... this topic has gone mouldy...
... the government medias have already forgotten the
matter...
No not mouldy.. today's papers...
Will DPM Wong update the disciplinary action he is getting? pay
raise just to ensure he does a better job next time?
The House heard on April 21 how a confluence of security
breaches and weaknesses at the Whitley Road Detention Centre
allowed the terrorist to escape. He had been held there under the
Internal Security Act since March 2006.
The breaches included a ventilation window that was not secured
properly, and guards who let him out of their line of sight.
After considering Criminal Investigation Department findings
which showed no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, the
Attorney-General's Chambers decided not to lay criminal charges
against any individual. Instead, it was decided that disciplinary
action be taken against the guards, detention centre staff, and any
others found culpable.
'There is a proper process for disciplinary action under Civil
Service or Police Force rules and this must take its course,' Mr
Wong told Parliament last month.
Contacted by The Straits Times, the Public Service Commission
(PSC) said it has authority over the discipline and dismissal of
civil servants, as vested under Article 103 of the Constitution and
the Public Service (Disciplinary Proceedings) Regulations.
However, certain categories of officers, such as junior police
officers, will be disciplined by the police under the Police Force
Act.
According to the PSC's 2007 annual report, it handled 30
disciplinary cases last year under the Public Service Regulations.
Sexual offences and cases of immoral behaviour made up over a third
of these disciplinary cases. This was followed by cases of
indebtedness as well as cases of dishonesty, embezzlement and
criminal breach of trust.
Another 23 disciplinary cases involving minor offences by junior
civil servants were handled by the permanent secretaries of various
ministries and the Director of Prisons. The PSC delegates authority
to them to oversee such cases.
PSC figures since 2000 show it investigated relatively few cases
of negligence - arguably the charge facing those culpable for Mas
Selamat's escape. However, half of these 26 cases handled by the
PSC from 2000 to 2007 resulted in the dismissal of the
offender.
Dismissal is the most serious form of punishment that can be
imposed under the Public Service Regulations, said Mrs Choo Lee
See, director of the PSC Secretariat. The PSC declined to provide
more details of any of the cases, on the grounds that these were
confidential staff proceedings.
Other punishments are retirement in the public interest,
reprimands and penalties such as fines or stopping pay
increments.
Retirement in the public interest, explained Mrs Choo, occurs
'when it is undesirable to retain a public officer but too harsh to
dismiss him due to extenuating circumstances. For example, if the
officer has contributed many years of good service'.
In all disciplinary cases, the officer will get an opportunity
to be heard first. If he denies the charges, a panel comprising two
civil servants and a Justice of Peace will be formed to
investigate.
