Wednesday 24 February 2016

CPIB Corruption Reporting Centre to open in Whitley

By Lim Yi Han, The Straits Times, 23 Feb 2016

A Corruption Reporting Centre is set to open in December in Whitley, near Stevens MRT station, to make it more convenient for the public to report suspected corruption cases.

The centre, part of moves announced earlier by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to keep corruption at bay in Singapore, will be located at the premises of the Whitley Neighbourhood Police Post.

The police post will cease operations from next Monday to facilitate the handover of the premises located at 247 Whitley Road, said the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) and the police yesterday.

A CPIB spokesman told The Straits Times: "The upcoming Corruption Reporting Centre is situated in a convenient and accessible location outside of the CPIB headquarters to encourage members of the public to walk in and make corruption complaints."

Currently, the public can lodge corruption reports at the CPIB headquarters in Lengkok Bahru near Redhill, call its 24-hour hotline on 1800-376-0000, or go to its website at www.cpib.gov.sg. They can still report suspected cases in these ways after the new centre opens.

CPIB's Heritage Gallery - now at the headquarters - will be located within the 155 sq m Corruption Reporting Centre, to allow the public to learn more about corruption matters as well as the history of Singapore's fight against graft.

Currently, visitors who want to tour the gallery at the headquarters have to make an appointment, but they will be able to just walk in when the new centre opens.

More details on the centre will be made known at a later date. CPIB did not reply to media queries on staff strength and other functions or features of the centre.

The centre was announced by PM Lee in January last year, along with a review of Singapore's anti-corruption laws and plans to boost CPIB's manpower by more than 20 per cent.

He said then that Singapore must not just keep up but also enhance its reputation for cleanliness. His comments came after Singapore dropped two places to No. 7 on Transparency International's ranking of the least corrupt countries in 2014, possibly due to graft cases involving senior civil servants.

Meanwhile, residents in the vicinity of Whitley Neighbourhood Police Post can visit the Kampong Java Neighbourhood Police Centre or Bukit Timah Neighbourhood Police Centre if necessary. They can call 999 for urgent police aid, or lodge non-emergency reports online.







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