Minister updates MPs on border controls
BY LEE U-WEN
[email protected] @LeeUWenBT
PUBLISHED APRIL 15, 2014
ABOUT 7,000 Singapore passports were reported stolen or lost each year over the past five years.
During that same period, some 350 people were caught at Singapore's various checkpoints with passports that did not belong to them, or were forged or tampered with.
These figures were revealed in parliament yesterday, with several MPs wanting updates on the country's border controls in the wake of a security lapse in Kuala Lumpur last month that saw two passengers board the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 using stolen passports.
This raised fears that the plane's disappearance could have been linked to terrorism, and the Malaysian authorities came under fire for failing to check against Interpol's database of stolen and lost travel documents.
Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Masagos Zulkifli shared that the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has been making use of Interpol's database since 2008, accessing it 29 million times a year as part of the passport document examination process.
Lyon, France-based Interpol, the world's largest international police organisation, has a database of more than 40 million passports that have been reported lost or stolen by 167 countries.
When ICA receives a report of a lost or stolen passport, it immediately cancels the document, updates its database and conveys the relevant information to Interpol, said Mr Masagos.
"ICA maintains our security with tight controls at our borders over persons who present stolen or lost passports," he said.
"At the same time, the security features of our Singapore biometric passport, and the education efforts and strict enforcement of laws regarding lost or stolen passports, help ensure that Singaporeans who travel face fewer queries and delays due to inquiries regarding their passports," he added.
ICA also actively taps into its network of global partners to exchange information on lost and stolen travel documents to prevent cases of infringements, said Mr Masagos. As for travellers trying to use a passport illegally, he stressed that all people entering or leaving Singapore were subject to stringent checks at the checkpoints.
On a related note, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean updated the House on the enhanced security measures at the Woodlands checkpoint, which saw another person arrested last Sunday for failing to stop for immigration clearance. This was the third such case this year.
Besides tightening its coordination with the police, ICA has deployed mobile crash barriers at the checkpoint. There are plans to use tracking vehicles to stop cars from escaping if they manage to get past the barriers, said Mr Teo. He spoke of the need to strike a balance in ensuring a speedy clearance of people and goods while maintaining effective security checks, something which he admitted was not easy.
By the middle of this year, ICA, as part of its effort to enhance its clearance systems, will
allow all Work Permit and S-Pass holders to be automatically cleared at the checkpoints. This, said Mr Teo, will benefit 95 per cent of all Malaysian motorcycle trips into Singapore.
http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/singapore/minister-updates-mps-border-controls-20140415
who dare.. kee chiu!!
