Around 400 foreign workers gathered in the Singapore Contractors Association Limited dormitory in Kim Chuan Road on Sunday evening to witness 42 of their colleagues being appointed role models in their dormitory community.

These "foreign worker ambassadors" are trained by the police and other Home Team agencies on crime and safety tips so that they can pass on the advice to their dormitory mates, report any criminal activity, and mediate disputes among other workers.

The appointments were part of Project Foreign Workers Awareness and Readiness (Forward), a programme launched by the Ang Mo Kio Police Division in collaboration with some dormitory operators last November. So far, 287 foreign worker ambassadors have been appointed.

The programme is meant to engage foreign workers and raise their security and crime prevention awareness, and the dormitory in Kim Chuan is one of four within Ang Mo Kio Police Division's jurisdiction which have been certified "Forward ready" so far.

The programme is slated to be run at nine other dormitories by next year.

Commander of Ang Mo Kio Police Division, Assistant Commissioner of Police Keok Tong San, was the guest of honour at Sunday's event.

He said that most foreign workers come to Singapore with one objective in mind: To work hard for a few years and bring the hard-earned money home to build a better life for themselves and their loved ones.

The small minority that choose to go astray will be caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law and then repatriated, he said.

"They will also be blacklisted and barred from entering Singapore ever again," he added.

He stressed that the authorities "will commit to continue our engagement with foreign worker dormitories, the Foreign Worker Ambassadors and the foreign worker community in general to make the neighbourhood safe and secure for all."