SINGAPORE: MPs wanted to know how Malaysian Took Leng How,
charged with the murder of 8-year-old Huang Na, had managed to slip
out of Singapore despite tightened security checks at the
borders.
MP Ho Geok Choo asked in parliament: "I would like to ask the
Minister whether the immigration authorities were alerted to the
fact that Took was called up by police to assist in investigations
of the case?"
MP Amy Khor asked: "Because of the possibility of Took having
escaped through the border, will there be any tightening of border
measures after this incident?"
In response, the Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs
said that Took's case is still being investigated and it would not
be appropriate to comment on it until the evidence is presented in
court.
Still, Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee said that checkpoint
security is taken seriously and has been tightened since the
September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States.
He said: "To ensure that the checks at the checkpoints are robust,
police and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA)
regularly carry out intrusion tests to critically assess and test
security performance of checkpoints. After that, reviews are
conducted for learning points and improvements."
He added that whatever lapses would be addressed.
Prof Ho also said that the number of illegal immigrants entering
and leaving Singapore has dropped.
81 illegal immigrants were arrested in 2003 - a fall of 45%
compared to the 147 the year before.
Also, 154 immigration offenders were stopped from trying to leave
Singapore in 2003 - compared to 187 arrested the year before.
The House also debated and passed six Bills, among them changes to
the Estate Duty legislation.
Among the changes, the Government is giving a 6-month period to
file claims and raising the claims allowed for funeral expenses
from $1,000 to $6,000.
Parliament has adjourned till 24 November. - CNA