Home Team officers promoted for their efforts
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ICA Assistant Commissioner Poh Seng Hock (left) and Mr Ong Ka Hing, deputy director of the Robotics, Automation and Unmanned Systems Centre of Expertise at HTX, were among those who received their promotions at a Home Team Promotion Ceremony on April 13.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
- HTX's Ong Ka Hing, promoted at Home Team Promotion Ceremony, develops cyborg cockroaches for disaster rescue.
- Following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar in 2025, Ong's cyborg cockroaches were deployed to locate trapped people.
- ICA's AC Poh Seng Hock, also promoted, leads New Clearance Concept projects and fosters an innovative culture within his team.
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SINGAPORE – His colleagues at the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) joke whenever they see a cockroach scampering on the floor that he set it loose on them.
But Mr Ong Ka Hing, deputy director of the Robotics, Automation and Unmanned Systems Centre of Expertise at HTX, takes it all in his stride, secure in the knowledge that the cyborg cockroaches he has created are no vermin but life-saving innovations.
For his work, Mr Ong was promoted along with other senior officers from the Home Team. Altogether, 289 officers gained a higher rank or grade, including from the Volunteer Special Constabulary (VSC), Civil Defence Auxiliary Unit (CDAU) and civilian schemes of service.
They received their promotions at a Home Team Promotion Ceremony on April 13 at Orchard Hotel.
The HTX officer, together with Nanyang Technological University and KLASS Engineering and Solutions, developed cyborg cockroaches for disaster response to locate people trapped under rubble.
The roaches are fitted with sensors on their backs and can be controlled remotely.
Mr Ong, 47, told The Straits Times: “It’s pretty common... every time some of my colleagues see a cockroach (run across our path), they’ll look at me and say, ‘Is it yours?’”
But it was no laughing matter when Mr Ong’s cockroaches were deployed on March 28, 2025, after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, killing more than 3,000 people.
A total of 10 cyborg cockroaches – each a Madagascar hissing cockroach measuring about 6cm long – became the first of their kind to be used in a humanitarian operation, marking as well the first time insect-hybrid robots were deployed in the field.
The data acquired from the Myanmar operation was also invaluable to the team in making further improvements to their prototype.
Mr Ong said that his promotion was a validation of his work, and that he looks forward to more challenges.
Mr Ong Ka Hing said that his promotion was a validation of his work, and he looks forward to more challenges.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam, the guest of honour, praised the Home Team officers at the ceremony.
“We at the Home Team have continued to do well over the past year,” said Mr Shanmugam, who is also the Coordinating Minister for National Security. “Time and again, we have demonstrated our ability to act swiftly, decisively and reliably.”
Citing the Myanmar earthquake, he said a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) team arrived in the country the next day to assist with search-and-rescue efforts.
Another senior officer who gained promotion was Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) Assistant Commissioner Poh Seng Hock.
ICA Assistant Commissioner Poh Seng Hock likes to encourage his subordinates and believes that “no idea is a bad idea”.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
AC Poh, 51, who is the deputy commander of Woodlands Checkpoint, led the checkpoint operations for various New Clearance Concept projects, such as the FR@BIKES, which provides quicker immigration clearance for arriving motorcyclists using facial recognition.
He likes to encourage his subordinates and believes that “no idea is a bad idea”.
Said AC Poh: “We tell our staff that we do not have a monopoly on all the new ideas. So actually, it’s the ICA culture that we encourage everyone to give their ideas.”
Other guests at the ceremony included the Law Minister and Second Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Edwin Tong, and the Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs, Ms Sim Ann.
In total, 6,959 officers from across the Home Team will be promoted in 2026.
These consist of 4,282 regular officers from the Home Team departments, and 2,599 operationally ready national servicemen from the Singapore Police Force and SCDF, as well as 78 members from VSC and CDAU.
