Also, unlike conventional crimes like robbery and assault, graft offences usually leave little or no forensic evidence behind.

Policing corruption, therefore, presents a challenge, said Mr Peter Ho, the head of Singapore's civil service, at the opening of a three-day anti-corruption workshop here on Tuesday.

The workshop, the third to be held under the Singapore Cooperation Programme managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), has drawn over 60 participants from anti-corruption agencies around the world, including the United States, Australia, China and Bangladesh.

Addressing the participants, Mr Ho, who is also the MFA's permanent secretary, noted that anti-graft agencies often face other challenges such as resource constraints, political considerations, cross-agency cooperation issues and legal hurdles.

Yet, through all this, they still have to 'stand as a beacon of integrity and good governance for the rest of the public service'.

These agencies, therefore, need to be managed effectively, which is the theme for this year's workshop.

Topics discussed by the participants will include how the public views anti-corruption agencies, and how to ensure they maintain a high level of integrity.

Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.