Civil servants buying property near future MRT stations: 4 layers of safeguards in place, says Chan Chun Sing

Civil servants are subject to four layers of safeguards aimed at preventing the misuse of non-public government information for personal gain, Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing said in Parliament on Tuesday (Oct 6).

The safeguards include controlled access to sensitive information, declaration and approval requirements for personal transactions, additional measures for agencies handling particularly sensitive information, and channels for reporting suspected wrongdoing.

Chan was responding to parliamentary questions following a study that found a statistical association between civil servants involved in rail planning and property purchases near future MRT stations before their locations were announced.

As part of the Government's review, property transactions involving 191 officers in agencies involved in rail planning were examined. The officers had purchased properties between 2007 and 2014 near locations that were later announced as MRT stations.

Of these, eight officers have been identified for further examination, either because of the circumstances surrounding their purchases or because there was insufficient information to rule out concerns.

Under the existing safeguards, officers are granted access to sensitive information on a need-to-know basis, with such information subject to security and access controls.

"Since the 1990s, all officers have been required to declare purchases of private property and annually any non-owner-occupied properties they hold," Chan said.

These requirements have been progressively tightened over the years.

He explained that where an officer has relevant non-public information about a transaction they intend to undertake, they must seek approval from their agency head before proceeding.

This requirement is not limited to property transactions, but also applies to other personal transactions involving relevant non-public information, he added.

Finally, officers can report suspected wrongdoing to their supervisors, HR departments or agency heads.

Declaration rules extend to spouses, dependent children

Responding to a follow-up question from Member of Parliament Gerald Giam on whether such declarations should extend to the properties and assets of public officers' immediate family members, Chan said that there needs to be a "balance" between ensuring accountability and avoiding unnecessary reporting requirements.

"You need to declare for yourself, for your immediate family, which includes your spouse and your financially dependent children," Chan said.

However, he emphasised that the focus is on the use of non-public information for personal gain.

"It doesn't matter whether it's you, your immediate spouse, immediate family members, or your extended family. It is still wrong," Chan said.

He cited the Singapore Land Authority, which had required officers in the relevant department to declare property or land sales involving themselves, their spouses or financially dependent children.

The agency-specific requirement supplements the existing rules requiring all public officers to declare purchases of private property.

"This provides an additional means of bringing possible misconduct to attention," Chan said.

He added that no system could completely eliminate the possibility of wrongdoing, but the Government would continue to reduce opportunities for abuse, detect potential misconduct and act firmly where wrongdoing is established.

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公共服务统筹部长陈振声周二（10月6日）在国会表示，公务员受到四层保障措施的约束，旨在防止滥用非公开的政府信息谋取私利。

保障措施包括控制对敏感信息的访问、对个人交易的申报和批准要求、对处理特别敏感信息的机构采取额外措施，以及举报可疑不当行为的渠道。

陈先生是在回应国会质询时做出上述回应的。此前一项研究发现，参与铁路规划的公务员与在未来地铁站位置公布前购买附近房产之间存在统计关联。

作为政府审查的一部分，涉及191名铁路规划相关机构官员的房产交易被列入调查范围。这些官员在2007年至2014年间购买了靠近后来被宣布为地铁站的地点的房产。

其中，有八名警官因购买行为的特殊情况或信息不足以排除疑虑而被确定接受进一步调查。

在现有的安全保障措施下，警员只有在需要知道的情况下才能访问敏感信息，此类信息受到安全和访问控制。

陈警官说：“自上世纪90年代以来，所有警员都被要求申报购买私人财产的情况，并每年申报他们拥有的任何非自住房产。”

这些要求近年来逐步收紧。

他解释说，如果一名官员掌握了有关其打算进行的交易的相关非公开信息，则必须在采取行动前获得其机构负责人的批准。

他补充说，这项要求不仅限于房地产交易，也适用于涉及相关非公开信息的其他个人交易。

最后，警员可以向上级、人事部门或机构负责人报告涉嫌不当行为。

申报规则同样适用于配偶和受抚养子女。

针对国会议员严燕松提出的后续问题，即此类申报是否应涵盖公职人员直系亲属的财产和资产，陈女士表示，需要在确保问责制和避免不必要的报告要求之间取得“平衡”。

陈女士说：“你需要为自己、你的直系亲属（包括你的配偶和经济上依赖你的子女）申报。”

但他强调，重点在于利用非公开信息谋取私利。

“无论是你本人、你的配偶、直系亲属还是其他亲属，这都不是错的，”陈女士说。

他援引新加坡土地管理局的例子，该局要求相关部门的官员申报涉及本人、配偶或经济上依赖其子女的房产或土地买卖。

该机构的具体要求是对现有规定的补充，现有规定要求所有公职人员申报购买私人财产。

“这为引起人们对可能存在的不当行为的关注提供了一种额外的途径，”陈说。

他补充说，没有任何制度能够完全消除不当行为的可能性，但政府将继续减少滥用职权的机会，发现潜在的不当行为，并在不当行为成立时采取坚决行动。

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