SINGAPORE — The death of a 14-year-old boy after he was questioned by police last month will be part of the agenda when Parliament sits on Monday (Feb 29), with Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam and Acting Minister for Education (Schools) Ng Chee Meng delivering ministerial statements on the incident.

Mr Shanmugam is expected to speak on the case of Benjamin Lim, while Mr Ng will speak on procedures for students under investigation, according to the Order Paper released on Friday (Feb 26). Eight Members of Parliament (MPs) have tabled questions on the incident. Among them are Ms Rahayu Mahzam (Jurong GRC) and Non-Constituency MP Dennis Tan, who raised questions on the protocol or procedures followed by the police when a young person is being interviewed.  

Benjamin, 14, was found dead last month after he returned home from being questioned by the police on a case of outrage of modesty. Following the incident, the police said it would be reviewing its procedures on whether to allow an appropriate adult to be present when interviewing young persons.

A total of 75 questions have been tabled for the sitting, among them also questions on the cost of holding the National Day Parade at the National Stadium. 

Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied GRC) asked about the amount of money the Government is paying for the extra days of NDP rehearsals at the Sports Hub, and whether the Government expects to pay similar amounts in future when the Sports Hub is chosen as the NDP venue again. 

The future Cross Island Line will also come up for debate, with Mr Louis Ng (Nee Soon GRC) asking about the factors taken into consideration when deciding on the possible underground alignments in the vicinity of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. 

Several Bills will also be introduced, among them the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) (Amendment) Bill, and up for Second Reading will be the amendments to the Women’s Charter. The session will begin with Workers’ Party Daniel Goh being sworn in as NCMP.