Current Affairs
Doctor hopes that Healthcare Services Act 2020 will better address whistle-blowing in the healthcare
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In a letter published on the Straits Times (ST) forum today (28 February) titled ‘Whistle-blowing not adequately addressed in medical ethical code‘, anaesthesiologist Dr Lim Ee Koon expressed hope that the forthcoming Healthcare Services Act 2020 will address certain issues relating to whistle-blowing in the medical field.
He was responding to an earlier article on ST about whistle-blowing in the medical field by Professor Chong Siow Ann, vice-chairman of the medical board (research) at the Institute of Mental Health. Specifically, Prof Chong touched on China’s late Dr Li Wenliang in Wuhan who was reprimanded by the Chinese government for raising the alarm on the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
In his forum letter, Dr Lim pointed out that the Singapore Medical Council’s Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines (ECEG) only briefly mentions whistle-blowing, while the Handbook on medical Ethics elaborates the point slightly. Both publication were last amended in 2016.
However, Dr Lim pointed out that the whistle-blowing in the medical field does not have the “extensive rigours” of that in the corporate field, though the eventual outcome here could lead to imminent harm or even death.
Using the example of other fields, Dr Lim pointed out that the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Workplace Safety and Health Act accords whistle-blowers confidentiality even in court proceedings while the Income Tax Act accords whistle-blowers with a small monetary reward for the sum recovered, if any.
Additionally, the Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo)’s Listing Rule also addresses corporate malfeasance.
This type of ‘hard-coding’ of rules of whistle-blowing and malfeasance into the medical ethical code “will create more awareness of rights and responsibilities”, said Dr Lim.
He elaborated that whistle-blowers in the medical field tend to worry whether they might be sued by the party they are whistle-blowing against, should investigations into the charges prove them wrong.
As such, Dr Lim suggested that the Healthcare Services Act 2020 – which repeals the older Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act – could address some of these issues.
Whistle-blowing is a difficult decision to make
In the earlier article, Prof Chong noted that whistle-blowing wasn’t part of his medical education. Rather, his training and practice as a doctor has been “a process of socialisation into the cloistered culture of medicine” where he learned the social significance of belonging to a professional guild and where a deep sense of “tribal loyalty” was fostered.
He explained that those in the medical field are told to police themselves.
“The Singapore Medical Council’s Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines tell us that it is our ‘special responsibility’ to report any fellow doctor who poses a potential risk to patients,” he wrote.
However, he pointed out that while it may seem “right and obvious” to blow the whistle on an errant colleague in the abstract, it’s quite different to face that situation in reality.
“To be honest, most of us would baulk at this and fret about naming, and in effect shaming, a professional colleague, and possibly destroying a reputation and livelihood,” Prof Chong explained.
The reason being is that the consequences a whistle-blower might face is tremendous, especially when facing off a major corporate or state organisation, even though it might seem petty in the bigger picture.
“It [these organisations] could respond accordingly with the apparatus at its disposal to isolate and vilify the interloper as someone with a grudge; someone who is incompetent, disloyal and troublesome; and to force him to leave while frightening and alienating other supporters,” noted Prof Chong.
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Current Affairs
Man arrested for alleged housebreaking and theft of mobile phones in Yishun
A 23-year-old man was arrested for allegedly breaking into a Yishun Ring Road rental flat and stealing eight mobile phones worth S$3,400 from five tenants. The Singapore Police responded swiftly on 1 September, identifying and apprehending the suspect on the same day. The man has been charged with housebreaking, which carries a potential 10-year jail term.
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SINGAPORE: A 23-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly breaking into a rental flat along Yishun Ring Road and stealing eight mobile phones from five tenants.
The incident occurred in the early hours on Sunday (1 September), according to a statement from the Singapore Police Force.
The authorities reported that they received a call for assistance at around 5 a.m. on that day.
Officers from the Woodlands Police Division quickly responded and, through ground enquiries and police camera footage, were able to identify and apprehend the suspect on the same day.
The stolen mobile phones, with an estimated total value of approximately S$3,400, were recovered hidden under a nearby bin.
The suspect was charged in court on Monday with housebreaking with the intent to commit theft.
If convicted, he could face a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.
In light of this incident, the police have advised property owners to take precautions to prevent similar crimes.
They recommend securing all doors, windows, and other openings with good quality grilles and padlocks when leaving premises unattended, even for short periods.
The installation of burglar alarms, motion sensor lights, and CCTV cameras to cover access points is also advised. Additionally, residents are urged to avoid keeping large sums of cash and valuables in their homes.
The investigation is ongoing.
Last month, police disclosed that a recent uptick in housebreaking incidents in private residential estates across Singapore has been traced to foreign syndicates, primarily involving Chinese nationals.
Preliminary investigations indicate that these syndicates operate in small groups, targeting homes by scaling perimeter walls or fences.
The suspects are believed to be transient travelers who enter Singapore on Social Visit Passes, typically just a day or two before committing the crimes.
Before this recent surge in break-ins, housebreaking cases were on the decline, with 59 reported in the first half of this year compared to 70 during the same period last year.
However, between 1 June and 4 August 2024, there were 10 reported housebreaking incidents, predominantly in private estates around the Rail Corridor and Bukit Timah Road.
The SPF has intensified efforts to engage residents near high-risk areas by distributing crime prevention advisories, erecting alert signs, and training them to patrol their neighborhoods, leading to an increase in reports of suspicious activity.
Current Affairs
Consumers Association of Singapore fined S$20,000 for PDPA breaches following two data security incidents
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The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has been fined S$20,000 by the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) for breaches under the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).
According to a judgement which was published on 28 August, the fine was imposed due to the consumer watchdog’s failure to implement reasonable security measures to protect the personal data in its possession and to establish necessary policies and practices required under the PDPA.
The breaches resulted in two significant incidents, one in October 2022 and another in June 2023, where the personal data of up to 34,760 individuals was potentially compromised.
Both incidents were handled under the Expedited Decision Procedure (EDP) at the request of CASE, with the organization admitting to all the facts and contraventions of the PDPA, leading to a faster resolution of the case.
The First Incident: Phishing Attack in October 2022
The first incident occurred in October 2022 when a threat actor accessed CASE’s email accounts and sent phishing emails from its official email addresses.
On 8 October 2022, some consumers received unsolicited emails from “[email protected],” which falsely claimed that their complaints had been escalated to the “collections and compensation department” and that they were eligible for compensation.
The recipients were asked to provide their banking details by clicking on a chat icon.
The following day, similar phishing emails were sent from “[email protected],” an account used for complaints that had progressed to mediation. CASE later discovered that the phishing emails had affected up to 22,542 email addresses.
Further investigations revealed that the phishing emails likely resulted from the threat actor obtaining login credentials from a CASE employee via a phishing attack.
The compromised accounts led to the sending of 5,205 phishing emails to 4,945 recipients. Although CASE acted swiftly to suspend the affected accounts and reset all administrator passwords, three consumers reported that they had clicked on the phishing links and collectively lost S$217,900. CASE subsequently lodged a police report.
The Second Incident: Data Breach During Vendor Migration
While PDPC was investigating the first incident, a second breach came to light in June 2023. On 22 June 2023, PDPC received a complaint about a phishing email that replicated a consumer’s complaint previously submitted to CASE.
This led to the discovery that the personal data of 12,218 individuals, including names, email addresses, contact numbers, and complaint details, had been exposed. The PDPC concluded that the breach likely occurred during a data migration exercise conducted by CASE between December 2019 and January 2020 when CASE switched vendors.
Investigations revealed that CASE’s contract with one of its vendors, Total eBiz Solutions Pte Ltd (TES), did not stipulate clear security responsibilities. This lack of contractual clarity contributed to the data breach during the migration process, highlighting CASE’s negligent vendor management.
PDPC Findings and Penalties
The PDPC found that CASE had failed to enforce its password management policy, with some passwords not meeting minimum length and complexity requirements and others remaining unchanged for up to four years. Furthermore, CASE’s vendor management was deemed negligent, as one of its contracts did not specify clear security responsibilities, putting personal data at risk.
CASE admitted to not conducting regular security awareness training for its staff, with the last session held five years before the first incident.
The PDPC also noted that CASE lacked an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) policy, particularly in relation to patching and maintaining IT systems. The absence of a documented IT infrastructure management plan, insufficient logging and monitoring practices, and the lack of security reviews over the three years preceding the first breach were significant failures highlighted in the judgment.
In assessing the financial penalty, the PDPC considered the nature and gravity of the breaches, the duration of non-compliance, and CASE’s annual turnover. The fine of $20,000 was determined to be appropriate in light of these factors.
Remedial Actions by CASE
It is said that CASE, which is headed by Mr Melvin Yong, People’s Action Party Member of Parliament for Radin Mas, has implemented several measures to enhance its cybersecurity in response to the breaches.
These include introducing multi-factor authentication for all web-based applications, strengthening password complexity requirements, decommissioning end-of-life devices, and implementing patch management software for security updates.
CASE has also revised its contracts with outsourced vendors to include data protection clauses and mandated annual data protection training for all staff members.
CASE is working towards obtaining the Cyber Essentials Mark and the Data Protection Trust Mark to reinforce its commitment to safeguarding personal data and complying with PDPA obligations.
The PDPC has directed CASE to review and update its data protection policies, rectify all identified security gaps, and report back within one week of completion. The organization has also been instructed to conduct a penetration test after addressing the vulnerabilities to ensure no further security gaps exist.
The post Consumers Association of Singapore fined S$20,000 for PDPA breaches following two data security incidents appeared first on Gutzy Asia.
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