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| THE STRAITS TIMES | TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2015 | # B5 PARLIAMENT Bill to fight organised crime passed lar to one already in place for seri- NO MORE HIDING and bars the accused from acting as Iswaran said that subjects would be Law allows for syndicates’ ill-gotten gains to ous offences such as drug traffick- a director of a company. able to defend themselves in court ing and corruption. They are the ones Yesterday, two MPs – Mr Hri Ku- against the issuance of such orders. be confiscated without criminal conviction Mr Iswaran said this would “di- mar Nair (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) “There is also provision for ap- minish the incentive and the re- who instruct and and Mr Alvin Yeo (Chua Chu Kang peals to the Court of Appeal,” the Danson Cheong crimes – such as drug trafficking sources for persons to carry out or- intimidate others into GRC) – rose in support of the Bill, minister said. and money laundering – for the pur- ganised crime activities. This is the but questioned if there were suffi- Mr Iswaran assured Mr Yeo that pose of material or financial bene- ultimate objective of the civil confis- criminal acts, yet are cient safeguards to ensure the the civil confiscation would be used The courts will soon have the pow- fit. One of the key “levers” of the Bill cation regime”. most shielded from non-conviction orders would not “judiciously”, adding that “a confis- er to confiscate ill-gotten gains of is a civil confiscation regime, which The public prosecutor would also unfairly penalise suspects who cation order is therefore not made criminal syndicates – even without allows the public prosecutor to ap- be able to apply for three different enforcement. were in fact innocent. “There is a simply on the grounds that defend- a criminal conviction – after a Bill ply to the High Court for confisca- preventive orders – concerning or- higher chance that a mistake may ant cannot explain the origins of his to combat organised crime was tion of material gains from activi- ganised crime prevention, financial be made under a non-conviction re- wealth. We first have to establish passed yesterday. ties of these OCGs – even without a reporting and disqualification. gime because of the lower standard the predicate offence on the bal- Second Minister for Home Affairs criminal conviction. An Organised Crime Prevention of proof,” said Mr Nair. ance of probabilities”. S. Iswaran said in Parliament that The public prosecutor has to Order will allow the court to re- SECOND MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS Mr Yeo noted that the civil confis- He emphasised that the new pro- the Organised Crime Bill gives law prove on a “balance of probabili- strict the activities and electronical- S. ISWARAN, on organised crime outfits cation provisions in fact reversed visions were modelled after those enforcement “additional levers” to ties” that an individual has commit- ly monitor the movements of a sus- ’’ the burden of proof, requiring a sub- in other jurisdictions including the act against the masterminds of or- ted the crimes. This means that if it pect for up to five years. A Finan- ject to “prove the legitimacy of his United Kingdom and New Zea- ganised criminal groups (OCGs). can be shown that the crime most cial Reporting Order will require a property”. “In other words, any land, and have been shown to be “They are the ones who instruct probably took place, the courts can suspect to furnish the authorities property which is disproportionate effective. “The experiences of and intimidate others into criminal confiscate the benefits. with financial reports, which can to the subject’s known sources of in- these countries have shown that acts, yet are most shielded from en- Such a move requires a lower bur- last for his term of imprisonment come, and which he cannot explain such tools are effective and neces- forcement,” said Mr Iswaran during den of proof than a criminal convic- plus five years. Both can be issued to the court’s satisfaction is pre- sary to prevent and disrupt organ- the Bill’s second reading. tion, where guilt must be proven be- without a conviction. sumed to be the benefits of organ- ised crime.” An OCG is defined as three or yond reasonable doubt. A Disqualification Order can only ised crime,” he said. more people involved in serious This confiscation regime is simi- be issued following a conviction, In response to Mr Nair, Mr [email protected] Seniors to enjoy payouts from 2016 A new law detailing the framework and penalties for the Silver Support Scheme that was unveiled in this year’s Budget has been passed. This paves the way for 150,000 eli- gible Singaporeans, aged 65 and above, to get a quarterly payout of $300 to $750 from early next year. The scheme’s administrator – the CPF Board – will develop a system toautomatically assess a person’s el- igibility, and to make payments to recipients. A commissioner will al- so be appointed to, among other things, review appeal cases. Information will be pulled from government databases for means- testing. But safeguards will be put in place, and Singaporeans may opt out from this process, said Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say yesterday. The scheme will be permanent and will apply to “both current and future generations” of elderly peo- ple. Mr Lim will also look into Dr Fa- timah Lateef’s (Marine Parade GRC) suggestion to allow payouts to authorised third parties or next-of-kin of those who are unable to directly receive the benefits. The law will also make it an of- fence to provide false information to qualify for Silver Support bene- fits, or to receive a higher quantum. Those found guilty face a maximum $5,000 fine and a year in prison. Walter Sim From early next year, 150,000 eligible Singaporeans aged 65 and above will enjoy quarterly payouts of between $300 and $750 under the Silver Support Scheme. ST PHOTO: NEO XIAOBIN Changes to regulate payslips S’pore ‘a small player in AIIB and employment terms but ensure its views are heard’ Joanna Seow arrangements, main duties GRC) said that without proper em- Chia Yan Min The China-led AIIB is set to begin called on government-linked com- and fixed salary deductions, ployment contracts, employers Economics Correspondent operations next year. panies to open up opportunities for in writing; may take advantage of this situa- MPs supported Singapore’s par- local small and medium-sized en- Workers here will now have more • Failure to maintain detailed tion in disputes. ticipation, although some cau- terprises (SMEs) to participate in safeguards in place should dis- employment records; and Labour MP Zainal Sapari (Pasir Singapore is a small player in the tioned that the bank has met with AIIB projects. putes about their pay or job scope • Provision of inaccurate Ris-Punggol GRC) said the amend- Asian Infrastructure Investment criticism from some quarters. SMEs see many business opportu- information to the ments would help low-wage work- One concern is that the AIIB nities arising from regional infra- crop up. Employers who do not is- Commissioner for Labour Bank (AIIB) in terms of its mone- sue itemised payslips or spell out or inspecting officers ers who may not know that they tary commitment but it should still might become a competitor to structure projects, but as the scale key employment terms in writing without intending to defraud should request payslips and em- ensure that its views are heard, Mr other international financial institu- and size of these are usually large, for their workers can be fined un- and mislead. ployment terms for their protec- Ong Teng Koon (Sembawang GRC) tions, especially the Asian Develop- they are beyond the reach of any der changes to a law which were tion. “The likelihood of these work- said yesterday. ment Bank, Mr Ong noted. single company, Mr Chua noted. passed yesterday. Employers can be fined from ers being short-changed by their Mr Ong also noted in Parliament There are also concerns that the “If there is government support, The amendments by the Minis- $100 to $200 an employee or oc- employers is very high,” he said. that Singapore has a lot to bring to AIIB will come to be seen as a vehi- and if government-linked compa- try of Manpower (MOM) to the currence, and asked to rectify Non-Constituency MP Lina Chi- the table despite its small size. cle for advancing the national inter- nies are willing to take the lead, the Employment Act – Singapore’s breaches. Failure to comply will be- am raised the concern that while The Republic can leverage its ests of its largest shareholders, spe- success rate of local enterprises in main labour law – come into effect come a criminal offence. the payslip rule “is one step for- “reputation as an honest broker on cificallyChina. He called on the Gov- bidding for the projects would be on April 1 next year. The amendments will “prevent ward towards accountability, it the international stage” to make ernment to ensure that the AIIB’s di- substantially higher.” Besides making employment misunderstandings and minimise may not be sufficient enough to sure that the AIIB finances a diver- rections “will indeed be to the broad The Bill, which was passed yester- terms more transparent, the disputes” between employers and stem out abuses”. Unscrupulous sified and representative range of benefit of all of Asia, while also be- day, gives certain immunities, privi- changes include treating less se- employees, said Mr Lim. employers may simply ask work- projects and does not advance “the ing consistent with Singapore’s leges and exemptions to the AIIB vere infringements of the law as MOMhad announced the chang- ers for cashbacks for mistakes narrow interests of one or two own national interests”.

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