The inter-agency task force on human trafficking is studying whether new laws are needed to enhance Singapore's ability to tackle the menace, Second Home Affairs Minister S Iswaran said yesterday.

These could include greater powers for enforcement agencies, increased care provisions for victims and harsher penalties for offenders, among others, he said.

The task force, set up last year and co-chaired by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Manpower (MOM), is expected to finalise its anti-trafficking plans by the middle of next year, Mr Iswaran said in an update to the House.

There are four key thrusts to the plan: Prevention, prosecution, protection and partnerships.

To foil traffickers, the Republic enforces its borders strictly through immigration checks, proactive enforcement and public education, said Mr Iswaran.

The police and the MOM also frequently conduct operations to find victims and sniff out traffickers, he added, with successfully prosecuted cases publicised widely as a form of deterrence.

Foreign workers are also educated on their rights and the obligations of their employers before they arrive here, while orientation and various outreach education programmes are conducted while they are in Singapore.

On the protection of victims, Mr Iswaran said the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and the MOM already fund shelters and dormitories that offer accommodation, medical care, counselling and translation services.

The task force is looking at ways to improve the care and support programmes available, he added.

Noting that effective anti-trafficking requires close cooperation among different countries, Mr Iswaran said the task force will continue working with Singapore's partners to find measures to prevent exploitation from as early as possible.

He added: "Singapore recognises that trafficking in persons is a significant transnational crime, which cannot be eradicated easily. But we remain fully committed to taking the necessary steps, both in the short term and long term, to fight this exploitative crime and to bring the perpetrators to task."

In June, a United States State Department annual report on human trafficking accused Singapore of several lapses. This was strongly refuted by the task force, which provided evidence to knock down each claim in the report.

Last year, the US report put Singapore on a human-trafficking watch list. But this year, it moved Singapore out of the Tier 2 Watch List and up to Tier 2, acknowledging the country's "significant efforts" to combat human trafficking. Today Online