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Safe Distancing Enforcement Officers (SDEOs) are empowered to enter, inspect and search various premises, including residences, without a warrant, to check whether Covid-19 regulations are being complied with, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Aug. 2.

The URA was responding to an Instagram post on Aug. 1 by Singapore actor Nick Mikhail, who took issue with the way that his house was inspected by three SDEOs from URA and three police officers.

In his post, Mikhail raised concerns over several aspects of the inspection, including the fact that the officers entered his private residence without a warrant.

They entered his car porch through an open gate before knocking on the door of the house. Mikhail's wife then agreed to let the group enter.

What is the role of Safe Distancing Enforcement Officers?

Just like the entire concept of safe distancing, SDEOs did not exist before Covid-19.

SDEOs, together with Safe Distancing Ambassadors (SDAs) were first deployed in April 2020 as Singapore headed into the Circuit Breaker.

Who are SDEOs?

Many SDEOs and SDAs are public officers from more than 65 public agencies who are juggling their regular duties with enforcement work, said the then-Ministry of Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) towards the end of the Circuit Breaker.

Their job is "to ensure elevated safe distancing measures are observed," explained the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) in a statement on Apr. 15.

Enforcement Officers have an additional responsibility that Ambassadors do not: Taking enforcement action, including issuing fines.

What powers do SDEOs have and where do these powers come from?

There are two main pieces of written law that confer SDEOs with their wide-ranging powers.

These are the Infectious Diseases Act (IDA), as well as the Covid-19 Temporary Measures Act.

Under the Covid-19 Temporary Measures Act, SDEOs can also be empowered to do the following:

• Direct individuals to not leave any premises, or to leave any premises, or to go to a specific place, or to disperse.
• Direct an individual or a company to stop work at its premises, to take steps to comply with restrictions, or to close or limit access to the premises.
• Arrest anyone whom the SDEOs believe have failed to comply with directions given, or committed the offence of contravening a control order. This can be done without a warrant.

The Covid-19 Temporary Measures Act states that SDEOs have "all the powers of a Health Officer authorised under sections 55A, 55B and 57 of the Infectious Diseases Act".

The above-mentioned sections of the Infectious Diseases Act allow SDEOs to do the following when investigating offences:

• Require any person to provide information, and copies of books, documents, or records for inspection.
• Use necessary force to stop, board, enter, inspect, and search any premises or vehicle, without a warrant.
• Take samples of any substance or matter from the premises or vehicle
• Seize any books, documents, or records found.

SDEOs can also require any person to provide their name, address, and proof of identity.

However, these powers must be used "for the purposes of ascertaining whether the control order is being complied with or investigating an offence".

One might not be surprised that police officers have the powers as described above.

But since SDEOs do not undergo the same training as police officers, and are not similarly equipped, one might take the view that SDEOs' powers are rather extensive, and perhaps even excessive.

Are these powers necessary?

When the Infectious Diseases Act was passed in 1976, it consolidated and updated provisions form three related Acts in the wake of a malaria epidemic and a typhoid epidemic in Singapore in 1975.

The Minister for Health then, Toh Chin Chye, said that Singapore needed to "be vigilant against the importation and spread of infectious diseases" as travel became easier and immigration controls became "more relaxed" — a sentiment that remains largely relevant today.

"Even though it might seem harsh to implement legislation to deal with the threat of infectious diseases, the Infectious Diseases Act is necessary in preventing and controlling public health threats," reads an article on the HealthHub website on the Act.

And as for the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act, then-Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, speaking in Parliament on Apr. 7, explained the need for enforcement and penalties as such:

"For our enhanced safe distancing measures to work, we need members of the public to take the measures seriously. Therefore, failure to adhere to the measures without a reasonable justification will constitute an offence. We need to send a strong signal to those who are egregious in flouting the measures, as they are putting not only themselves but others at risk."

"Let me reassure members that the enforcement officers will look at the facts of each case carefully, including whether there are reasonable explanations for any non-compliance, before taking action," said Gan.

Gan also mentioned that the proposed legislation — which has since been passed into law — contained safeguards.

How to prevent these powers from being abused?

URA said that its officers would calibrate their approach based on the circumstances of each case, in its statement on the inspection at Mikhail's house.

So far, there have not been other public reports concerning SDEOs, but SDAs have been taken to task for using their authority inappropriately.

People may impersonate SDEOs

An additional issue with the powers granted to SDEOs is that ill-intentioned individuals may try to impersonate them for illegal purposes.

There has already been at least one case, however, of three men who impersonated SDEOs.

MEWR (and now MSE) and even the police have advised the public to look out for the passes and red armbands that SDAs and SDEOs wear while on duty.

The police also said that notices for fines will be issued in hard copy either on site or through mail, and that SDEOs will never ask offenders to make payment in cash. Similarly, they will never ask offenders to provide bank account details or One-Time-Passwords to make payment.

What's next for SDEOs?

It's likely that SDEOs and SDAs will continue to be a presence in public areas — and in private spaces as well — as the fight against Covid-19 continues.

What remains to be seen is how their roles and functions might change as Singapore transitions towards living with Covid-19 as an endemic disease.

When that point comes, there will — hopefully — be less of a need for the strict measures and enforcement we have seen since the Circuit Breaker.

Top image via NEA on Facebook

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