In Parliament on Monday (Sept 12), Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh said that while the Workers’ Party supports the Registration of Criminals (Amendment) Bill in its aim at “cracking cases and bringing criminals to justice,” he also expressed concerns and sought clarifications regarding certain aspects.
The Bill endeavours to expand the police’s DNA database by including less serious crimes under its scope, with people investigated for registrable crimes and less serious eligible crimes expected to surrender their DNA to the authorities.
Mr Singh’s concerns involved ensuring that the Bill suits Singapore’s particular circumstances and protects its citizens.
In this light, he sought clarifications from the Minister of Home Affairs on the secrecy of the DNA database in connection with cybersecurity.
“The Bill envisages the surrender of private information for which the highest levels of security and access must be assured by the Government.
Just a few years ago in 2018, the personal information of some 1.5 million Singaporeans was hacked in the SingHealth cybersecurity breach, the worst publicly known cybersecurity incident in Singapore’s history.”
Mr Singh asked whether the DNA database would be stored in a standalone computer or in systems linked to the internet, which would make them susceptible to cyberattacks.
He also asked how wide the access to the DNA database is.
He then cited one proposed section, which said that information on the database could be used “for such purposes as may be prescribed.”
“Could the Minister clarify whether the Government intends or foresees the use of DNA information for purposes other than for police investigations into specific cases? And if not, will the Government undertake to return to this House to seek Parliamentary approval if the DNA database is to be used for non-investigation related purposes?” asked the WP chief.
The Leader of the Opposition also asked for clarification on the factors officers would take into account in deciding whether to take DNA samples from those convicted of eligible crimes, as well as the cost of taking a DNA sample from an accused person or convicted person.
The Bill has been passed in Parliament.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had said that it would improve the investigative capabilities of the police.
The police have so far been allowed to collect DNA from those who have been arrested for registrable crimes including murder, rape and robbery, and then store this in a database for reference.
These offences result in a criminal record for those convicted.
According to the MHA, “Restricting the collection of an individual’s particulars and DNA information to just these types of crime has resulted in smaller databases, which may limit the police’s ability to solve crimes, especially in cases with very few leads.” /TISG