The Bangladeshi man who entered Singapore to preach extremist views will not be able to enter Singapore again, even if he uses another fake name or passport.

This was affirmed by the Minister for Home Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam, in parliament on Sep. 9.

He was answering a range of questions from Members of Parliament (MPs) regarding Singapore's border security, in light of the Ministry of Home Affairs' (MHA) investigation of Amir Hamza.

Shanmugam said in a previous doorstop that the ministry was investigating Amir Hamza for illegally preaching to a group of Bangladeshi migrant workers at their dormitory on Aug. 9.

Will not be able to enter Singapore again

Responding to questions about how Amir Hamza was able to bypass border security, Shanmugam said he was not flagged as he had used a different name to enter the country.

Upon arrival in Singapore, visitors are screened against a watchlist of persons as they undergo immigration clearance.

Those on the watchlist or identified to be at higher risk by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will be flagged for more stringent checks.

In the case of Amir Hamza, Shanmugam said his name had been placed on the watchlist due to his past statements promoting religious intolerance and his reported involvement in a pro-Al-Qaeda organisation in Bangladesh.

However, Amir Hamza used a passport bearing a different name to apply for a visa to enter Singapore.

As this was his first visit to Singapore, his biometrics were not in the database.

This allowed him to enter Singapore undetected.

"If he tries to come again, regardless of what other passport he uses, he will be picked up because we now have his biometrics," assured Shanmugam.

He caveated that some people of security concern may still slip through checks, given that 600,000 or so travellers stream through the checkpoints on a daily basis.

"It is not possible nor practicable to subject every visitor to stringent, detailed checks and interviews. No country has a comprehensive database of every criminal or person of security concern across the world. Certainly, Singapore does not have such a database."

No country in the world has database to exclude all 'potential persons': Shanmugam

Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh asked if Amir Hamza had submitted his photograph during his visa application, and if his photograph had been cross-checked with the database.

"It depends on the type of photograph that is submitted and the quality of the photograph. It may not always pick up against the database that we have," Shanmugam replied.

"I think the member also assumes that in our database, there will be photographs of all those who are listed in the watchlist. As I said, no country in the world has such a comprehensive set of data on all potential persons who might have to be excluded."

Rules of migrant worker dorms

MPs also question the security measures taken by foreign worker dormitories.

Shanmugam reminded the house that the Public Order Act requires event organisers to apply for a police permit for events involving religious teachings.

Dormitory operators also need to keep updated records of visitors who enter the living areas of the dormitories.

In addition, foreigners who wish to speak at public events that are religious, cause-based, or political in nature are required to obtain a Miscellaneous Work Pass.

Investigations ongoing

With regards to Amir Hamza's entry into Singapore and his illegal sermons, Shanmugam said no arrests have been made yet, and that investigations are ongoing.

He added that the authorities are looking into people who participated in the sermons.

They are also investigating the dormitory operator on suspicion of offences under the Public Order Act, the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, and the Foreign Employee Dormitories Act.

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