Eight Singapore public service officers have been referred to the police for further investigation after a government review of property purchases near future MRT stations, following concerns raised by a recent academic study.
Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing told Parliament on Tuesday (Oct. 6) that the Public Service Division (PSD) had reviewed property transactions involving 191 officers working in agencies connected to rail planning.
The review examined purchases made between 2007 and 2014 involving properties near locations that were subsequently announced as MRT stations.
Chan stressed that the police referrals do not mean wrongdoing has been established.
“The police will look into the facts independently, and due process will be followed,” he said.
Government Expanded Review Beyond Initial Study Period
The issue came under scrutiny after a working paper published by the US-based National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) reported a statistical association between certain civil servants and property purchases close to future MRT stations before the station locations were publicly announced.
The paper focused on purchases made before 2011, but the Singapore Government expanded its own review through 2014.
Chan said this was done as a matter of prudence because many new MRT station locations were announced in the years after 2011.
For each transaction, officials examined the officer’s role at the time of purchase, whether the officer had access to relevant non-public information, the timing and circumstances of the transaction and other available information.
The NBER paper itself has not been peer-reviewed, and statistical patterns alone do not establish that an individual officer accessed confidential information or used it to make a property purchase.
Eight Cases Sent for Further Investigation
Of the 191 officers reviewed, eight cases were considered to warrant further examination and were referred to the police.
Chan said the referrals could be due to the specific circumstances surrounding the purchases or because the government did not have sufficient information to exclude the cases from further review.
He cautioned against automatically assuming that officers who had access to non-public information had misused it.
A referral to the police, he said, is not a finding of misconduct or guilt.
The police will independently examine the facts before determining whether any offence has been committed.
Questions Over Safeguards for Civil Servants
The issue prompted a series of parliamentary questions about whether existing safeguards are strong enough to prevent public officers from using confidential government information for personal financial gain.
Nine MPs had filed questions on the matter ahead of Tuesday’s sitting.
They asked about the effectiveness of existing safeguards, whether property transactions should be subject to additional declarations and whether checks should be extended to immediate family members or other related persons.
Workers’ Party MP Gerald Giam also asked whether a public official who purchased property using non-public land-use information would breach statutory duties or civil service rules.
Other MPs questioned whether retrospective checks should be carried out on past property purchases around infrastructure projects whose locations had not yet been announced.
Government Reviewing Possible Gaps
The PSD previously said it was taking the claims in the NBER paper seriously but warned that statistical associations cannot by themselves establish misconduct.
The government has said it will study the findings of its review and consider whether existing safeguards need to be strengthened.
The review is particularly significant because officers working in areas such as transport planning, land use and infrastructure development may have access to information that can affect property values before such information becomes public.
Existing safeguards are intended to prevent public officers from using privileged government information for personal benefit.
The parliamentary discussion focused not only on whether individual cases may have involved misconduct, but also on whether the system can detect and prevent such behaviour effectively.
Retrenchments Also Under Parliament’s Spotlight
Tuesday’s Parliament sitting also addressed another major concern for Singapore workers: rising retrenchments.
Singapore recorded 4,620 retrenchments in the second quarter of 2026, up from 3,830 in the first quarter. It was the highest quarterly figure since the fourth quarter of 2020.
The Ministry of Manpower said the increase was driven mainly by business reorganisation and restructuring in sectors including manufacturing, information and communications, and financial services.
The proportion of retrenched residents who found new employment within six months also fell from 60.7 per cent in the first quarter to 54.9 per cent in the second.
The 12-month re-entry rate remained relatively stable at 69.8 per cent, suggesting that affected workers were taking longer to return to employment.
MPs questioned the Government about support for older workers, mature Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs), people with disabilities and workers who remain unemployed for extended periods.
Questions also focused on whether existing job-matching and career-conversion programmes are helping retrenched workers secure sustainable employment.
North-South Corridor Delayed by Two Years
The two-year delay to the North-South Corridor (NSC) was another major issue raised in Parliament.
The 21.5km project was originally scheduled to open in phases from 2027 for its viaduct section and 2029 for its tunnel section.
The revised schedule means the viaduct between Admiralty Road West and Lentor Avenue is now expected to open progressively from 2029, while the tunnel between Lentor Avenue and the East Coast Parkway is expected to open from 2031.
Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said the project has encountered more difficult-than-expected ground conditions and complex engineering challenges.
At locations including Gambas Avenue and Woodlands Avenue 8, harder rock was found at shallower depths than anticipated.
In Novena, fractured rock and groundwater inflows were encountered underneath the operational North-South Line, requiring more time-intensive excavation methods.
The NSC is particularly challenging because construction has to take place through densely built-up areas while working around existing roads, buildings, utilities and MRT infrastructure.
Major Construction Works Expected to Ease From 2027
Despite the delay, Siow said residents and businesses affected by the construction should begin seeing improvements next year.
Major structural works generating the most noise and dust are expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
Roads, footpaths and other affected public spaces will then be progressively reinstated from 2028.
The Land Transport Authority has also been instructed to prioritise surface works and improve pedestrian access to shops and food-and-beverage outlets affected by construction.
Businesses operating in affected HDB rental shops will continue to receive rental rebates where there are grounds to do so, the Government said.
Siow said attempts to further compress the construction schedule could introduce significant safety risks because of the ground conditions encountered.
Multiple Issues Reflect Broader Concerns
The three major issues before Parliament on Tuesday — public officers’ property purchases, rising retrenchments and the North-South Corridor delay — touch on different aspects of Singapore’s public administration and economy.
The property investigation centres on maintaining public-sector integrity and ensuring confidential planning information is not misused.
The retrenchment figures highlight continuing pressures on some workers despite overall employment growth.
Meanwhile, the NSC delay illustrates the challenges of carrying out major infrastructure projects in a densely developed city where construction must take place around existing homes, businesses, roads and transport networks.
For the eight public officers referred to the police, the next stage will be an independent investigation. The Government has made clear that the referrals are precautionary and investigative, rather than findings that the officers committed wrongdoing.
