Tighter casino visit rules for civil servants

SINGAPORE — To reduce the risk of public officers incurring gambling debts, the Public Service Division (PSD) yesterday announced restrictions on officers visiting local casinos.

Starting today, all officers in the 136,000-strong public service will need to declare within a week after visiting the two casinos here more than four times a month, or if they have bought an annual entry pass.

Tighter rules will apply for certain groups of officers. Those who are in positions that “expose them to the risk of being suborned and exploited” or “whose misconduct will have significant reputational risk to the Public Service” will have to declare every visit to a local casino within seven days.

Public officers who are involved in enforcement of local casinos’ operations will also be prohibited from visiting these places unless it is part of their official duties.

In response to media queries, a PSD spokesperson said that officers will have to declare to their respective Permanent Secretaries or Chief Executive Officers via a declaration form, which may be automated in future. The public service is working out details with agencies on which officers fall under these categories of stricter casino visit rules but the numbers are expected to be “small”, she added.

The PSD said reviews to its code of conduct are carried out regularly, with the latest having started in September, last year. In July this year, Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau assistant director Edwin Yeo was charged with siphoning S$1.76 million from the anti-graft agency, including S$241,000 which he gambled away at the Marina Bay Sands casino.

To reduce the risk of fraud and corruption, the PSD will also be mandating job rotation and block leave for officers in positions which are “more susceptible to being suborned and exploited” if they were to remain in the same job for too long. Under the new rules which kick in next year, these officers should not serve in the posts for more than five years. Officers whose work is “more transactional in nature” will also face block leave of at least five consecutive working days each year.

Currently, some government offices have job rotation and block leave to prevent fraud and corruption, the PSD noted. It added that mandatory block leave is also practised in the private sector.

Speaking at the PSD’s annual planning session yesterday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong reiterated that public officers found to be dishonest will be taken to task, even if it might mean embarrassing the Government.

While there has been a string of high-profile cases involving public officers in the past year, Mr Lee said an “in depth” review found that “the overall trend for cases has not worsened”.

Public sector cases remain a fifth of total corruption cases — similar to previous years — he noted. Nevertheless, the Prime Minister stressed: “Every single case involving a public servant and public money is one case too many.”