Coming up in Parliament: SingHealth cyber attack, NS deferment and NS training death

SINGAPORE — The cyber attack on public healthcare cluster SingHealth and the rejection of a National Service (NS) deferment request by Fulham footballer Ben Davis will dominate Parliament proceedings on Monday (Aug 6), with nearly 30 questions filed by Members of Parliament (MPs) on the issues.

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong and Communications and Information Minister S Iswaran will be giving ministerial statements on the SingHealth data breach, the most serious cyber attack on Singapore to date.

Hackers stole the personal details of about 1.5 million Singaporeans in a well-planned operation. Of the affected group, about 160,000 individuals — including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong — also had their outpatient medication data stolen.

MPs who have filed questions on the cyber attack include Ms Denise Phua, Mr Cedric Foo, Dr Chia Shi-lu and Ms Tin Pei Ling. Ms Tin wants to know if the culprit has been identified and will be taken to task, and whether the culprit's identity will be made public. She also wants to know if the cyber attack could have been prevented.

Workers' Party MPs such as Mr Png Eng Huat, Ms Sylvia Lim and Associate Professor Daniel Goh have also filed questions on the cyber attack. They want to know why there was a delay in informing the public of the breach, whether cyber-security measures implemented in its aftermath affected waiting and consultation times at public hospitals and polyclinics, and whether the Government is going to bear responsibility for any crimes related to identity theft that are committed as a result of the breach.

Hackers stole the data from SingHealth's IT systems from June 27 to July 4 and SingHealth lodged a police report on July 12. The authorities announced the cyber attack in a press conference on July 20.

On the subject of 17-year-old Singaporean footballer Ben Davis, MPs including Mr Darryl David and Ms Joan Pereira have tabled questions. They want to know if the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) will review its criteria for NS deferment for sporting talent in light of more young Singaporeans making their mark at regional and international levels, and whether different criteria are used for athletes in individual and team sports.

The teenager is due to enlist in NS in December, but signed a two-year professional contract with English Premier League club Fulham in June. His application for long-term NS deferment was turned down the same month.

On Monday, too, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen will be delivering a ministerial statement regarding the "findings and follow-up actions on National Service training death", an order paper put up on the Parliament's website showed.

Full-time National Serviceman Dave Lee Han Xuan, 19, died on April 30 after spending more than a week in intensive care at the Changi General Hospital. The Guardsman from the 1st Battalion Singapore Guards had shown signs of heat injury after an 8km fast march in Bedok Camp on the morning of April 18.

One of his aunts posted on Facebook the account of a soldier who alleged "reckless behaviour" by his commanders. The soldier, who said he was from the same unit as the deceased, claimed that the commanders had forced Corporal First Class Lee to complete the fast march "even though he was showing signs of extreme physical exhaustion", and had not allowed the soldiers adequate rest the night before the march.

A Committee of Inquiry was set up, chaired by a senior official from the Ministry of Education, to investigate the circumstances leading to the serviceman's death. An independent investigation by the police would also be conducted, Mindef said in May.