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Source:
www.mha.gov.sg |
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Oral Answer to Parliamentary
Question on theft of public property, 15 February 2007 |
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Mr Seah Kian Peng: |
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To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister for Home Affairs whether there has been an increase in the
incidence of theft of public property such as lightning strips and metal
railings and, if so, what measures are being taken to minimise them. |
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Assoc Prof Ho Peng Kee: |
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Mr. Speaker Sir, |
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The number of theft cases involving
metals increased considerably last year. |
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About 1,100 such cases were reported
representing an increase of 570 cases (or +110%) as compared to
2005. |
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This increase can be attributed to
opportunistic criminals capitalising on rising metal prices by
stealing various metallic items for subsequent sale as scrap
metal. |
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Fuelled by the high demand in rapidly
industrialising countries like China and India, the prices of
metal is expected to rise even further in the next few years1. |
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Cables and wires (44%), raw materials
(9%), lightning conductors (6%) and urns (5%) were among the most
common items stolen in 2006. Other items include metal pipes,
bars, strips, dry-riser lugs, signs and drain covers. |
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Of these theft cases, items made of
copper (62%) accounted for the bulk, followed by those made of
aluminium (13%). The remaining cases involved other types of
metals, such as stainless steel, steel, brass and bronze. |
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This trend reflects the price
increases of both aluminium and copper compared to steel2.
The total value of metallic items stolen in 2006 was an estimated
S$ 4 million3. |
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Sir, the Singapore Police Force (SPF)
has adopted a three-pronged strategy, i.e., enforcement, creating
awareness and prevention measures, to combat this phenomenon of
metal theft cases. |
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Towards this end, Police has stepped up
enforcement efforts against both thieves and errant dealers. |
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Hence, last year; Police arrested a total of
200 persons for committing 150 cases of metal theft. |
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MHA also recently amended the Secondhand
Dealers Act, introducing a more focused approach to specifically provide
for the inclusion of ¡°cables and wires made of copper¡± in the Second
Schedule list of secondhand goods to be covered under the Act. |
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Other key changes include requiring the
buyer¡¯s details to be amongst details required to be submitted by the
dealers to Police, and increasing penalties for greater deterrence. |
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In this way, we will more effectively deal
with the disposal of such stolen goods by secondhand goods dealers,
otherwise known as ¡°fencing¡±. |
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To create awareness, SPF will conduct
briefings and issue crime advisories to licensed scrap yard dealers to
alert them of this crime trend and the consequences if they are found to
have transacted in stolen metal items. |
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Through public education campaigns, Police
intends to solicit public assistance to act as its eyes and ears to
deter such crimes. |
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In addition, SPF has engaged stakeholders,
such as PowerGrid, HDB, Town Councils, Singapore Cable Vision and NParks,
to improve their respective crime prevention measures. |
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As a result of this collaboration, useful
measures such as the embossing of metal items with organisational
identification; replacing of metal with alternative materials such as
concrete; and beefing up patrols by their own personnel have been
implemented. |
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Let me assure Members that Police will do
its best to keep the metal theft situation in check. Let me also urge
the public to also play a part by being more vigilant. |
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Some culprits are able to steal in broad
daylight as witnesses assume that they are legitimate workers engaged to
remove the metal items. |
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If Singaporeans see such suspicious
activities, they should immediately call the police or town councils for
verification or assistance. |
1 Since early May
06, non-ferrous metal price lists are valuing copper between US$2,500
per tonne to US$3,000 per tonne - twice that in 2003. Price of aluminium
has also increased significantly.
2 For 2006, aluminium was priced above US$2,500 per tonne
while copper is priced between US$2,500 per tonne and US$3,000 per tonne.
However, the price of steel is comparatively low at about US$220/tonne.
3 This is the total value of metal (including unknown metal
types) stolen in 2006. |
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Source:
www.mha.gov.sg News Release 15 Feb
2007 |
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FrontPage Edition: Mon 19 February 2007
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