Category: Legal

A total of 26 men and 11 women, aged between 24 and 79, are being investigated for their suspected involvement in various offences, following a week-long multi-agency enforcement operation conducted from 28 March 2022 to 1 April 2022.

The operation was led by Bedok Police Division and supported by officers from the Criminal Investigation Department, Central Narcotics Bureau, Health Sciences Authority, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, Singapore Customs, Land Transport Authority and Singapore Food Agency.

During the operation targeting illegal activities at the Geylang Lorongs, two 28-year-old men were arrested for being alleged members of unlawful societies. A 54-year-old man was also arrested for suspected drug-related offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973.

In an operation conducted along the Geylang Lorongs, four men aged between 24 and 43 years old, were allegedly found to be in possession of substances believed to be unregistered health products consisting of an assortment of cough syrup and sexual enhancement products. E-vaporisers and their accessories were also allegedly recovered from one of the men. They will be investigated for various offences under the Health Products Act 2007 and Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act 1993. Substances with a street value of close to $12,000 were also seized.

Those found guilty of importing, manufacturing and/or supplying of unregistered health products, may be liable to an imprisonment term of up to two years and/or fined up to $50,000. Those found guilty of selling, offering for sale, possessing for sale, importing or distributing e-vaporisers and its accessories, are liable to a fine not exceeding $10,000, imprisonment for up to six months, or both for the first offence; and to a fine not exceeding $20,000, imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both, for the second or subsequent offence. In addition, for possessing, using and purchasing such items, offenders are liable to a fine not exceeding $2,000.

In enforcement efforts against illegal gambling, the Police conducted enforcement operations at a commercial unit located along Geylang Road and found a total of 21 men and women, aged between 25 and 73, purportedly engaging in gambling-related activities. Cash amounting to more than $200, makeshift furniture and various gambling-related paraphernalia were seized.

Under the Common Gaming House Act 1961, any person assisting in carrying a public lottery shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine between $20,000 and $200,000, and with imprisonment for a term up to five years. Under the Betting Act 1960, any person who is found to be involved in bookmaking shall be liable on conviction to a fine between $20,000 and $200,000, and with imprisonment for a term up to five years. Under the same Act, any person who bets with a bookmaker shall be liable on conviction to a fine up to $5,000, imprisonment for a term up to six months, or both.

The Police also conducted enforcement operations targeted at vice-related activities at two massage establishments located along Geylang Road. Two women, aged 37 and 44 years old, were arrested for their suspected involvement in offences under the Women’s Charter 1961. The outlets will also be investigated for purportedly operating as a massage establishment without a valid licence.

Individuals found guilty of carrying on a business of providing massage services in an establishment for massage without a valid licence under Section 5(1) of the Massage Establishments Act 2017 are liable to a fine of $10,000, imprisonment of up two years, or both. Those found to have breached the prescribed rules and conditions under the Massage Establishments Rules 2018 are liable to a fine not exceeding $5,000. Individuals who are repeat offenders of the Massage Establishments Act 2017 are liable to a fine not exceeding $20,000, imprisonment of up to five years, or both, while repeat offenders of the Massage Establishments Rules 2018 will be liable to a fine not exceeding $10,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both.

In an operation targeted at illegal hawking activities, two men, aged 44 and 67 years old, were found to be involved in illegal hawking and were issued with summons under the Environmental Public Health Act 1987 for hawking secondhand goods in a public place without a valid licence. The goods displayed for sale were seized for investigations.

Officers from the Singapore Customs conducted enforcement against duty-unpaid cigarettes as well. Five men, aged between 24 and 53, were issued with advisories and composition sums of up to $2,500 for possession of duty-unpaid cigarettes. A total of 20 sticks of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized as part of the operation.

Buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act 1960 and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act 1993. Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or jailed for up to six years.

Officers from Land Transport Authority also seized one non-compliant power-assisted bicycle under the Road Traffic Act 1961.

Investigations against all the 37 individuals are ongoing.

Commanding Officer of Geylang Neighbourhood Police Centre, Deputy Superintendent of Police Lee Ting Wei said: “Illicit activities have a negative impact on the community and must be dealt with swiftly. The Police will work together with other law enforcement agencies to ensure that these activities remain in check against the backdrop of easing COVID-19 measures. We are thankful for the strong support by our partners and stakeholders and will not hesitate to take firm action against those who blatantly disregard the law. Members of public are advised to steer clear from illegal activities and to report such activities to the Police.”

Source: Singapore Police Force

Two men, aged 24 and 34, will be charged in court on 13 April 2022 for their suspected involvement in offences related to assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct and handling of benefits of criminal conduct.

Sometime in November 2018, the Police received information that criminal proceeds arising from overseas investment fraud were credited into corporate and personal bank accounts in Singapore. The personal bank account had received criminal proceeds amounting to about $300,000. Preliminary investigations revealed that the 24-year-old man had allegedly opened a personal bank account but relinquished control of the account in return for a commission despite having reasons to believe it would be used to retain another person’s criminal benefits. The 24-year-old man was thereby charged with one count under section 44 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act Chapter 65A.

It was further revealed that some of the criminal proceeds in the personal account were purportedly withdrawn by the 34-year-old man, who came into possession of the 24-year-old man’s debit card even though they were not acquainted. He had allegedly withdrawn $22,000 from the personal bank account and handed them to unknown individuals. He had also purportedly withdrawn $5,675 and spent them on luxury items. The monies which he had withdrawn were suspected to be benefits of criminal conduct. He was thereby charged with offences under section 47 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act Chapter 65A.

The Police take a serious stance against any person involved in the laundering of proceeds of crime, and offenders will be dealt with firmly in accordance with the law. To avoid being an accomplice to crimes, members of the public should reject requests from others to register companies and/or open bank accounts, or receive money in their bank accounts, as they will be held accountable if these are linked to criminal activities.

The offence of entering into an arrangement having reason to believe that the retention of benefits of criminal conduct would be facilitated, under Section 44 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act Chapter 65A [1], carries a fine of up to $500,000 and/or a jail term not exceeding 10 years.

The offence of transferring or using property having reason to believe that the property is, or in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, represents another person’s benefits from criminal conduct, under Section 47 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act Chapter 65A [2], carries a fine of up to $500,000 and/or a jail term not exceeding 10 years.

[1] Reclassified under section 51 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992

[2] Reclassified under section 54 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992

Source: Singapore Police Force

The Police would like to alert the public to a new scam modus operandi where scammers would approach their victims via spoofed calls and would impersonate officers from the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). In April 2022, several members of the public lodged reports, and no losses were incurred yet.

In these cases, the victims would receive unsolicited phone calls from a caller who claimed to be an officer working at IPOS, sometimes with a spoofed IPOS’ hotline number (6339 8616). The caller would inform the victims that they were under investigation for offences involving trademark or copyright infringement. Victims who denied the allegations would then be informed that their details had been misused and they were required to report the matter to the law enforcement authorities. The victims would then be transferred to another caller to make the report and would be asked to provide their personal information such as passport details, home address and social media account login details. In another variant, the victims would first be instructed to proceed to IPOS’ office and would then be asked to provide their personal details to facilitate investigations, if they were unable to make the trip down. The victims would only realise that they had been scammed when they called IPOS’ official hotline to enquire about the call received.

Members of the public are advised to take the following precautions:

a. Ignore such calls and the caller’s instructions. IPOS will not request personal details, inform about infringement cases, direct you to make a payment nor contact you regarding any overseas IP filing over the phone, SMS or emails;

b. Never disclose your personal particulars to anyone, including family and friends;

c. When in doubt, please contact IPOS directly at ipos_enquiry@ipos.gov.sg or at 6339 8616.

If you have information related to such crimes, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. Please dial ‘999’ if you require urgent Police assistance.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Source: Singapore Police Force

A very good morning to our friends from the media and thank you for joining us today.

I wish you all were able to join us at the site for tree-planting. Earlier this morning, we launched the Labrador Nature Park Network, by planting trees with the community, including with nature groups and residents, at the site of the future Alexandra Nature Park.

Now I would like to take this opportunity to set out our plans for the area, to paint a picture of what this area will look like in the future, and to share with you some details on how we are striking a balance among our many land-use needs.

Keppel Club Site Development

As a small city-state, Singapore faces intense land use pressures. We have to fit everything that a country needs, within the confines of our city. This is a hard constraint that we cannot escape from, even though we will continue to find creative ways to make even better use of our limited land.

Our city planning challenges will intensify, as the needs and aspirations of Singaporeans grow and evolve.

Today, we face a growing demand for housing, for various reasons – our echo boomers, who are the children of our baby boomer generation – are settling down and forming their own families. And at the same time, we observe that our households are getting smaller. Families, singles as well as seniors are increasingly seeking their own space, in part due to work-from-home, and in part due to other social trends.

We will build more homes to meet this growing demand. That is why we are redeveloping the site where Keppel Club is currently at. When the lease of the golf course runs out, we will redevelop the land for housing, and the entire site is around 48 hectares.

At the National Day Rally in 2019, PM announced that we will build about 9,000 homes on the Keppel Club site. This will include approximately 6,000 HDB flats, and we will launch the first site in the next three years.

Being close to the coast as well as green spaces, the Keppel Club site will offer unique waterfront living, close to nature. And given its central location and the two MRT stations nearby, we will seek to keep the estate car-lite, and enable residents to get around easily by walking or cycling. The housing estate will have new parks and open spaces which feature walking trails that connect to the MRT stations. This will provide residents with easy access to transport nodes and new social and commercial facilities. The housing developments will also feature skyrise greenery and landscaped terraces to allow residents to live in an eco-friendly environment. As the site is quite close to the city centre, we will bring homes closer to jobs. This is part of our effort to move towards having more housing options and mixed-use development in our central region.

Nearby, we’ve also got plans to transform the former Pasir Panjang Power Station buildings into a distinctive and vibrant mixed-use district, characterised by its unique industrial heritage and waterfront.

Now, these developments are part of the longer-term transformation of the Greater Southern Waterfront into a new major gateway and location for urban living along the southern coast, for Singaporeans to live, work and enjoy.

Ecological Significance of Keppel Club Site

While the Keppel Club site is a brownfield site, it is actually close to several important nature areas, such as the Labrador Nature Reserve, Southern Ridges, and Berlayer Creek – which is an important coastal habitat.

Hence, we had conducted an Environmental Impact Study (EIS), to ensure that our development plans are sensitive to the surrounding terrestrial and coastal environments. The study covered around 77.8 hectares – comprising the development site as well as the surrounding environments.

We had also engaged nature groups in 2019 to help to scope the EIS, and we have shared with them the findings of the EIS, as well as our development plans recently. They have given us useful suggestions and feedback which we have taken on board, and we have refined our plans to minimise the impact to the environment.

We will publish the EIS report too, and we invite Singaporeans to share your thoughts and views with us, over the next four weeks.

Now let me broadly sketch what we have planned for now, although we will continue to refine these plans based on public feedback.

We have planned our developments at the Keppel Club site sensitively, to avoid any direct impact on the surrounding areas that are of high conservation value that the EIS had highlighted to us, with all development work confined within the brownfield site.

Our plans are based not just on our EIS and nature group engagements, but also on the findings of our broader EPE or Ecological Profiling Exercise. The EPE is an island-wide study that we have been conducting with experts and members from the nature community, to map out the ecological profile and connectivity of green spaces across Singapore.

The EPE showed that the Keppel Club site serves as an important ecological connection between the mature secondary forests along the Southern Ridges and Labrador Nature Reserve.

So to enhance this ecological connectivity, we will set aside close to 10 hectares of green spaces as parks and open land, within the Keppel Club site. This amounts to about 20% of the site area, or over 18 football fields.

These green spaces will form four green fingers through the estate, which will serve both as habitats and connecting pathways for flora and fauna to surrounding nature areas, and as recreational spaces for residents as well.

These new green spaces include the Central Corridor – a central green park running through the development, stretching from Telok Blangah Road in the north to Berlayer Creek in the south. Berlayer Corridor, which is a 30m wide extension along Berlayer Creek to protect the existing mangrove habitat, that is part of a new Berlayer Creek Nature Park. Henderson Corridor, which is a linear park along the new road at the eastern boundary of the Keppel Club site. And the Northern Corridor, which is a landscaped linear green along West Coast Highway and Telok Blangah Road to connect the three Corridors that I’ve just mentioned.

We have carefully configured these green spaces based on the EIS recommendations as well as feedback from our nature groups, and will fine-tune these alignments following the public consultation on the EIS report.

We will include lush greenery within the residential developments, and design the blocks to step down in height closer to the green corridors to be sensitive to the natural habitats there.

We will also engage specialists to develop an EMMP or Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan, to minimise and mitigate any environmental impact arising from the development works.

Launch of Labrador Nature Park Network

In fact, we have plans to comprehensively strengthen and enhance the greenery and ecological connectivity of the wider surrounding area, beyond the Keppel Club site.

We will establish a new Labrador Nature Park Network, which will comprise more than 200 hectares of green spaces, or almost 1.5 times the size of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Including core habitats such as the Labrador Nature Reserve and the mature secondary forests along the Southern Ridges, as well as the surrounding green spaces such as Labrador Nature Park, Berlayer Creek and Pasir Panjang Park. The green spaces that we will set aside at the Keppel Club site will also be part of this new Nature Park Network.

Our EPE findings have revealed important ecological connectors between the Southern Ridges and the Labrador Nature Reserve, across part of Alexandra through Keppel Club, and the forested area at Berlayer Creek.

We will strengthen these corridors through the Labrador Nature Park Network – northward from Pasir Panjang Park to Southern Ridges, and westward toward West Coast Park.

To do this, we will introduce several new green spaces, totalling more than 25 hectares. These include a new nature park along Alexandra Stream, a new extension of Pasir Panjang Park, a new Nature Park at Berlayer Creek, and a new park at King’s Dock. On top of the green spaces set aside at the Keppel Club site for people to enjoy.

We will also restore and enhance existing habitats at the Labrador Nature Reserve, including the coastal hill and coastal beach forest.

The new Labrador Nature Park Network will add close to 30 km of new nature trails, park connectors and Nature Ways for residents and visitors. This will provide a total of 40 km of such spaces for Singaporeans to explore in that area.

In all these efforts, we will work closely with the community to design and to plant up these green spaces. Because we all have a part to play, to transform Singapore into a City in Nature.

Conclusion

So that summarises our approach to development. When we need land to meet our development needs, we strive to make good use of brownfield sites first where possible. And even in doing so, we remain sensitive to surrounding natural areas, and are conscious of minimising the environmental impact should we need to develop greenfield sites. And we use a science-based approach, to identify and to enhance ecological connectivity throughout our city.

The development at the Keppel Club site and the wider Labrador Nature Park Network exemplifies this approach. Working with our community to weave nature into our urban fabric. Transforming Singapore into a City in Nature, where our people and our biodiversity can thrive side-by-side.

In the process, we can make the Greater Southern Waterfront an exciting and sustainable new area for Singaporeans.

My colleagues will now provide more technical details, and take any questions you may have. Thank you.

Source: Municipal Services Office

The Police have arrested a 32-year-old man for his suspected involvement in a case of housebreaking and theft.

On 9 April 2022 at about 8.50 am, the Police received a report of a case of housebreaking at a residential unit along Yishun Avenue 9. A handbag, mobile phone and cash amounting to about $500 were purportedly stolen.

Through ground enquiries and with the aid of Police cameras, officers from Woodlands Police Division established the identity of the man and arrested him on 11 April 2022.

The man will be charged in court on 13 April 2022 with housebreaking and theft under Section 451 of the Penal Code 1871. The offence carries an imprisonment term up to 10 years and a fine.

The Police would like to advise all property owners to adopt the following crime prevention measures:

• Secure all doors, roller shutters, windows and other openings with good quality grilles and closed-shackle padlocks when leaving your premises unattended, even for a short while;

• Install a burglar alarm, motion sensor light and/or CCTVs, to cover the access points into your premises. Ensure that the systems are tested periodically and in good working condition; and

• Refrain from keeping large sums of cash in your premises.

Source: Singapore Police Force

Singapore, 12 April 2022 – The National Environment Agency (NEA), Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) carried out a joint enforcement blitz today near the Woodlands checkpoint and 12 motorists driving foreign-registered vehicles were caught for vehicular offences. Refer to the Annex for photos of the enforcement operations.

3 The enforcement blitz was carried out to remind motorists to adhere to environmental and road safety regulations. NEA, SPF and LTA will continue to conduct regular enforcement and ad-hoc enforcement blitzes against errant motorists. Since 1 April 2022, NEA has also stepped up emissions testing of foreign-registered motorcycles at the checkpoints.

Compliance with Safety and Emission Requirements

4 Foreign-registered vehicles entering Singapore must comply with stipulated safety and emission requirements, such as Singapore’s exhaust and noise emission standards under the Environmental Protection and Management (Vehicular Emissions) Regulations. The licence plates on these vehicles must also be properly displayed.

5 From 6 April 2023, all foreign-registered motorcycles will also be required to meet emission limits of 4.5 per cent Carbon Monoxide (CO) by Volume; and 7,800 ppm Hydrocarbons (HC) (for 2-stroke engine) or 2,000 ppm HC (for 4-stroke engine). Foreign-registered vehicles found to be non-compliant may be denied entry into Singapore at the land checkpoints and/or face penalties by the relevant authorities.

6 Reducing vehicle exhaust and noise emissions will help to achieve and sustain a clean and healthy living environment in Singapore. Foreign motorists entering Singapore with their vehicles are urged to play their part to keep our environment clean and safe.

7 The Traffic Police would also like to urge all motorists to adopt good RoadSense and keep our roads safer for everyone. The authorities will not hesitate to take firm action against errant motorists who choose to flout traffic rules and regulations.

8 Members of the public who wish to report errant motorists for offences under the three authorities may submit details such as the vehicle registration number, location, date and time of the incident, via any of the following platforms:

Source: National Environment Agency

The Police would like to alert members of the public to a recurring trend where scammers would approach victims via spoofed calls. These calls would often contain the “+65” prefix, suggesting that these calls originate overseas.

In these cases, the victims would receive unsolicited phone calls from callers who would claim to be a bank staff. The victims would be informed that their bank accounts had been misused and they were under investigations for money laundering cases. Under the pretext of verifying the victims’ bank accounts, the caller would request for victims’ bank account login details and One-Time Password (OTP). Thereafter, the caller would transfer the call to someone purportedly from the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), to facilitate the lodging of police reports. The fake officer from CAD would subsequently communicate with the victims via WhatsApp. He would ask the victims for their personal particulars, including photographs of the victims and their identification documents claiming, that such information was required to lodge the police report. In some cases, the victims would receive an image of a letter purportedly from the Singapore Police Force (SPF), notifying the victims that they were under investigation. The victims would only realise that they have been scammed when they received notifications from the banks, informing them that their contact details had been changed and unauthorised transactions were made from their bank accounts.

The Police would like to emphasise that no local government agency will demand for your personal details, such as NRIC and photograph, through an undocumented medium like a telephone call or other social messaging platforms.

Members of public are advised to take the following precautions when they receive unsolicited calls to surrender banking credentials or personal details to facilitate criminal investigations:

a. Ignore such calls and the caller’s instructions. The ‘+’ sign prefix indicates that it is an international incoming call. Domestic calls will not display the ‘+’ sign prefix;

b. Never disclose your personal particulars, bank login details and OTP to anyone, including family and friends;

c. Call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act. Do not be pressured by the caller to act impulsively; and

d. Report any fraudulent activity in your bank account to your bank immediately.

If you have information related to such crimes, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Source: Singapore Police Force

In an island-wide anti-scam enforcement operation conducted on 1 and 5 April 2022, the Commercial Affairs Department arrested a 29-year-old man for his suspected involvement in Ponzi-like job scams that involved the earning of commission by viewing movie trailers.

On 30 March 2022, the Police received information on an emerging job scam platform (‘Moviitech’) where job seekers received unsolicited messages on Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube or came across online advertisements promoting lucrative and easy money-making opportunities. This job scam portal purported to be an online platform where users would be paid to watch movie trailers. The job seekers would be able to increase their earnings by recruiting more people to participate on the platform.

To enrol into this alleged money-making opportunity, the job seekers would be required to register a free account and purchase a membership plan, ranging from $65 to $450, before they would be start earning commissions by watching the movie trailers on the platform. All top-up and withdrawal transactions would be performed in the form of bank transfers. In most cases, the job seekers would be convinced that it was a legitimate job as they would receive commissions and profit during the early stages of their memberships. They would realise that they had been scammed when they did not receive further commissions or were unable to make withdrawals from their member accounts.

During the operation, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department mounted simultaneous island-wide operations and arrested the man, and identified another three men, aged between 18 and 41, who are currently assisting with investigations for their suspected involvement in the scams. Preliminary investigations revealed that the bogus company was believed to be running Ponzi-like schemes using Multi-level Marketing strategies. The four men are believed to have facilitated the schemes by advertising and recruiting potential job seekers as members, and providing bank accounts to facilitate the movement of illicit funds.

Police investigations are ongoing. The offence of fraud by false representation of position not connected with contracts for goods and services under Section 424A of the Penal Code 1871 carries an imprisonment term of up to 20 years, a fine, or both. Additionally, the offence of aiding the commission of fraud under Section 420 read with Section 109 of the Penal Code 1871 carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and a fine.

The Police would like to caution job seekers to be wary of online job advertisements that promise the convenience of working from home and being paid a high salary for relatively simple job responsibilities. Legitimate businesses will not require job seekers to make upfront payments to secure job offers and earn commissions. These acts are common ruses used by scammers to lure individuals into participating in their schemes or scams. To avoid becoming involved in money laundering activities, members of the public should always reject requests to use their personal bank or cryptocurrency accounts to receive and transfer money for others.

The Police would like to advise members of the public to adopt the following precautionary measures:

• Be wary of the use of foreign numbers by persons claiming to be hiring for a Singapore office;

• Avoid making upfront payments to bank accounts belonging to unknown individuals;

• Always verify the authenticity of the calls or callers’ intent with official websites or sources. You may do so by contacting the companies that claim to be hiring; and

• Report and block the WhatsApp number via the in-platform reporting function.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Source: Singapore Police Force