Singapore to scan fingerprints of all visitors from June

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Singapore to scan fingerprints of all visitors from June

27 Jan 2016

SINGAPORE — Singapore will scan and record the fingerprints of all visitors to the city-state from June this year, in a move aimed at beefing up security amid a rise in the perceived threat of terror attacks in Southeast Asia, a minister told parliament on Wednesday.

Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Lee said that Singapore will "implement the...initiative across all checkpoints to capture the fingerprints of all arriving persons by June 2016."

He said such a move "will allow us to verify the traveller's identity before he is allowed entry to Singapore and will facilitate automated self-clearance during departure."

With its position as a major trading, shipping and air hub, Singapore has been one of the most "open door" countries in the world in attracting foreigners to work there and welcoming tourists and business executives.

However, a rise in terror attacks globally and in the region has compelled it to adopt tighter security measures, such as fingerprinting, which has already been adopted by several other countries in Asia such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Lee said that an estimated 1,000 Southeast Asians may have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight for Islamic State, including several who died as suicide bombers.

"The Southeast Asian fighters pose a serious terrorism threat when they return with battlefield experience from Syria and Iraq," Lee said. Some returnees have allegedly formed a Malay Archipelago unit for Islamic State, purportedly to launch attacks in the region.

As a major transport hub in the region, Singapore is particularly vulnerable.

Lee noted that Singapore's immigration checkpoint at Woodlands, which is the entry point for visitors coming by road or rail from neighbouring Malaysia, is "the busiest land checkpoint in the world."

"These (issues) present security risks," he said. "Attackers can gather and plan just outside Singapore before coming into Singapore to carry out the attack."

According to the latest data from the Singapore Tourism Board, the country's largest source of tourists is Indonesia, with some 3 million people visiting from there in 2014, followed by 1.7 million from China and 1.2 million from Malaysia.

Singapore's move to further step up security comes soon after the Jan 14 terror attacks in Jakarta that claimed eight lives, including the four suspected attackers, and injured 26 others.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/84 ... -from-june