Parliamentary questions for 3 February 2020

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Prime Minister (a) whether the
Government plans to include climate risk, particularly climate change-related
risk, in MAS’ annual industry-wide stress test (IWST), in line with what the
Bank of England is doing and what the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
recommends fo

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Prime Minister (a) what is the current
financial literacy of adults in Singapore and what has been the trend in the past
decade; (b) what has been done to increase financial literacy; and (c) whether
a national framework is in place to measure the impact of digital finance on
businesses and individuals.

Dr Chia Shi-Lu: To ask the Prime Minister (a) why elderly pensioners
utilising their Civil Service Cards to fulfil prescriptions issued by community
hospitals have to pay for these medications whereas general hospitals’
prescriptions can be filled for free; (b) whether patients are informed of this
discrepancy when they are transferred from general hospitals to community
hospitals; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider extending this medication
benefit for pensioners discharged from community hospitals.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Prime Minister whether there have been cases of
data breach in Government agencies where suppliers and subcontractors
engaged by third party vendors are involved and, if so, how does the
Government ensure that such parties are vetted and accredited to ensure that
they are qualified to provide the required services and put in place the needed
cyber security safeguards for our systems.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) whether he can
provide an update on the Rohingya crisis as discussed at the recent ASEAN
and UN meetings; and (b) whether ASEAN (i) intends to support Myanmar in
implementing the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission
and, if yes, what is the target timeline (ii) is confident that there will be
continued support of Bangladesh and necessary funding for the refugees at
Cox’s Bazar whilst repatriation options are being negotiated and (iii) has
considered and agreed on a “Plan B” for the Rohingya people should the
repatriation negotiations not work out.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) whether
he can provide an update on the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat with regard
to recent developments in the Rakhine State, in particular where repatriation
efforts are concerned and whether from ASEAN’s viewpoint, enough has been
done to ensure that those who return will not face the same threats to their safety
as when they first left; and (b) whether there is a long-term solution for the
situation.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) what are
the studies, projections, or cost-benefit analyses that supported development of
the $4.7 million SecureMyBike project at Admiralty MRT that has been
discontinued due to lack of demand; and (b) how does the Ministry plan to
ensure future walk, cycle and ride (WCR) infrastructure improvements are cost
effective

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether the
Ministry will consider installing noise barriers along the stretch of Kranji
Expressway (KJE) running adjacent to the residential units along Segar Estate
and Blossom Residences; and (b) what is the estimated cost of installing such
noise barriers on a per metre basis.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) whether any
investigation has been carried out in respect of the piracy incidents in the
Singapore Strait in and after December 2019; (b) whether the Government has
identified the persons or groups responsible for the reported incidents and
where they originate from; (c) what action has been taken by any of our
government agencies to date; and (d) what are the Government’s plans to
prevent similar acts of piracy.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) in the past year, how
many vehicle fires have occurred in housing estates; and (b) how can vehicle
owners be better prepared to spot danger signs from their vehicles so that they
can take quick remedial action.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Transport (a) over the last three
years, what is the number of piracy cases along the Singapore Strait; and (b)
what are the measures taken to protect merchant ships using the Singapore
Strait.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Transport what is the annual
number of piracy incidents in the Singapore Strait between 2015-2019.

Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Transport what are the respective
numbers of train and bus trips that Singaporean senior citizens between the ages
of 60-65, 65-70, 70-75, 75-80 and 80-90 undertake on a yearly basis from 2015.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for National Development for
areas within public housing estates or town centres where carparks are
exclusively or predominantly in the form of multi-storey carparks (MSCPs),
whether HDB can conduct a review to assess the adequacy of parking lots for
delivery trucks which cannot access MSCPs due to height limitations, with
the view to increasing the number of parking lots for such trucks so that their
drivers can park their trucks legally while doing their deliveries.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether
he can provide an update on the measures taken to make it safer for HDB
residents to dry their laundry in view of our ageing population and strong winds
and to protect passers-by from falling laundry poles; and (b) whether there are
progressive changes to the design of these laundry pole holders to make them
safer.

Mr Yee Chia Hsing: To ask the Minister for National Development whether
there are measures to ensure that foreign registered cars pay their outstanding
HDB and URA parking fines before entry into, or exit out of, Singapore.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) how
does the Ministry ensure that ageing private estates and commercial buildings
are properly maintained as to their structure, fire safety, electricity and water
supplies, refuse disposal and pest control, for the well-being of occupants and
visitors; (b) what are the measures to deal with recalcitrant owners or managing
agents; and (c) whether the Ministry will implement a rating framework for
private estates similar to that for town councils to ensure that the quality of
private estate management matches that of public estates.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development for the past
five years, whether there have been cases of fraudulent divorces committed by
existing lessees of HDB flats to circumvent the Minimum Occupation Period or
to avoid buyers’ stamp duties.

Mr Ang Wei Neng: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in the
past 10 years, what is the number of HDB’s Selective En-bloc Redevelopment
Scheme (SERS) projects and the number of dwelling units affected, broken
down on

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for National
Development whether the Ministry and SLA will look into findings by NUS
Business School researchers that property developers could be exchanging
information about Government land sales which had led to imputed losses
amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars due to lower winning tender bids.

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the
rationale for HDB, as managing agent for SLA, to issue Temporary Occupation
Licences (TOLs) over state land to entities such as the People’s Association
Citizens Consultative Committees for durations of several years at a time; and
(b) what is the rate of fees charged to the People’s Association for such TOLs.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) in the
past three years, how many cases of water seepage from the external walls of
HDB flats have been reported; (b) of those cases, how many are repeat
complaints; and (c) whether HDB works with the town council to help address
the water seepage issues.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) for
the past three years, how many cases of moulding on ceilings or walls of HDB
flats have been reported; and (b) what action does HDB take to address these
complaints.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Health in view of the escalating
Wuhan pneumonia situation in the China (a) how susceptible is Singapore; (b)
whether there are suspected cases in Singapore; and (c) what are the measures
put in place or are being considered in the event the situation worsens.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Health with regard to the
Wuhan virus (a) what is the condition of the suspected patients in Singapore
so far; (b) whether the Ministry will be issuing an advisory on travel
restrictions for Singaporeans travelling to affected cities; and (c) whether a
multi-agency taskforce will be formed to look into the containment and
management of the virus spread in Singapore.

Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is Singapore’s
response to the Wuhan pneumonia outbreak; and (b) what actions are taken to
contain the spread to, and among, Singaporeans.

Mr Pritam Singh: To ask the Minister for Health how prepared are the
authorities to deal with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia in
Wuhan and what can citizens do to help support the Ministry’s efforts.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what are the
measures in place to prevent the entry and spread of the Wuhan virus in
Singapore, aside from the temperature screening at the airport; and (b) whether
there is an emergency response plan to handle the possible emergence of a
Wuhan virus outbreak in Singapore.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether he can provide
the latest update on the Wuhan virus situation; (b) what are the stepped-up
precautionary measures taken; and (c) how are our contingency preparations
and readiness for the possible scenarios ahead.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry will
consider requiring all private and public hospitals to be equipped and manned
to handle severe and multiple trauma cases in their accident and emergency
departments as part of our nation’s emergency preparedness plan; and (b)
whether we have sufficient emergency specialists and how many more will be
trained in the next five years.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Health in light of
the Lucky Plaza accident, whether private hospitals’ emergency departments
should be upgraded for a tiered national accident and emergency system
involving both public and private hospitals to make better use of medical
resources.

Ms Joan Pereira: To ask the Minister for Health (a) over the last three years,
what have been the take-up rates of adult vaccinations recommended by the
Ministry; and (b) how is the Ministry helping to raise awareness of adult
vaccination, especially for those in the high-risk groups, such as the elderly
and those with medical conditions.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what are the
latest findings in the Ministry’s study on creating guidelines to help doctors
determine the disability duration for specific injuries when issuing medical
leave and light duties to injured workers; and (b) by what date does the
Ministry expect to publish the results of this study.

Dr Chia Shi-Lu: To ask the Minister for Health considering that most
Singaporeans who seek treatment at polyclinics choose those nearest their
homes, whether the Ministry will consider standardising or minimising the
differences in charges for consultations, procedures and medications to ensure
pricing equality for all patients living in different regions.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Health (a) over the last
10 years, how many cases of physical and verbal abuse against nurses have
been reported annually; (b) how many offenders have been taken to task over
such offences; and (c) whether the Ministry has any plan for a sustained public
education campaign to stop cases of abuse against nurses.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong: To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the influenza
vaccination rate for children under the age of 16; and (b) whether the Ministry
will consider providing free flu vaccines to all Singaporean children.

Mr Ong Teng Koon: To ask the Minister for Health whether the Ministry can
offer patients who receive mental health treatment more protection against
discrimination by their employers by giving patients the option not to disclose
the treatment received and the medicine prescribed in their medical bills that
are used for reimbursement purposes.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Health in the last three years (a) what
is the breakdown of claims under MediShield Life for psychiatric treatment in
terms of (i) claims lodged and (ii) amount disbursed; (b) how many patients
maxed out the claim cap, broken down by (i) cap per day ($100) and (ii) cap per
year (35 days); and (c) how many patients are unable to tap on MediShield Life
due to the exclusion criterion of “treatment of injuries resulting from attempted
suicide”.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Health in the last three years (a) what
is the breakdown of MediSave withdrawals for inpatient psychiatric treatment
and outpatient care respectively, in terms of (i) applications made and (ii)
amounts withdrawn; (b) how many patients have reached the withdrawal limits,
broken down by (i) cap of $150 per day (ii) cap of $5,000 per year for inpatient
care and (iii) cap of $500 per year for outpatient care under the MediSave500
scheme; and (c) how are the mental health conditions included in the Chronic
Disease Management Programme determined.

Ms Yip Pin Xiu: To ask the Minister for Health in FY2017 and FY2018 (a)
what is the Government expenditure on formal long-term care services, broken
down by (i) nursing homes including inpatient hospices (ii) day care centres and
(iii) formal homecare services; (b) how many people used (i) nursing home
services (ii) day centre services and (iii) formal homecare services during these
years; and (c) of these, how many were aged 60 and above.

Dr Chia Shi-Lu: To ask the Minister for Health for the past three years, what
has the been the number of retail establishments that have been charged with
selling cigarettes to customers below the legal age and what are the grounds for
successful appeals against such offences.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Health (a) over the last 10 years,
what is the smoking rate amongst young Singaporeans; (b) what are the factors
causing Singaporeans to pick up smoking; (c) what is the average age in picking
up smoking; and (d) what are the measures planned to further curb smoking
amongst young Singaporeans.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs whether
there is an upward trend of drug syndicates exploiting minors in the drug trade
and how can our enforcement actions and statutory framework deter the
syndicates from doing so.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the
Ministry’s position on the research paper entitled “Costs of Drug Crime:
Literature Review and Methodology” which calculated the detriment drugs cause
to Singapore society; (b) whether the findings provide further impetus for
Singapore to advance its war on drugs; and (c) what will be done to ensure that
a tough and deterrent stance is taken against drug traffickers who push drugs into
and within Singapore.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what
rehabilitation measures are young sex offenders subject to in their time in
prison or probation to prevent recidivism; (b) whether studies are being done
on the mindset of local sex offenders, be they for crimes with or without
physical contact with victims, to improve the necessary corrective actions; and
(c) whether there are plans to work with universities and schools to conduct
outreach and introduce relevant material into the curriculum.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the
last five years, how many retired Singapore permanent residents applied for
renewal of re-entry permits; (b) what proportion of these had their applications
rejected; (c) how does this proportion compare with that of the previous five
years; and (d) what are the considerations in deciding whether to approve such
an application.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what
is the frequency of SCDF audits on the functionality of fire hose points in
condominiums; and (b) in respect of inspection and testing conducted by a
third party for the condominium, what liabilities do the condominium’s MCST
and managing.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the last three
years, how many complaints has the Traffic Police received about noisy
vehicles; (b) how many of these pertain to Nee Soon South; (c) whether there
are adequate speed cameras installed in the areas; and (d) whether the Traffic
Police will step up enforcement along Yishun Avenue 1 and Yishun Street 51
especially on Friday and Saturday nights.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) out of the 672
social media impersonation scam cases reported to have occurred in the first
11 months of 2019, how many of the impersonators have been prosecuted so
far; (b) what is the average time taken to solve each case; (c) what are the
measures that the Anti-Scam Centre has put in place to address the rise in cases;
and (d) whether the Anti-Scam Centre will be looking to coordinate anti-scam
measures with social media companies.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) over the past
three years, how many drivers have been caught and penalised for not securing
loads properly on lorries and trucks; (b) how many accidents have there been
involving loads falling off such vehicles and injuring road users; and (c)
whether there is a need for stronger measures to ensure that drivers secure loads
properly to their vehicles.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) for each
year in the past five years, how many drivers have been caught for not properly
securing passengers who are below 1.35 metres in height with an approved child
restraint; (b) how does the Ministry plan to raise awareness about the legal
requirement and safety benefits of using child car seats and booster seats; and
(c) whether the Ministry intends to strengthen legislation on the requirement to
use such seats.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the
last five years, what is the number of traffic accidents caused by lane splitting;
(b) what is the ratio of foreign and local motorcyclists involved in such
accidents; (c) what is the total number of injuries and fatalities respectively; and
(d) whether Traffic Police has any plan to raise road safety awareness pertaining
to the dangers of lane splitting.

Ms Sylvia Lim: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many persons
have been charged in court with offences under the Terrorism (Suppression of
Financing) Act; (b) of the persons so charged, how many and what proportion
are Singaporeans; and (c) what is the range of the amounts allegedly collected
or provided by the accused persons in support of terrorism-related activities.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs (a) in the
past five years, what is the number of traffic accidents involving bicycles and
electric bicycles respectively; (b) what enforcement efforts have been carried
out so far and what actions have been taken against errant cyclists; and (c) how
can Traffic Police better educate cyclists on safe riding.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for Home Affairs how many
cyclists have been booked for riding on roads without helmets since new
regulations requiring cyclists to use helmets when riding on roads took effect
from 1 February 2019.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Communications and
Information when individuals publicise complaints or petitions to Government
agencies which may contain inaccuracies (a) what are the considerations
behind whether Government agencies may publicly disclose identifying
information and personal details of these individuals; (b) what safeguards exist
to ensure that only the minimum personal information is disclosed to establish
the facts of the case; and (c) what can be done to ensure that individuals with
genuine grievances or unmet needs are not deterred from seeking help publicly.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information
whether he can provide an update on the work of the advisory council set up in
2018 to promote the ethical collection and use of data obtained from persons
without their specific knowledge or consent for commercial use.

Mr Saktiandi Supaat: To ask the Minister for Education given rising conflicts
and economic instability around the world (a) how does this impact the Global
Education Programme; and (b) what is being done to ensure students’ safety
and continued access to regional exposure as well as work and study
opportunities.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Education with regard to school
absenteeism (a) what are the standard operating procedures when students fail
to report at their secondary schools; (b) what is the minimum period of
absenteeism before these procedures are activated; (c) what is the number of
absenteeism dealt with by secondary schools over the last 10 years; and (d)
how successful are the schools in reducing absenteeism and whether further
intervention is necessary.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Education (a) whether he can
outline the criteria for admission of foreign students to our public education
institutions (primary, secondary, polytechnics, junior colleges and tertiary
institutions); (b) whether there are specific caps on the numbers of foreign
students in these institutions; and (c) how are the fees charged for foreign
students vis-á-vis that for local students.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Education in the last three years (a)
how many students (i) attempted suicide (ii) died by suicide or (iii) suffered
from self-harm; (b) how many of these students were (i) seeing school
counsellors (ii) referred to mental healthcare professionals, broken down into
the types of services and institutions and (iii) from the elite schools versus
neighbourhood schools; (c) what is the protocol given to (i) students (ii)
teachers (iii) school administrators and (iv) counsellors when they learn from
a student who shares his suicidal ideations or self-harm behaviour; (d) how
does the Ministry balance between safeguarding confidentiality and involving
the student’s family; and (e) what is the protocol for post-suicide intervention,
including for family.

Mr Zainal Sapari: To ask the Minister for Education (a) how does the Ministry
ensure that the gross floor area (GFA) for every school is accurately reflected in
the cleaning tender specifications; (b) whether the Ministry consults every
school on their cleaning requirements such as the number of classrooms and
student population; and (c) whether the Ministry allows for contract variations
in their cleaning contracts when there is a discrepancy in the GFA stated in the
tender or there is an increase in GFA during the contract period.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for Education what new efforts
is the Ministry launching to address attitudes of students and educators towards
the sexual objectification, harassment and abuse of women in light of serious
concerns over voyeurism cases at the institutes of higher learning.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Education (a) over the past five
years, what has been the trend in terms of time taken for graduates of
universities, polytechnics and ITE to secure full-time employment; (b) what
has been the trend in the proportion of such graduates taking up intern, contract
or part-time positions as their first job after graduation; and (c) what are the
causal factors underlying such trends.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Minister for Law what is the rationale for
the new pre-court action protocol for business-to-business debt claims and
whether the Government has consulted businesses prior to introducing the new
court protocol.

Prof Fatimah Lateef: To ask the Minister for Law whether there will be a
review of the standard clause in all public sector and public service contracts
to appoint the Singapore Mediation Centre as the sole mediation agency, to
align with the evolution of more mediation agencies providing mediation
services in Singapore.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for Law (a) what is the annual number
of mediations conducted under the auspices of the Singapore Mediation Centre
from 2017 to 2019; (b) of these, what is the recorded rate of successful
settlements; and (c) whether the Ministry has plans to encourage more
commercial legal disputes to be resolved through mediation.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Law whether the
Ministry can consider prohibiting the dissemination of photos and videos of
victims of accidents and crimes through electronic means.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Manpower to what extent do persons
who are employed and become new citizens in each year affect the
determination of the citizen unemployment rate.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry
can review the policy concerning medical certificates issued by Ministryapproved TCM physicians and mandate its acceptance for medical leave
claims across the board.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether
there has been a spike in workplace fatalities and injuries in the past year and
whether the Total Workplace Safety and Health approach is failing.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether a
Government survey including employee respondents has been conducted on
perceptions of discriminatory hiring and other HR practices, as a follow-up to
past surveys focusing on employer respondents; and (b) if so, when will the
findings be made public.

Ms Anthea Ong: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry
sets quotas for employment agencies of foreign domestic workers to meet in
terms of the number of domestic workers placed; (b) if so, whether this quota
is applicable to all employment agencies or only those under Advance
Placement Scheme; (c) what is the purpose of this quota; (d) how is the quota
determined; and (e) what are the consequences of failure to meet the quota.

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the
Ministry will consider expanding exceptions to concessions for levies on
foreign domestic workers to help caregivers cope with situations where a
disabled family member requires at least two persons to carry out any activities
of daily living.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether
there are any ongoing studies by the Ministry to examine how workplace
mental health issues, if left unmitigated, can affect our local workforce; and
(b) if so, when will the results of such studies be made public.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Manpower what is the
median salary of foreign domestic workers disaggregated by (i) nationality (ii)
whether they are hired through the Eldercarer Foreign Domestic Worker
Scheme and (iii) prior work experience in Singapore.

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development
for the past five years, what is the amount of grant and subsidies given to PAP
Community Foundation for the set-up and operation of its childcare centres
and kindergartens.

Mr Ang Hin Kee: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a)
what is the breakdown of the current number of childcare centres located at
workplaces, transport hubs and residential areas respectively; (b) what is the
number of childcare places available for each group; and (c) what kind of
locations are anchor operators and partner operators offering their centres at.

Mr Ang Hin Kee: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Development (a)
whether the current capacity of after-school care facilities is able to meet the
demand; (b) what are the common reasons for appeal cases and feedback
received from parents; (c) what is the breakdown in numbers regarding
parents’ feedback on affordability, capacity and services offered by Student
Care Centres (SCCs); (d) whether the Ministry prescribes skill sets required of
SCC personnel; and (e) whether there is a quality yardstick used to assess SCC
operators.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in the last
three years (a) what is the annual number of Singaporeans travelling overseas
and whether the trend is likely to increase; (b) what is the average number of
days spent overseas by Singaporeans; and (c) what is the annual number of
tourist arrivals to Singapore and what is their average stay.

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of
China’s economic growth at its lowest in 30 years (a) what is the near-term
impact on Singapore’s economy and jobs situation; (b) how will it alter
Singapore’s investment in China and Singapore’s participation in the Belt and
Road Initiative; and (c) what are the future measures to diversify our economic
exposure.

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a)
for each of the last three years, what is the total value of consumer prepayments
for services or products that have been lost due to business failure or inability to
discharge contractual obligations, broken down by (i) the motor car industry (ii)
the beauty industry (iii) contractors and (iv) any other industries with significant
consumer prepayment losses; and (b) whether mandatory escrow can be
implemented for higher-risk consumer prepayments to protect consumers
against such losses.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry what has been the
result of the Ministry’s review of developing different measures of inflation for
different key demographic segments of Singaporeans beyond only segments by
household income.

Mr Ong Teng Koon: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth
with the demolition of the Kallang Squash Centre (a) whether Singapore will
have a venue capable of hosting international squash tournaments and elite
level training for squash players; (b) what are the plans to provide an
alternative venue; (c) whether there are plans to include squash facilities for
the Kallang Alive project; (d) whether squash has the potential to be an
important contributor to Singapore’s sporting success at international
tournaments; and (e) whether there is a decline in the number of public squash
facilities since the 1990s and, if so, whether there are plans to reverse this
decline.

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth
whether an update can be provided on the drawdown of the $200 million
Bicentennial Community Fund set up last year to match donations to Institutions
of a Public Character (IPCs).

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) what new
tactics have been designed by those responsible for the rise in actual and
attempted piracy and robbery cases in the Singapore Strait and its surrounding
waters; (b) what measures can be deployed to deter and eliminate such threats;
and (c) how will the revised Standard Operating Procedures signed at the 14th
Malacca Straits Patrol Joint Coordinating Committee Meeting address the rise
in the number of piracy and robbery cases in the straits of Malacca and
Singapore.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) how does the Ministry
manage the demand and supply of meals for active and reservist servicemen in
military camps; (b) how does the Ministry keep track of the amount of food
waste in military camps across Singapore; (c) what is the amount of food waste
across military camps per year and the plans to recycle food waste; and (d) how
is the Ministry working with the camp food caterer to manage and reduce the
amount of food waste in military camps.

Mr Ong Teng Koon: To ask the Minister for Defence whether the Ministry can
mandate (i) regular interviews for NSF officers with their commanding officers
to identify and support those who require assistance including mental health
concerns and (ii) the setting up of channels where NSF officers can give
feedback about suspected mental health concerns or unusual behaviour of their
peers.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for the Environment and
Water Resources (a) by what date will the Ministry collect carbon tax
payments for 2019 emissions; (b) by what date does the Ministry plan to
publish the total amount of carbon tax payments collected for 2019 emissions;
and (c) whether the Ministry will consider releasing a breakdown of revenue
collected from each taxable facility when the data is available.

Mr Leon Perera: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water
Resources (a) what are the reasons for the discoloured tap water in the Basic
Military Training Camp (BMTC) on Pulau Tekong on 20 November 2019; and
(b) what measures are being taken to reduce the risk of such incidents in future.

Mr Seah Kian Peng: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water
Resources how have the recent fires in Australia affected Singapore’s
environment and food security.

Dr Chia Shi-Lu: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water
Resources for the past three years, what has been the number of recorded
offences for (i) smoking in the common corridors and void decks of HDB flats
and (ii) high-rise littering from HDB flats related to cigarette butts and
cigarette ash respectively.

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong: To ask the Minister for the Environment
and Water Resources what action can be taken against Singaporeans involved
in dumping toxic, plastics or other wastes in neighbouring countries.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water
Resources in light of the case of a cremation mix up (a) whether it timely for
the Ministry to conduct a review of the industry’s practices and standard
operating procedures; (b) what are the preventive measures put in place by
NEA following the incident; (c) whether NEA intends to play a bigger role in
regulating funeral companies, in particular working with the Association of
Funeral Directors Singapore; and (d) how often does NEA inspect and conduct
checks on Government after-death facilities to ensure compliance to
regulation.

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water
Resources whether the Government has any plans to reduce greenhouse
emissions from our oil refining industry and, if so, what are these plans.

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water
Resources in light of Malaysia’s plan to reduce Johor’s dependency on treated
water supply from Singapore by 2022, what will be the projected impact on the
price of treated water for local consumption after 2022.

Mr Sitoh Yih Pin: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water
Resources (a) what has been the popularity and usage of the 10 “reverse”
vending machines launched under the Recycle N Save Programme on 31
October 2019; and (b) whether NEA has further plans to expand the Programme
beyond the planned 50 machines across Singapore by March 2020.

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for the Environment and Water
Resources with regard to the Zero Waste Masterplan (a) whether the Ministry is
aware of the number of hawkers and stalls that are providing only disposable
utensils for dine-in customers; and (b) whether there are measures or plans to
encourage and ensure that these hawkers and stalls introduce reusable utensils
for dine-in customers.