a handwritten contemporaneous statement from an accused person at the scene of the crime, when the person is arrested at the scene. The legislation allows for flexibility to take into account such operational exigencies.

The next set of amendments relate to the powers of investigation relating to evidence stored on computers.

Crimes increasingly involve the use of computers, smartphones and the Internet. We are enhancing the computer-related powers of investigation in the CPC to keep pace with this evolving environment. Investigators will be able to order the production of evidence stored on computers where such evidence is in the subject's possession or power. Our investigators have also been analysing and searching through large amounts of data.

To increase investigators' efficiency when processing electronic evidence produced under such an order, the amendments will allow regulations to be made to specify how such production orders must be complied with, including the format of the reply and the method of delivery. This is intended to enable electronic replies in machine-processable formats. We have consulted industry stakeholders who provide data to our investigators and have taken into account their feedback in determining the requirements that will be imposed.

Investigators will also be empowered to access, secure and safeguard evidence on computers, regardless of whether the evidence is stored on a computer inside or outside Singapore.

Many people now use web-based email accounts or web storage accounts. Technically, such data may reside in computers outside Singapore, even if the data is accessed from within Singapore. Applicable laws in other countries will be duly considered when such powers are exercised.

Next, on to the search of women suspects. The Bill makes a small but important amendment to the search powers of Police officers and immigration officers.

Currently, women can only be searched by female officers. The amendments will allow a male officer to search a woman, in specific circumstances. These are: first, if the officer reasonably suspects the woman of involvement in a terrorist act; second, the officer believes, in good faith that the terrorist act is imminent; and third, the officer believes, in good faith, that the search cannot be made within a reasonable time by a woman officer. This will allow searches of women suspected of being terrorists where time is of the essence and any delay could mean loss of lives.

Next, strengthening the bail regime. The Minister for Law had said in late 2014 that the Ministry would be reviewing the framework on bail. This was after the 2014 hostage-taking incident in a Sydney café perpetrated by a person who was accused of a serious crime and, yet, had been released on bail. He went on to take 17 innocent persons hostage in a Sydney café. The incident eventually led to the death of two innocent persons.

There is a need to strike a balance. On the one hand, the presumption of innocence means that it would be unfair for someone accused of a crime to be kept locked up in remand when he or she has not yet been found guilty by a Court. But on the other hand, there must be sufficient means to secure the accused person's continued attendance in Court, to ensure justice is served.

The system must also ensure that those who may pose a danger to public safety, are at risk of re-offending while on bail, or who may interfere with evidence, are not released on bail.

With these considerations in mind, the Bill strengthens the bail regime in a number of ways.

First, the Bill makes certain adjustments to the categorisation of "bailable" and "non-bailable" offences.

It may be helpful if I clarify for Members the meaning of "bailable" and "non-bailable" at this point, to avoid confusion.

If an offence is “bailable”, it means that the accused person is entitled to bail as of right and if the Prosecution objects, then it is for the Prosecution to show why the person should not be granted bail.

If an offence is "non-bailable", on the other hand, the accused person is not entitled to bail. He or she must show the Court why bail ought to be granted. If they fail to do so, they will be remanded. In practice, many accused persons charged with "non-bailable" offences are released on bail with conditions intended to ensure their attendance in Court.

On that note, we are making certain offences non-bailable: cheating under section 420 of the Penal Code. This brings cheating in line with the treatment of other similar offences carrying similar penalties, for example, criminal breach of trust (CBT). Offences which concern false evidence and offences against public justice will also be made non-bailable. These offences relate to interference with the administration of justice.

Second, the Courts' powers relating to bail and personal bonds will be clarified and enhanced. For example, important bail or bond conditions, such as to surrender travel documents or to surrender to custody when required, will be imposed by default unless the Court orders otherwise. Many of these conditions are, in fact, already ordered by the Court as a matter of course, but this will further tighten the system.

Electronic tagging or "e-tagging" will be allowed as a condition of bail. This will assist the Police in monitoring accused persons who have been released on bail.

The Court will be given the discretion to withhold bail for bailable offences punishable with imprisonment, if there are substantial grounds to believe that the accused person would abscond.

The rules on execution of bail pending a bail review will be tightened. If the State Courts grant bail for a non-bailable offence and the Prosecution intends to apply to the High Court for a review of bail, the State Courts will be required to order that the accused person is not allowed to go on bail until the review is determined. In other words, the accused person will have to be remanded until the High Court decides on the bail review.

If the State Courts grant bail for a bailable offence and the Prosecution intends to apply for review, the State Courts will have a discretion on whether to allow the accused person to go on bail pending determination of the review.

Third, the Bill creates three new offences to ensure that bail remains effective. It will now be an offence to abscond whilst on bail or personal bond; to leave the jurisdiction without permission, for persons whose travel documents have been impounded by investigators; and to indemnify a surety, or, if you are a surety, to agree to be indemnified.

I now move on to Court procedure and evidence and the proposed amendments for enhancing protection for victims of sexual and child abuse offences.

In the past two years or so, there has been a concerted effort to ensure that vulnerable victims of crime are sufficiently protected by our criminal justice system.

One particularly vulnerable group of victims are those who are subject to sexual or child abuse. We have re-examined every step in the system, to minimise the trauma that such victims experience in the process of bringing perpetrators to justice.

Some measures have already been implemented by the Police, for example, the one-stop centre for medical examinations to minimise waiting time for sexual crime victims, enhanced training curriculum for Police officers to better handle sexual crime cases and the pilot of a Multi-Disciplinary Interview (MDI) model for children who had been sexually abused.

These Bills introduce a suite of measures to further enhance protection. Let me highlight a few examples.

First, the publication of information leading to the victim's identity will be automatically prohibited, even before the case goes before the Courts.

One of the fears that victims have when deciding whether to report sexual offences is that media coverage will cause them further distress. This is why the Courts often grant gag orders to prevent the publication of information that may lead to the identification of a victim.

However, the case must be before the Court before such an order can be granted. This means that if a person gets wind of the identity of a victim and the case has not yet come before the Courts, under current law, that person can make public information revealing the victim's identity. Some suspects may even do this to intimidate the victim and make them basically pay a price for making a Police report.