Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan's Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Cases of Overseas Singaporeans Believed to be Missing, 20 October 2022

QUESTION

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) in each of the last ten years, how many requests for assistance are received by Singapore overseas missions for cases of overseas Singaporeans believed to be missing; and (b) what is the breakdown on the types of missing persons cases for which help is sought.

REPLY

The requests for assistance received by Singapore Overseas Missions over the last ten years for overseas Singaporeans (OS) believed to be missing is around 30 cases per year.

2 Some of the OS reported to be missing were later found to be hospitalised, arrested, passed on or were uncontactable temporarily due to lack of mobile connectivity.  In some cases, OS chose not to be contactable due to family disputes or other personal reasons.

3 MFA will continue to do what we can to provide advice and support to families in missing persons cases.  We strongly encourage Singaporeans who travel or reside overseas to e-register on the MFA website.

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

20 OCTOBER 2022