Home Affairs
6 April 2016
Budget Cut at Committee of Supply 2016
9 May 2016
Complaints against Licensed Moneylenders for Unfair Contracts and Practices
9 March 2022
Update on Roll-out of Video-recording of Statements from Suspects
Louis asked the Minister for Law (a) in 2015, how many complaints have been lodged against licensed moneylenders for unfair contracts and practices; (b) what action has been taken by the Ministry as a result of these complaints following the completion of the investigations; and (c) whether the Ministry detects an increasing trend of people borrowing from licensed moneylenders.
Mr K Shanmugam (MinLaw): In 2015, the Registry of Moneylenders received 129 reports lodged by members of public against licensed moneylenders. The reports included complaints on moneylenders charging high fees and interest rates, as well as extending credit in breach of the unsecured credit limits. The Registry also conducts regular inspections on moneylenders so as to ensure that their practices are in compliance with the Moneylenders Act and Rules. Where moneylenders or their officers are found to have committed offences under the Act or Rules, the Registry will take decisive action against them.
In 2015, 17 moneylenders were subjected to licensing action, such as revocation of licence and forfeiture of security deposit. Nine moneylenders or officers of moneylending companies were warned or offered composition, while six other such individuals were prosecuted and convicted in court. These included matters that arose from complaints made in 2014.
In regulating the moneylending industry, we seek to maintain a balance between protecting borrowers and ensuring that there is reasonable access to credit from licensed sources. Over the last three years, there has been an increasing trend in terms of the value of loans granted by the industry. During the same period, a number of measures were also introduced to strengthen protection for borrowers, such as controls on interest rates and fees which were implemented in 2015. We will be implementing further regulatory changes in the coming months.
Louis delivered the following budget cut on Manpower for the Home Team at Committee of Supply 2016:
Louis: In this complex security climate where terrorism is a constant threat, we need to build a stronger and more integrated Home Team to tackle any security concerns Singapore faces.
There has been a slower pace of recruitment in the last 10 years. Home Team manpower has only grown by 5,000 officers in the past decade, from 19,300 to 24,700 in 2015.
In the 2015 Budget, there were plans to recruit another 2,000 officers to the Home Team. Will that target now be revised with the increased security risk that we face?
What plans does the Ministry have to ensure that we continue to attract members of the public to join the Home Team and ensure that we have sufficient Home Team staff members to carry out an increasing amount of work?
Mr K Shanmugam (MHA): Mr Desmond Choo and Mr Louis Ng highlighted the importance of attracting Home Team officers and optimising our manpower resources to meet increasing demands. Police will step up recruitment this year to fill new posts in its Emergency Response Teams, and to build up the Special Operations troops.
Police will also enhance its scheme of service to attract young people to join the Force and to retain the good officers we already have.
First, Police will implement a unified rank structure, moving away from the separate schemes for junior officers and senior officers that we currently have. There will be a unified single scheme and a single rank structure for all Police officers. And good Diploma holders who join the Force can look forward to seamless advancement opportunities up the ranks.
Second, Police will introduce expert tracks to build deep specialty in the key domains of investigations, intelligence and special operations. There will, therefore, be new career developmental pathways for officers with specialised skills. These measures will help enhance the operational capability and preparedness of the Singapore Police Force. Details will be announced at the Police Workplan Seminar later this month. We will also progressively extend the changes to the rest of the Home Team departments.
Another group of officers who play a vital role in the Home Team is our National Servicemen. Mr Melvin Yong had observed that the number of full-time Home Team NS officers will decrease over time. That is so. Thus, SPF and SCDF have embarked on and completed their NS transformation reviews. We are restructuring our plans for full-time NS officers and reservists to focus their deployment on operational roles that will have a direct impact on ground situations, and give them more opportunities to assume leadership and specialist roles.
Louis asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether he can provide an update on the roll out of video-recording of statements from suspects; and (b) when will the video-recording of suspects' statements be fully implemented.
Mr K Shanmugam (MHA): Video Recording of Interviews (VRI) was introduced in 2018 for the recording of statements for rape cases. It has since been expanded to include more categories of offences such as aggravated outrage of modesty cases, sexual assault by penetration, child abuse cases, maid abuse cases, and non-capital drug-related offences.
VRI is more resource-intensive as compared to the traditional method of statement-taking. Transcripts have to be prepared. Accuracy of the transcripts needs to be checked – that is time and resource intensive. Technology such as speech-to-text (Artificial Intelligence) transcription will help reduce the costs and augment manual transcription. But it is not yet at a level where we can use it confidently. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is also working to streamline the transcription process. Over time, we hope to expand the use of VRI to more cases.