Officers can report wrongful behaviour through confidential channels: DPM Teo

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean said in Parliament on Tuesday that channels are available for officers to report improper conduct of superior officers.

DPM Teo was responding to a question from Workers' Party Member of Parliament (MP) Sylvia Lim on the channels available for uniformed officers to report other misbehaving officers.

The Home Team has a reporting framework that provides a confidential channel for officers to report any wrongful behaviour of officers, DPM Teo said.

Under this framework, the usual channel for a uniformed Ministry for Home Affairs officer to raise concerns and feedback, is to do so in person or in writing, to designated persons within the officer's department.

However, if officers prefer to raise their concerns to a channel outside of their department, they can furnish the information to the Deputy Secretary or the senior director of human resources, DPM Teo added.

DPM Teo assured the identity of the reporting officer will be kept confidential.

DPM Teo also added that in the last five years, 59 such reports were made, of which 44 were reported anonymously. Of the 15 cases that were not reported anonymously, eight were against a superior officer.