The gist: New law to stop scams, new Bill to protect racial harmony
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Parliament passed a beefed-up Protection from Scams Bill on Jan 7.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
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SINGAPORE – Police will soon have wide-ranging and intrusive powers to take control of the bank accounts of scam victims who refuse intervention.
On Jan 7, Parliament passed a beefed-up Protection from Scams Bill, enabling the police to issue orders to banks to stop people who refuse to believe they are scam victims from accessing their funds.
MPs were also introduced to a new Bill consolidating the Ministry of Home Affairs’ powers to maintain racial harmony.
Here are the key takeaways from the latest sitting:
Police will be able to order banks to restrict scam victims’ access to funds
The Protection from Scams Bill, when it comes into effect, will give the police powers to issue restriction orders to banks.
This will stop scam victims from being able to transfer money, and use ATMs, as well as credit services and PayNow. In-person and over-the-counter transactions will also be restricted.
The Bill was initially tabled to combat remote scams, such as overseas syndicates targeting victims through calls, social media and messaging channels. The version that was passed on Jan 7 will also cover traditional cases of cheating.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling said police powers would be used as a last resort, after consultation with the victims and their families.
Why it matters:
The extent of the new police powers reflects the seriousness of the scam epidemic in Singapore.
Scam numbers hit record highs in the first half of 2024, with more than $385.6 million lost in 26,587 reported cases.
Eleven MPs from both sides of the aisle spoke during the debate on the Bill, with many raising concerns about the scam scourge. They said their residents who were scam victims had been approaching them for help during their Meet-the-People Sessions.
New Bill consolidating government powers to maintain racial harmony introduced
Under the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill, designated race-based entities would be subject to measures to curb foreign influence.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
The proposed law introduces a raft of measures consolidating the Government’s powers over racial harmony and introducing new ones.
Known as the Maintenance of Racial Harmony Bill, it will require more than 300 Chinese, Malay and Indian clan and business associations to be designated race-based entities.
This would subject them to baseline foreign-influence safeguards, such as the need to disclose foreign and anonymous donations.
It also empowers the home affairs minister to issue restraining orders against a person or an entity that produces or distributes content prejudicial to racial harmony in Singapore, and introduces a new Presidential Council for Racial and Religious Harmony.
Why it matters:
Mooted in 2021 by then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the National Day Rally, the Bill introduces specific legislation on racial harmony and consolidates the Government’s existing powers to deal with racial issues.
It also signals that racial harmony is as important to Singapore as religious harmony, which has had a dedicated piece of legislation since 1990 – the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act.
New agency to prevent, prepare for, detect and manage infectious diseases
The new government agency, known as the Communicable Diseases Agency, will be set up by the first half of 2025, with the passing of a new Bill on Jan 7.
It will take the lead in Singapore’s response to infectious diseases, and will have five areas of responsibility: prevention, preparation, detection, response and research.
Why it matters:
Plans to establish the agency were unveiled by Health Minister Ong Ye Kung during the parliamentary debate on the Covid-19 White Paper in March 2023.
The move is meant to allow for better integration and organisation of public health functions for communicable diseases, and to improve overall command, control and coordination of public health responses.
Singapore’s current capabilities in managing communicable diseases reside in several entities, said Minister of State for Health Rahayu Mahzam on Jan 7.
For example, while the Ministry of Health sets policy, the National Centre for Infectious Diseases administers public health control measures as part of national programmes, and the Health Promotion Board does public education.
“By consolidating (these areas) into a dedicated agency, it will help us systematically build up strong public health expertise and organisational capacity and establish international linkages, to better tackle future pandemics,” said Ms Rahayu.
If you have a few more minutes:
SingPost issue is one of corporate governance and is being dealt with by the board
The incident that resulted in the dismissal of three senior executives was confined to international transshipment parcel delivery overseas, said Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How. It did not affect regulated domestic postal services.
“SingPost’s board has assured the Government that postal service operations are not affected,” he said. “Nonetheless, the Infocomm Media Development Authority will continue to keep a close watch to uphold the public’s interests.”
8 telehealth providers investigated by Health Ministry for lapses
The telemedicine providers have been or are currently being investigated for lapses in clinical care or inappropriate advertisements of services, said Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary in Parliament on Jan 7.
Enforcement action has been taken against three providers, including MaNaDr Clinic,
MaNaDr Clinic was found to have more than 100,000 teleconsultations that lasted one minute or less in a sampled month, among other lapses.
PSP proposes alternative COE system
Instead of using cash to bid for certificates of entitlement (COEs), the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has proposed an alternative system where bidders use credits given to adult Singaporeans and permanent residents, combined with a base fee paid to the Government.
In a motion at the end of the Parliament sitting, Non-Constituency MP and PSP chief Hazel Poa suggested that the number of credits each person gets would depend on factors such as the number of children the person has, the person’s age, and whether the person has a disability.
Allocated monthly, the COE credits will be transferable. Families can pool their credits to make it less costly to buy a vehicle. Bidders may also buy credits from those who do not want to own a vehicle.
In response, Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor said PSP’s proposal is unlikely to be effective in practice.
She said the effect of the “rather complicated” credit framework is that COEs will still go to those who can afford them.
It has the potential to drive the price of credits underground, with COEs ending up more expensive on the black market, she said. Taxpayers may end up paying more too, for an enforcement regime to regulate the system.
