Penalties to be raised for reckless motorists at Silver, School Zones: Desmond Tan

• The stricter penalties for reckless motorists in Silver Zones come as the elderly account for a disproportionate number of pedestrian deaths
• MHA plans to make it an offence to commit verbal and physical abuse against security officers carrying out their duties
• Authorities are looking at possibly allowing motorists to pay traffic fines in instalments 
• Police and CNB are reviewing their processes to better help investigators with their heavy workloads 

SINGAPORE — To better protect elderly pedestrians, the penalties will be raised for motorists who commit offences at pedestrian crossings or endanger pedestrian safety at Silver Zones, with similar measures to be put in place to protect students at School Zones. 

This was among the announcements made by Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Tan in Parliament on Monday (March 1). 

Mr Tan, who was speaking during a debate on the Minister of Home Affair’s (MHA) budget for the year, also announced a project to protect locals against scams and said the ministry will table changes to a law to better protect security officers from being abused by members of the public.

Meanwhile, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said that the Singapore Police Force is undertaking an internal review of its systems, processes and structures, so that investigators receive better support as they handle heavy workloads. 

Here is a closer look at these announcements:

ENHANCING ROAD SAFETY FOR ELDERLY

Mr Tan said that road safety had improved in general, with road traffic fatalities having decreased from 195 in 2011 to 118 in 2019 and then to 85 in 2020.

In its annual road traffic situation report, the police had also highlighted that elderly pedestrians accounted for a disproportionate number of traffic accidents resulting in injuries or death.

The number of traffic accidents involving elderly pedestrians aged above 60 decreased from 321 in 2019 to 234 in 2020 and elderly pedestrian fatalities also declined, from 27 in 2019 to 15 in 2020.

But the 15 deaths accounted for 83 per cent of the 18 total pedestrian deaths last year, up from 70 per cent in 2019. 

Mr Tan said MHA is completing its review for changes to the penalty framework for motorists and will announce more details later this year.

PAYING TRAFFIC FINES IN INSTALMENTS

Responding to a call by Aljunied GRC MP Faisal Manap to allow drivers in financial difficulties to pay their road traffic fines in instalments, Mr Tan said that the authorities have been looking into the issue.

“MHA has been studying this since last year, as we have also received feedback from several members of this House,” said Mr Tan. 

He noted that a process of appeal is already in place. Individuals with financial difficulties who face traffic fines can appeal to the Traffic Police (TP), and if TP finds that there is merit to the appeal, it will extend the deadline to pay the fine.

PROTECTING SECURITY OFFICERS

Mr Tan said that the Private Security Industry Act will be amended to include new offences such as verbal and physical abuse, which security officers may face when carrying out their duties.

“These offences will also carry harsher punishments, or penalties, compared to similar offences against the general public.” 

Mr Tan added that MHA will work with the industry to equip security officers with skills to better manage the public and to encourage the use of body worn cameras to further deter abuse.

COMBATTING SCAMS  

Mr Tan noted that in 2020, more than 15,000 cases of scams were reported, a 65 per cent surge from 2019.

The police are collaborating with more than 20 financial institutions to minimise the losses to scam victims under a new initiative called Project Frontier (Funds Recovery Operations and NetworksTeam, Inspiring Effective Resolutions).

Once the police are notified, most bank accounts suspected to be involved in scammers’ operations can be frozen within a day, down from 14 to 60 working days

The authorities are also working with e-commerce platforms to prevent scams, and are looking to improve seller verification processes and promote the use of secured payment modes such as escrow accounts.

BOOSTING SUPPORT FOR INVESTIGATING OFFICERS

Last year, Mr Shanmugam had asked for a review of the workload of police investigating officers, in the wake of the high-profile case of Ms Parti Liyani, a former domestic helper who was acquitted of stealing from her employers. 

In a ministerial statement on the case last year, Mr Shanmugam acknowledged that there had been breaches in protocol by the investigating officers. He also said that the investigation officer of the case had been overloaded with personal matters and other ongoing prosecutions and operations, and was under a lot of work pressure. 

This is a problem with no easy solutions because manpower constraints are quite prevalent in Singapore’s civil service, he added.  

Mr Shanmugam said on Monday that apart from increasing the number of investigators to manage the workload, the police are currently undertaking an internal review of their systems, processes and structures, so that investigators receive better support.

The Home Team, which includes the Singapore Police Force, the Singapore Civil Defence Force, and the Central Narcotics Bureau, will also be enhancing its technological capabilities to better support officers, Mr Shanmugam said.

Investigation and case management systems are being digitised, automated and streamlined, and officers can access case information and update cases on the move, instead of only being able to do so in office.

Officers can now also save time on paperwork and administrative tasks using an integrated search tool that searches multiple databases at one go, he said, adding that time spent looking up information has been reduced significantly.