How much stricter should rules for civil servants be?

Eight public officers have been referred to the police over property transactions near then-unannounced MRT stations. Commentator Han Fook Kwang noted that the issue surfaced only after a US-based research group reported that civil servants were disproportionately represented among buyers of properties near such future MRT stations. While no wrongdoing has been established, does this point to gaps in the civil service’s safeguards?

Lawyer Marshall Lim says on the Deep Dive podcast that no system can completely prevent the misuse of confidential information, as overly stringent safeguards could come at an unfair cost to other civil servants. What matters is whether the penalties in place are strong enough to deter others from breaking the rules.

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