Singapore contingent in Nepal bolstered by fingerprint experts, begins work

A Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) contingent from Singapore has arrived in Nepal and begun work on the ground to support local authorities in their disaster relief efforts, the Singapore Police Force said.

Providing its first update since the first batch of 19 officers from the police and Health Sciences Authority (HSA) set off on Sept 1 and 2, the police said in a Facebook post on Sunday (Sept 6) that the contingent now has 35 members.

In its earlier statement on Sept 2, the police had announced that there are plans to bolster the deployment to 33 officers.

The addition of a further two members is due to the inclusion of two fingerprint experts specialising in fingerprint examination from the Integrated Forensics Service of the Home Team Science and Technology Agency, the police told AsiaOne in response to a query on the additional headcount.

A police spokesperson added that the two officers were deployed on Sept 4.

"The contingent is contributing its expertise in Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) and aerial surveillance in support of the ongoing relief efforts," police reiterated in its post.

Together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Crisis Response Team, the Singapore contingent has met with the Nepal police and the Nepal National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority to further understand the situation on the ground.

Separately, a humanitarian assistance package worth around $560,000 was handed over to Nepal by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Gan Siow Huang on Friday.

The Singapore government has also contribute US$100,000 ($127,000) in seed money to the Singapore Red Cross (SRC), while the non-governmental organisation's public fundraising has since crossed the $3 million mark .

Meanwhile, SRC said in a separate statement on Sept 3 that it is pledging an additional $170,000 in humanitarian aid to support its partners' efforts on the ground.

This will go towards water purification powders, water filters, and emergency food supplies.

It is in addition to the $50,000 pledged earlier , that has since been used to by the Nepal Red Cross to dispatch emergency supplies.

新加坡警察部队表示，一支来自新加坡的灾难受害者身份识别（DVI）小组已抵达尼泊尔，并开始在当地开展工作，以支持地方当局的救灾工作。

警方在周日（9月6日）的Facebook帖子中表示，自9月1日和2日首批19名警察和卫生科学局（HSA）人员出发以来，首次发布了最新消息，称该队伍现在已有35名成员。

警方在9月2日发表的声明中宣布，计划将警力部署增加到33名警员。

警方在回应亚洲新闻网关于增加警力的询问时表示，新增两名成员是因为内政科技局综合法医服务处吸纳了两名专门从事指纹检验的指纹专家。

警方发言人补充说，这两名警员于9月4日被部署到位。

警方在帖子中重申：“该特遣队将贡献其在灾难受害者身份识别（DVI）和空中监视方面的专业知识，以支持正在进行的救援工作。”

新加坡代表团与外交部危机应对小组一起会见了尼泊尔警方和尼泊尔国家减灾风险管理署，以进一步了解当地情况。

另外，周五，外交部国务部长颜晓煌向尼泊尔移交了价值约 56 万美元的人道主义援助物资。

新加坡政府也向新加坡红十字会（SRC）提供了 10 万美元（12.7 万美元）的启动资金，而该非政府组织的公众筹款额此后已超过 300 万美元。

与此同时，SRC在9月3日发表的另一份声明中表示，将额外提供17万美元的人道主义援助，以支持其合作伙伴在当地的努力。

这笔资金将用于购买净水粉、净水器和应急食品。

除了此前承诺的 5 万美元之外，尼泊尔红十字会已将这笔款项用于运送紧急物资。