Leong Mun Wai says Police cannot use TraceTogether data

Will Leong Mun Wai or Tan Cheng Bock still stick to this position if their child or grandchild is kidnapped? Will they say Police have enough tools to solve crime and they don't need TraceTogether data?

It’s not whether Police already has enough tools in their bag. It's the case of 'if an additional tool will help Police crack a crime more efficiently and speedily, why deny them the tool'? And by crimes, we are referring to serious crimes.

We have seen in recent days how unsolved murder cases have brought immense grief with no closure to the families concerned. Each crime solved brings a measure of closure. 

TraceTogether: why oppose something good?

Granted, some were taken aback by the revelation that the Police can access TT data.

After the initial surprise, many realise that the data was accessed towards a good end - to help solve crimes.

We were told in Parliament that Police accessed the data once - in a murder case.

If an additional tool will increase the efficiency in solving serious crime, why not?

Why are WP and PSP defending the privacy of potential criminals?

If a person is detained for planning an act of terrorism, would Gerald Giam and Tan Cheng Bock oppose accessing his TT data to find out fast who his close contacts are?

Does the privacy of criminals deserve protection?

Your privacy deserves protection.

But does the privacy of those who commit serious offences like murder, rape, or acts of terrorism deserve your protection?

𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞. 𝐈𝐟 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞.

The table lists the serious offences that will be specified in a new legislation to formalise the assurances that the government gave, that data from TraceTogether will only be accessed for serious offences.

Give a thought to it.

𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

We are truly living in unprecedented times.

First it was Gerald Giam of Workers' Party who spoke in Parliament and wanted the Police to be specifically ruled out from accessing TT data for investigation into serious crimes.

And now we have Tan Cheng Bock's Progress Singapore Party which wanted TT data to be exempted from the Criminal Procedure Code.

These are politicians who watch the winds on social media and go where it blows.

Next, will there be a politician who will stand up and query: with all the modern tools of technology available, why can't the Police solve crimes faster?

Gerald Giam of WP wants the government to specifically rule out data from TraceTogether from being accessed by Police

Hypothetical: A person was murdered in a back alley. His Trace Together token was found on him. Should the police be prohibited from getting information on the token to establish who killed or possibly witnessed his death?

Key words: Criminal investigation

Riding on the uproar, Gerald Giam of WP wants the government to specifically rule out data from TraceTogether from being accessed by Police.

Here's what you need to understand about TraceTogether:

Your location is not recorded. Only who you have come into contact with is recorded. The data is encrypted. The data is purged after 25 days.

Whatever data collected stays with you until:
1. you are infected with COVID-19, OR
2. you are being investigated or assisting the investigation of a serious crime (a possibility).

So who are we protecting in this uproar over Police being able to access it to investigate serious crimes?

Don't attempt to modify the TraceTogether token!

There have been reports of people attempting to modify the TraceTogether tokens to avoid tracking.

We are intelligent enough to understand how TraceTogether works. So we need not be misled by misinformation alleging state surveillance.

The TraceTogether token does not have any Internet or cellular connectivity, so it does not capture your locations.

It captures data via Bluetooth. The data stays with you in the token unless you test positive for COVID-19, in which case you will have to surrender the data in your token for fast contact tracing of people in close proximity with you.

Data 25-days old are purged as they would be irrelevant and useless.

TraceTogether has helped to speed up contact tracing and keep Singapore.

Don't sabotage Singapore!