I raised a Parliamentary Question on whether public officials purchasing property based on non-public land-use information violates statutory duties or civil service rules. The query was sparked by a recent National Bureau of Economic Research working paper. I pressed the government to expand asset declaration requirements to cover immediate family members and co-habitants. I also asked if retrospective checks for anomalies would be conducted on past property transactions near unannounced infrastructure projects.
The Coordinating Minister for Public Services affirmed that public officers must never use non-public information for personal gain. He noted that doing so violates the Public Service Code of Conduct and may breach laws like the Official Secrets Act. The Minister explained that declarations currently cover spouses and financially dependent children. He added that authorities reviewed 191 officers involved in rail planning between 2007 and 2014, referring eight cases to the police for further examination.
Strict rules are essential to maintain public trust in our public service. Asset declarations should extend to all immediate family members and co-habitants to prevent loopholes, and routine retrospective checks must be conducted across all major land-use projects to deter any potential abuse of privileged information.
This was my full question in Parliament on 6 Oct 2026:
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether public officials’ purchasing property based on non-public land-use information constitutes a breach of statutory duties or civil service rules; (b) whether public officials’ asset declaration rules will be expanded to cover immediate family members and co-habitants; and (c) whether retrospective checks for anomalies will be conducted on past property transactions near unannounced infrastructure projects.
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