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Continued from
FrontPage of Article
Cancellation/Refusal of Passports
Sir, having the use of
a Singapore passport is a privilege and not an entitlement. Clause
57 of the Bill makes it clear that every Singapore passport issued
before, on, or after the commencement of this Act shall be the
property of the Government.
The Bill provides discretionary powers to the Controller to cancel
Singapore passports. Besides cancelling passports that are
reported lost or stolen, the Controller may also cancel or refuse
to issue a passport for administrative or law enforcement reasons,
as well as for reasons relating to harmful misconduct, which would
include conduct that could prejudice the security of Singapore,
endanger the health or physical safety of other persons or
constitute an offence under the Act. Let me elaborate further.
While a lost or stolen passport can be cancelled, there will still
be some Singaporeans who continue to be careless, and fail to
safeguard their passports. To help curb such behaviour, the Bill
allows the Controller to refuse to issue a Singapore passport to a
person who has had two or more passports lost or stolen, when the
Controller deems it undesirable to issue that person with another
passport.
Let me reassure the House that ICA will look into the merits of
each case very carefully and will exercise such powers
judiciously. A citizen who has taken reasonable steps to safeguard
his passport need not be too worried about being denied a
passport. Nevertheless, it is important to emphasise that we
expect Singaporeans to exercise due care in safeguarding their
passports to minimize the likelihood of their passports being lost
or stolen.
Clause 23 of the Bill allows the Controller to refuse passports to
persons for law enforcement reasons, such as to persons who have
been placed under supervision under the Misuse of Drugs Act. This
will ensure that they do not indulge in drug-related activities
overseas. Others who may be refused passports include those who
are the subject of warrants of arrest issued for seizeable
offences.
Reasons relating
to harmful misconduct
ICA has cancelled the passports of Singapore citizens for national
security reasons. In recent years, such action has been taken
against Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members who are on the run or hiding
in other countries. Under clause 24 of the Bill, the Controller
can refuse to issue a passport to such a person, to prevent him
from doing harm overseas.
Since 1 Sep 2005, we have put in place a passport cancellation
policy against leaders of unlicensed moneylending syndicates who
are convicted under the Moneylenders Act. The Bill continues to
allow Controller to deny passports to these persons, so as to
prevent them from re-establishing and perpetuating the unlicensed
moneylending business while they are overseas.
All Singapore passports and travel documents that have been
cancelled should be surrendered to ICA quickly. This is to avoid
such passports being subsequently abused. Hence, clause 30 of the
Bill allows ICA to demand that a person surrenders a cancelled
Singapore passport. Similarly, a person who ceases to be a
Singapore Citizen will also be required to surrender his Singapore
passport.
Measures Against the
Misuse of Singapore and Foreign Travel Documents
Sir, the Bill seeks to
enhance measures against the misuse and abuse of Singapore
passports and foreign travel documents. Currently, for Singapore
passports we rely on administrative measures, such as the denial
of passport facilities, to curb abuse. We can also prosecute a
person under relevant sections of the Penal Code if a Singapore
passport or a foreign travel document is misused within our
jurisdiction.
Our efforts against passport abuse have kept the number of abuse
cases low. In 2006, there were 74 Singapore passport abuse cases
compared to 116 in 2003. Abuse of the Singapore passport, if left
unchecked, can cause inconvenience for Singaporeans who travel
overseas. Foreign immigration authorities may start to doubt the
authenticity of Singapore passports presented to them, causing
them to scrutinise our passports and their Singaporean holders
more closely, and perhaps even imposing additional
restrictions. Our international reputation could be adversely
affected.
Furthermore, in today¡¯s heightened security environment, we must
do our part as a responsible member of the international community
to minimize the abuse of our passports, so as not to provide
terrorist elements with the opportunity to slip in and out of
countries easily using forged or stolen passports. It is therefore
necessary for the Government to take a tougher stance by criminalising
such acts.
Thus, this Bill
introduces four main classes of passport offences. These offences
will carry heavy penalties to send a clear message to potential
perpetrators.
Offences
related to the Improper Use or Possession of Passports
First, we will
introduce offences relating to the improper use or possession of
the Singapore passport. Sir, we have cases where persons were
found to have attempted to pass through our checkpoints using
another person¡¯s Singapore passport. We cannot condone such
activities. Nor should we allow a small number of Singaporeans to
misuse their passports for selfish gain.
In 2006, ICA arrested a citizen who was engaged in selling lost or
stolen Singapore as well as foreign passports to a syndicate. He
was found to have multiple Singapore and foreign passports in his
possession when he was arrested. As the law currently does not
provide for the offence of selling passports, he was instead
charged and only sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for the
fraudulent possession of property under the Miscellaneous Offences
(Public Order and Nuisance) Act. The charge of fraudulent
possession of property carries with it a maximum fine not
exceeding $5,000, an imprisonment term not exceeding 2 years or
both.
Such penalties are
grossly inadequate. Classifying the sale of passports as a
¡®miscellaneous offence¡¯ is not commensurate with the seriousness
of the offence, especially if the passports were to fall into the
hands of terrorists. With this Bill, any person who is guilty of
selling or attempting to sell the Singapore passport can be fined
up to $10,000, imprisoned up to 10 years, or both. Further, should
such an act be found to be syndicated, that is, if a person is
found to have engaged in the business of selling Singapore
passports, the penalty will be stiffer: a mandatory jail term of
not less than 2 years and not more than 15 years and a fine of up
to $20,000.
Besides the offence of selling Singapore passports and travel
documents, we will also criminalise the improper possession of
passports or travel documents with a maximum penalty of
imprisonment of not more than 10 years, a fine of up to $10,000,
or both. A person who is found guilty of giving away his Singapore
passport or travel document and is reckless as to whether it will
be misused by another person for travel or for identification
purposes will face a fine of up to $5,000, a jail term of up to
three years, or both.
Singaporeans should
not hand over their passports to other persons, or hold on to
other persons¡¯ passports, for no legitimate reason. While we can
allow travel agents to temporarily hold on to our passports to
facilitate our travel arrangements (e.g. for visa applications),
we should not hand over our passports to persons who demand them
as a form of security or surety for any form of goods or services
rendered.
Offences
Related to False Singapore Passports
The second group of offences cover the falsifying of Singapore
passports. Clause 36 of the Bill makes it an offence for anyone to
make or use a false Singapore Passport. It will also be an offence
for a person to make or have in his possession, any equipment or
materials that is specially designed for the making of a false
Singapore passport, with the intent that it would be used for such
purposes. Such acts will be punished with a fine of up to $10,000,
imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both. In addition, clause 37 criminalises the possession of a false Singapore passport. Such an
act will carry the same penalties.
Offences
Related to Foreign Travel Documents
Besides Singapore
passports and travel documents, foreign travel documents are also
susceptible to tampering, forgery and misuse. We view any form of
passport abuse seriously. Clause 47 of the Bill therefore seeks to
punish such acts if they are carried out in Singapore, with
penalties equivalent to that imposed on the tampering, forgery and
misuse of Singapore passports and travel documents.
Offences
Related to the Giving of False Statements or Information
Sir, in 2005, ICA detected a case where some parents had applied
for Singapore passports for other children using their own
children¡¯s original Birth Certificates in exchange for monetary
gain. The Singapore passports would bear the names of their own
children, but affixed with the photographs of other children.
Had ICA failed to detect such an act, the impostors would have
used the genuine Singapore passports to travel overseas. While
ICA¡¯s passport issuance process has the necessary checks and
balances to detect and prevent fraudulent passport applications,
we need to send a strong deterrent signal. We will therefore
introduce a third group of offences to deal with the giving of
false statements or information to obtain a Singapore passport, or
for any other purposes related to the Singapore passport. Clause
39 criminalises the act of providing false statements or
information with a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment of up to 10
years, or both.
Unauthorised Issuance of Singapore Passport
Fourth, we will introduce offences on the unauthorised issuance of
Singapore passports and travel documents. Clause 48 of the Bill
penalises government officials who issue or make endorsements on
Singapore passports contrary to the requirements set out in the
Bill. This ensures that the integrity of our passport issuance
system is duly upheld. Government officers who are found to have
issued or endorsed passports in contravention of the requirements
would be liable for a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment of up to
10 years, or both.
Extra-Territorial Application for Passport Abuse Offence
We recognise that passport abuse need not be restricted to
Singapore, but may be committed by people of all nationalities in
any part of the world. Indeed, as the Singapore passport is a
travel document, its value is in facilitating entry into other
countries. Therefore, the abuse of our passports is as likely to
occur overseas as in Singapore. Thus, the Bill extends the
application for offences relating to the Singapore passport under
this Act beyond our shores, to all persons irrespective of their
nationality or citizenship.
We are aware of the operational difficulties involved in enforcing
our laws overseas. The foreigner concerned would need to be
physically present in Singapore in order for us to prosecute him.
There are also practical problems involved in information
gathering and investigation for an offence committed outside of
Singapore. Nonetheless, having the extra-territorial clause in the
Bill emphasises the Government's stance against passport abuse
offences, and sends a strong deterrent message.
Sir, the Biopass project is an example of how, by incorporating
new and advanced technology, such as the use of biometric
identifiers, we can stay ahead of potential abusers who are
increasingly using modern technology for criminal purposes.
Indeed, since 2003, Singapore has been actively participating in
discussions in this arena held by the International Civil Aviation
Organisation Council. This has helped us to successfully launch
the Biopass in August 2006. As of May this year, ICA has issued
more than 300,000 Biopasses. Features of our Biopass are now being
considered as a model for other countries planning to introduce
biometric passports.
It is important for us
to stay abreast of technological advancements and continue to
deploy new technologies aggressively to enhance the security
features of our passports. Clause 54 of the Bill gives us the
necessary flexibility to adopt new technologies for our travel
documents.
Safeguarding of Personal Identifying Information
Incorporating more personal information into our travel documents,
such as biometric identifiers, also means that we need to
safeguard such confidential information. Clause 55 restricts the
sharing of such information to the purposes of identification, law
enforcement and national security. For example, when a Singapore
citizen faces difficulties in establishing his identity overseas,
such information could be shared with our embassy officers to
assist in the authentication process so that necessary assistance
may be rendered to him. Unauthorised access or disclosure of such
information attracts a maximum penalty of a fine not exceeding
$5,000, imprisonment of not more than 3 years, or both.
Temporary
Travel Document (TTD)
With growing affluence among Singaporeans and a globalising
economy, we are seeing strong growth in overseas travel. In 1998,
Singaporeans made some 12 million trips overseas. This has since
increased to more than 18 million trips in 2006. From time to
time, some Singaporeans may face difficulties when they need to
travel urgently but their passports are with a foreign embassy for
visa applications. For this group of people, ICA currently issues
them with what is known as the Document of Identity, or DOI.
However, the DOI as a travel document lacks sufficient security
features. Furthermore, not all countries recognise the DOI. There
is therefore a need to introduce a new travel document, known as
the Singapore Temporary Travel Document, or TTD. The TTD carries
the same security features as our Biopass, but has fewer pages and
a shorter validity. The TTD will be better equipped to serve
Singaporeans¡¯ travel needs, compared to the DOI. Clauses 11 to 15
of the Bill provides for the issuance of the TTD.
Consequential Amendments to the Immigration Act
Sir, the Immigration
Act regulates the entry, stay and exit of foreigners into and out
of Singapore, and allows us to take biometric information from
foreigners under certain circumstances. As such, the Passports
Bill makes consequential amendments to the Immigration Act, in
order to put in place similar safeguards for the access and
disclosure of such personal information.
Separately, Regulation
22 of the Passports Regulations requires a person to present his
passport upon entry into and exit from Singapore only if required
to do so by an immigration officer. In line with our move to
tighten border security due to the security situation, and as the
presentation of passports upon entry and exit is essentially an
immigration issue, we will transfer this provision to the
Immigration Act, and amend the provision to make it compulsory for
all persons who enter and exit Singapore via our checkpoints to
present his passport or travel document to an immigration officer.
Validity of
Singapore Passports
Following the First
Reading of the Bill, members of the public have asked whether we
would reduce the validity period of the Singapore passport with
the passing of the Bill. Sir, I would like to clarify that the
Bill does not shorten the validity period of Singapore passports,
including those that have already been issued.
Since 1 April 2005, all new Singapore passports are issued with a
validity period of 5 years. This allows ICA to incorporate new
technologies and features into our passport to ensure that it
remains secure and is less susceptible to forgery and tampering.
While clause 8 of the Bill states that a Singapore passport issued
after 1st April 2005 would have a validity period not
exceeding 6 years, the additional year of validity allows ICA the
operational flexibility to transfer unused validity from an old
passport to a new one, when Singaporeans renew their passports.
For example, when a person who has a passport with remaining
validity of 6 months applies for a new passport, ICA will transfer
the remaining 6 months validity to his new passport. His new
passport would thus be valid for 5 years and 6 months.
This is no different
from the previous Passport Regulations which provided for a
validity of 11 years, although passports issued then were valid
for 10 years.
As part of Singapore¡¯s
contribution towards the fight against international terrorism and
transnational crime, we must proactively enhance our security
measures to stay ahead of terrorists and criminals. This Bill aims
to restrict the space for terrorists¡¯ and criminals¡¯ movement by
tightening passport controls and to deter the abuse of our
passports and travel documents.
We will not hesitate
to take action against those who abuse their Singapore passports
and travel documents. For the vast majority of Singaporeans
who travel for legitimate purposes, they will benefit from a
highly secure Singapore passport that continues to enjoy a strong
reputation and confidence among immigration authorities around the
world. This Bill will help us maintain that reputation and
confidence, so that Singaporeans can continue to enjoy hassle-free
access whenever they travel overseas.
Source:
www.mha.gov.sg News Release 16
Jul 2007 ¡¡
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Passports (Amendment) Bill passed
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