THE 200 foreign workers who gave blood samples to police officers investigating a sexual assault case in Clementi did so voluntarily, and were not forced.
In a written reply to a question from Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim, Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng on Monday explained that samples taken from foreign construction workers after the June 18 incident in Clementi Woods Park were obtained with the workers' consent.
Ms Lim had asked for the legal basis for taking the samples.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs if he will clarify the legal basis for the police to take blood samples from about 200 foreign workers in the aftermath of the attack on a university student at Clementi Woods Park in June 2008.
Mr Wong Kan Seng:
In the course of police investigations into a reported case of sexual assault at Clementi Woods Park on 18th June 2008, body samples were taken from foreign workers working at nearby construction sites. This involved taking blood samples after the workers had voluntarily given their consent.
The legal basis for this is found in Section 13D of the Registration of Criminals Act, which provides that a person may give a body sample, which includes a blood sample, on a voluntary basis if the person was present at the scene of a crime when it was committed, or if the person is being questioned in connection with the investigation of a crime.
