REFILE-Singapore civil servants told to declare casino visits | Reuters

Print

Mon Sep 30, 2013 7:29am EDT

SINGAPORE, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Civil servants in Singapore will have to declare visits to the city-state's two casinos under new rules intended to prevent incidents such as the recent case of a senior official from the anti-corruption watchdog charged with misappropriating money.

From Oct 1, officers in more critical roles than others, for instance in regulatory or enforcement jobs, will have to declare every visit to a local casino within seven calendar days, the Public Service Division (PSD) said in a statement.

Other civil servants must make a declaration within seven days if they visit casinos more than four times a month or buy an annual pass for unlimited visits to local casinos.

"All public officers are expected to conduct themselves in a manner which upholds the integrity of the public service and public confidence in it. This includes not falling into financial embarrassment," the Public Service Division said.

Singapore began a review of its rules on casino visits by government employees after an assistant director at the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau was charged with misappropriating more than S$1.7 million ($1.35 million).

Some of the funds went into an account for gaming activities at the Marina Bay Sands, one of two multi-billion-dollar casino resorts that opened in 2010.

The Marina Bay Sands is owned by U.S. casino giant Las Vegas Sands Corp, while Resorts World at Sentosa, Singapore's other casino resort, is run by Genting Singapore PLC.

Other measures announced by the PSD include job rotation and block leave for officers in positions that make them more susceptible to bribery, if the officer has been in the post for some time.

Read more http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEsPK5fKj3DhyQdJgoLUj7oILrvvA&url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/30/singapore-casino-idUSL4N0HQ23K20130930