NMP Leong Mun Wai: TraceTogether data should not be used by Police even in a child-kidnapping case
Feb 02, 2021 | 🚀 Fathership AI
The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) on Tuesday (Feb 2) opposed a Bill tabled in Parliament, which will allow police to use contact tracing data to investigate serious crimes, calling on the Government to "keep its original promise" - of only using TraceTogether data for contact-tracing purposes.
When asked by Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah if he would object to the use of TraceTogether data to investigate a child kidnapping, even if no other evidence was forthcoming, Mr Leong said his party's position would not change.
Mr Leong said: "The PSP is not objecting to this Bill for the sake of objecting... But to trade off public trust in public health measures - which must be of utmost priority in a pandemic crisis - for public safety in which we are already strong, as evidenced by the much acclaimed crime-solving abilities of our police, calls into question the judgment to make such a trade-off."
Mdm Indranee response: "He (Mr Leong) is right. Yes, there is a trade-off but we will not trade a child's life for something like that."
PSP's position: Data should be used solely for contact-tracing
Data collected by TraceTogether, as well as other contact tracing systems, should be used solely for the purpose of contact tracing, said Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai during the debate on the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) (Amendment) Bill.
He added that his party believes it is more important to prioritise public trust over public safety after weighing the costs and benefits.
Proposed Bill empower police with the authority to use TraceTogether data for criminal investigations into serious crimes
The proposed amendments to the law follow an outcry after it was revealed in Parliament last month that the police had the powers to use TraceTogether data for criminal investigations into serious crimes, under the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
Mr Leong had asked if this was necessary, given that the police already has "broad powers" under the CPC to access documents, people's computers and decryption data for investigation purposes.
