Eight public officers referred to police after review of 191 property deals near unannounced MRT stations
Singapore's Public Service Division has referred eight officers to the police after reviewing 191 property transactions near sites that later became MRT stations. The review covered purchases between 2007 and 2014, and further checks are ongoing.
Eight public service officers have been referred to the police after a review of 191 officers' property transactions, Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing told parliament on Tuesday (6 Oct 2026). The review followed a working paper by the United States-based National Bureau of Economic Research, which identified 2007 to 2011 as the period of concern. The Public Service Division (PSD) extended the scope to 2014 as a matter of prudence, Mr Chan said, because many new MRT station locations continued to be announced after 2011.
Based on administrative records, PSD identified officers in agencies involved in rail planning who bought property between 2007 and 2014 close to locations later announced as MRT stations. PSD assessed factors including the officer's role at the time, whether the officer had access to relevant non-public information, and the timing and circumstances of the transaction. Of the 191 officers, eight were found to have cases that warrant further examination.
“This could be due to the specific circumstances surrounding the purchase, or that we currently do not have adequate information to exclude the case from further review. We have referred these cases to the police,” Mr Chan said. He stressed that a referral does not mean that wrongdoing has been established, and that the police will look into the facts independently and due process will be followed. The government will consider what the review reveals about the effectiveness of existing safeguards and the gaps to address, he said.
Mr Chan said the public service regularly reviews its rules and has strengthened them over time. “We will consider what the present review tells us about their effectiveness and whether there are gaps to address. Any further measures should be proportionate to the risks and practical to implement, while allowing legitimate personal transactions to proceed with appropriate oversight,” he said. Access to sensitive information is controlled and given on a need-to-know basis, subject to security classification, handling requirements, system and physical access controls, and project-specific safeguards.
Officers must also follow declaration and approval requirements for personal interests and transactions. Since the 1990s, all officers have had to declare purchases of private property and, every year, any non-owner-occupied properties they hold. Today, where an officer possesses non-public information relevant to a transaction, the officer must seek approval from the Head of Agency before proceeding. The requirements also cover other personal transactions where the officer has relevant non-public information, and extend to transactions involving officers' spouses and financially dependent children.
Asked about protecting public officers' confidentiality, Mr Chan noted that the National Bureau of Economic Research report's authors identified property buyers through the Singapore Government Directory Interactive, an online directory listing names, email addresses and office telephone numbers of many public officers. The directory was pared down from 1 July to combat the risk of scams. “Certain information on property transactions and ownership is already publicly accessible for legitimate reasons. Separately, some information about civil servants' appointments and responsibilities also needs to be available in the public domain,” he said.
