A Bangladeshi man who entered Singapore to preach extremist views will not be able to re-enter the country, even if he uses another fake name or passport. This was confirmed by Minister for Home Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam, in parliament on 9 September. Shanmugam was responding to questions from Members of Parliament (MPs) regarding Singapore's border security, following the Ministry of Home Affairs' (MHA) investigation of Amir Hamza. Hamza is being investigated for illegally preaching to a group of Bangladeshi migrant workers at their dormitory on 9 August.

Background

Amir Hamza managed to bypass Singapore's border security by using a passport with a different name. Upon arrival, visitors are screened against a watchlist during immigration clearance. Those flagged by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) undergo more stringent checks. Hamza's name was on the watchlist due to his past statements promoting religious intolerance and his reported involvement in a pro-Al-Qaeda organisation in Bangladesh. However, as this was his first visit to Singapore and his biometrics were not in the database, he entered undetected.

Will not be able to enter Singapore again

Shanmugam assured that if Hamza attempts to re-enter Singapore, he will be detected regardless of the passport he uses, as his biometrics are now recorded. He acknowledged that some individuals of security concern might still slip through checks, given that approximately 600,000 travellers pass through Singapore's checkpoints daily. "It is not possible nor practicable to subject every visitor to stringent, detailed checks and interviews. No country has a comprehensive database of every criminal or person of security concern across the world. Certainly, Singapore does not have such a database," he said.

No country in the world has database to exclude all 'potential persons': Shanmugam

Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh questioned whether Hamza had submitted his photograph during his visa application and if it had been cross-checked with the database. Shanmugam explained that the effectiveness of such checks depends on the type and quality of the photograph submitted. He added, "I think the member also assumes that in our database, there will be photographs of all those who are listed in the watchlist. As I said, no country in the world has such a comprehensive set of data on all potential persons who might have to be excluded."

Rules of migrant worker dorms

MPs also raised concerns about the security measures in place at foreign worker dormitories. Shanmugam reminded the house that the Public Order Act requires event organisers to apply for a police permit for events involving religious teachings. Dormitory operators must keep updated records of visitors entering the living areas. Additionally, foreigners wishing to speak at public events that are religious, cause-based, or political in nature must obtain a Miscellaneous Work Pass.

Investigations ongoing

Regarding Hamza's entry into Singapore and his illegal sermons, Shanmugam stated that no arrests have been made yet, and investigations are ongoing. Authorities are looking into individuals who participated in the sermons and are also investigating the dormitory operator for potential offences under the Public Order Act, the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, and the Foreign Employee Dormitories Act.

Related developments

This incident has highlighted a significant security lapse in Singapore's border control system. The Ministry of Home Affairs has acknowledged the failure to detect Hamza's presence and is likely to review and tighten security measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. The case underscores the challenges faced by countries worldwide in maintaining comprehensive databases to track individuals of security concern.