CPIB to restrict officers' visits to casinos: PSD
The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) is implementing regulations to restrict its officers’ casino visits, the Public Service Division (PSD) said in a statement on Friday.
These measures are similar to the ones already implemented by the Singapore Police Force. Besides making its officers declare all visits to the casinos, SPF’s measures also include credit bureau screenings and a ban on casino visits if the officer directly deals with law enforcement matters involving casinos.
While these measures were implemented by the SPF from as early as 2009, this information has previously not made known to the public.
The PSD also revealed that all public officers are not allowed to visit casinos during working hours but there is currently no across-the-board ban on public officers going to the casinos in their personal time.
PSD, however, reassured the public that it is reviewing its code of conduct to determine if tighter rules, with regard to visiting casinos, should be implemented for the wider public service.
This comes on the back of the recent spate of high profile corruption cases, with the latest being the case involving senior CPIB officer Edwin Yeo Seow Hiong.
Yeo, who was head of field research and technical support at CPIB, allegedly stole S$1.76 million from the agency between 2008 and August last year. He is said to have spent more than $240,000 of this amount at the Marina Bay Sands casino.
Number of cases ‘low and relatively stable’
A study conducted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) revealed that the number of cases opened by the CPIB and CAD has not increased over the years.
The study which looks at the corruption and financial-related crimes in the past five years, shows a 22 per cent fall in cases from the public sector between 2008 and 2012.
On average, 39 cases involving public service officers are investigated yearly, making up approximately 20 per cent of all cases investigated by the CPIB.
The study also found that about half of the cases from the public sector were from frontline officers with enforcement powers, such as the Home Team, Housing Development Board, National Environment Agency and Ministry of Manpower.
Peter Ong, Head of the Civil Service, said in a letter to all civil servants, “I am reassured by these finding as they show that our system as a whole remains sound.
“But we cannot be complacent. Every case is one too many.”
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