The gist: Emergency response team to help victims of family violence; rental scams soar in 2022
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The setting up of the new 24-hour emergency response team would help victims of family violence with immediate safety concerns.
PHOTO: ST FILE
SINGAPORE – Victims of family violence may get more help if proposed amendments are passed under the Women’s Charter (Family Violence and Other Matters) (Amendment) Bill. The Bill was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, home owners were warned to be careful of rental scams, while seniors were urged to get vaccinated against Covid-19 to keep infection at bay.
Here are the key takeaways:
1. Proposed changes to improve protection for victims of family violence
The setting up of a new 24-hour emergency response team was proposed as part of the Women’s Charter (Family Violence and Other Matters) (Amendment) Bill. This would help victims, especially those with immediate safety concerns.
Officers from this response team can issue an emergency order at the scene that is valid for 14 days to give the victim ample time to apply for a personal protection order (PPO). Any breach of the emergency order by the perpetrator will be an arrestable offence.
Other proposed changes include lowering the minimum age required to apply for a PPO from 21 to 18, and to allow for electronic monitoring of abusers.
Why it matters
The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) investigated 2,254 new family violence-related cases in 2022, and 2,346 cases in 2021.
Meanwhile, the National Anti-Violence and Sexual Harassment Helpline received 10,800 calls in 2022, up from 8,400 calls in 2021.
MSF said there is currently a time gap between an incident of family violence and the granting of a PPO, which means there is a possibility of the abuser hurting the victim during this period.
The proposed amendments to the law will better protect victims of high-risk family violence cases.
READ MORE HERE: Proposed changes to boost protection for family violence victims, rehab for abusers
2. Keeping up with vaccinations
It is important for vulnerable groups, to keep up with their vaccinations to ensure that the resilience of Singapore’s population against the virus does not wane, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
The latest Covid-19 peak has subsided, with about 3,000 infections a day now. This is down from some 4,000 infections a day about two weeks ago, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.
He also told the House that there are now more than 300 Covid-19 hospitalised patients, which is a fraction of hospitalisations at the peak of the pandemic crisis. However, he said that this still “added significant workload” to hospitals.
This is the first infection wave Singapore has faced after transiting to Dorscon Green and treating Covid-19 as an endemic disease.
It is something that has been planned for, said Mr Ong, who called it a noteworthy milestone that the country has weathered through.
It is vital for vulnerable groups, such as those aged 60 and above, to keep up with their vaccinations to ensure that the resilience of Singapore’s population against the virus does not wane, he added.
Why it matters
The number of seniors aged 60 and above who have kept up to date with their vaccinations has been declining, said Mr Ong.
At the start of this year, 58 per cent of this group were updated with their Covid-19 vaccinations, but this has since dropped to 50 per cent.
Some might think that they are not at risk if they do not go out much, while others are concerned about the risk of side effects if they take further vaccination shots, he added.
However, Mr Ong stressed that the incidence of severe adverse reactions is very low in Singapore, and strongly urged this group to keep up with their vaccinations or risk catching an Omicron variant.
He added this is also the recommendation of the Expert Committee on Covid-19 Vaccination and the Health Sciences Authority.
3. Home rental scams soar in 2022
The hot rental market has led to victims falling for scams when asked to quickly make deposits to secure units.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
The number of home rental scams via online platforms has jumped five times, from 192 cases in 2021 to 979 cases in 2022.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling said such scams took place on e-commerce and social media platforms.
Scammers would usually impersonate property agents and list home rentals on these platforms.
She assured home owners, who unknowingly have their homes used in these scams, that they would not be penalised.
Why it matters
The hot rental market has seen rental rates surge amid strong demand in recent times.
This has led to victims falling for scams when asked to quickly make deposits to secure units, even though they had not viewed the apartment in person or met the supposed housing agent.
The Straits Times reported in March that there were at least 305 people who fell prey to home rental scams in the first quarter of 2023.
Ms Sun urged the public to verify the identities of housing agents by checking their phone numbers against the Council for Estate Agencies’ public register or calling the property agency directly, and to view the units in person before making any deposits.
If you have a few more minutes…
1. Most Blooboxes for households collected
About 530,000 reusable recycling boxes, known as Blooboxes, were collected by April 30. This is 93 per cent of the boxes that were produced.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment Baey Yam Keng said that when planning for the number of Blooboxes to be distributed, the authorities took into account that not all households would require such a box, as many may have their own containers for collecting recyclables.
The remaining Blooboxes will be used to support efforts by the National Environment Agency to encourage household recycling.
2. Extension of quiet hours in residential areas under review
The review on whether to establish a residential noise threshold will be concluded before the end of 2024, said Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann.
The Community Advisory Panel on Neighbourhood Noise had recommended extending the quiet hours to be from 10pm to 8am, from the current 10.30pm to 7am.
The Municipal Services Office (MSO) is studying the feasibility of this plan, in consultation with relevant community stakeholders.
Ms Sim also said that MSO is working with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and the Ministry of Law to strengthen the inter-agency Community Dispute Management Framework.
One measure is to have a pilot unit of dedicated personnel to address serious cases of neighbour noise disputes.
3. No reported attempts to hack Wi-Fi or public charging stations
There have been no reported attempts to breach Wi-Fi access points or public charging stations at public transport nodes here, said Transport Minister S. Iswaran.
Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang) had asked about the growing vulnerability of mobile devices and the possibility of compromised data through these shared public facilities.
Mr Iswaran said that data transmitted through public transport Wi-Fi access points, which operate on the Wireless@SGx network, is encrypted.
To further protect commuters, he added, charging stations at public transport operators have their data transmission pins removed and can only charge devices.
Staff also check for physical tampering, while security cameras are in place to deter such attempts.
