The gist: Government’s response to oil spill in focus; enhanced anti-money laundering laws tabled

SINGAPORE – Twenty-three MPs filed 40 questions on the 400-tonne oil spill – Singapore’s worst in over a decade – on June 14 off Pasir Panjang Terminal.

Many questions focused on how the Government responded to the incident, and they prompted three ministerial statements made on the issue on July 2, the first Parliament sitting since the incident.

The session also saw enhanced laws tabled to help the authorities better tackle money laundering offences.

Here are the key takeaways:

Poor visibility hindered oil spill containment: Chee Hong Tat

Remote video URL

[video_shortcode_youtube src="/media/oembed?url=https%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DuMPUQTYhbHM%26rel%3D0&max_width=0&max_height=0&hash=IPYSHsdoqe3l_xFehZ-wLMiSVxx-_V4ps_PSS8OYxFU" itemprop="image" content="/media/oembed?url=https%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DuMPUQTYhbHM%26rel%3D0&max_width=0&max_height=0&hash=IPYSHsdoqe3l_xFehZ-wLMiSVxx-_V4ps_PSS8OYxFU" data-src="/media/oembed?url=https%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DuMPUQTYhbHM%26rel%3D0&max_width=0&max_height=0&hash=IPYSHsdoqe3l_xFehZ-wLMiSVxx-_V4ps_PSS8OYxFU"]

Thundery showers meant the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and its contractors could not spot large oil patches in the sea in the first few hours after the allision between two vessels that led to the oil spill.

This was why oil skimmers to recover spilled oil from the water’s surface could be deployed only the morning after, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said.

As the density of the spilled oil was very close to that of seawater, oil slicks may have gone below the water surface, making detection harder, Mr Chee said. He added that the task grew more difficult when night fell.

Minister for National Development Desmond Lee added that oil slicks were spotted at sensitive habitats in Labrador Nature Reserve, on Sentosa, and parts of the Southern Islands in the week after the incident.

Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu touched on the help for impacted businesses, including rental deferral on a case-by-case basis to help with cash flow.

Why it matters:

The June 14 incident saw takings and footfall tumble for waterfront businesses, while vessel charter companies also took a beating. The spill also coincided with coral bleaching in the shallow waters of Singapore.

Many MPs asked about the MPA’s response to the spill, including why the MPA did not immediately deploy oil containment booms on board its patrol vessel when it arrived at the incident site at 2.33pm, 15 minutes after the incident occurred.

While MPA had activated its contractor T&T Salvage Asia at 2.55pm, it took several hours for the company to mobilise truckloads of gear. With the night-time conditions and bad weather, T&T finished laying 200m of booms around the damaged vessel at 5.15am on June 15, nearly 15 hours after the incident.

Enhanced laws tabled to speed up money laundering investigations

The Anti-Money Laundering and Other Matters Bill was read for the first time in Parliament on July 2. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

Enhanced laws have been tabled to let government agencies share more data with one another to speed up the investigation of suspected money laundering cases.

The Anti-Money Laundering and Other Matters Bill was read for the first time in Parliament on July 2. It proposes amending existing laws so the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and Singapore Customs can share tax and trade data with the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO).

STRO sits under the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force. It receives suspicious transaction reports (STRs) and other information which are used to detect money laundering and other serious crimes.

The Bill also looks to simplify how prosecutors can prove their money laundering cases involving offences that happen overseas.

Why it matters: 

Property agents and corporate service providers came under scrutiny over their alleged roles in the $3 billion money laundering case involving 10 foreigners.

The Bill proposes giving regulators wider access to STRs. This means that when property agents and corporate service providers file STRs with the STRO, the Council for Estate Agencies and Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority can access these reports.

The current requirement is for the prosecution to show that laundered money in Singapore is directly linked to specific crimes, and also to show the complete trail of the funds from the point the crime was committed.

But the Home Affairs Ministry said it is challenging to obtain such evidence from foreign victims and authorities overseas, especially when laundered funds go through multiple jurisdictions before entering Singapore.

The amendments propose that the prosecution will only need to prove that the money launderer knew or believed he was dealing with criminal proceeds.

If you have a few more minutes:

Singapore prepared to recognise Palestine as a state ‘at an appropriate time’

Singapore is prepared in principle to recognise Palestine as a state and will do so “at an appropriate time”, but there will need to be an effective Palestinian government that accepts Israel’s right to exist and categorically rejects terrorism, Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said.

“Both sides have legitimate rights, and both peoples have a right to live in peace and dignity within secure borders,” he added in response to five MPs who had raised questions about Palestine.

He said Singapore does not engage in performative gestures when it comes to recognising Palestine as a state, adding that making premature pronouncements would be unhelpful, given that the Israeli-Palestinian issue is “fundamentally not our quarrel”.

“Let’s remain constructive and helpful, and hope, even in this time of deep darkness, that peace will be given a chance in Palestine, and that our Israeli friends and our Palestinian friends – brothers, actually – can live in peace with each other,” he said.

House told NCMP Leong Mun Wai retracted statement in podcast alleging bias

Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng said a remark made by Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai during a podcast episode had cast aspersions on his fairness in calling on MPs to ask follow-up questions.

The podcast host had noted that the Progress Singapore Party’s Mr Leong was often one of the first to put his hand up when questions were sought. The NCMP responded that he was also “one of the last to be called”.

Mr Seah said these remarks were a gross misrepresentation of Parliament proceedings, adding that Hansard records between August 2023 and May 2024 show no basis for Mr Leong’s statement.

Mr Seah also detailed his correspondence with Mr Leong. A total of six letters were exchanged.

He had written to Mr Leong on June 30, after the NCMP clarified that his remark was a light-hearted comment with no intention to cast aspersions on the Speaker’s impartiality as the clarification did not contain an apology.

Mr Leong responded on July 1, saying that an apology would not be accurate as doing so would suggest an intention on his part to mislead listeners. He wrote that he would, however, retract his words on the podcast.

The Speaker pronounced the matter closed on July 2, but warned MPs that such acts of contempt should not be repeated.