The Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday passed the outline of a government-initiated bill amending the current law regulating the powers, functions and duties of the Judiciary Police (PJ), which proposes to expressly grant the Judiciary Police “exclusive competence” to investigate crimes endangering national security and crimes related to cybersecurity.
According to the bill, the government proposes that the Judiciary Police will have a new division for preventing and investigating terrorist crimes, as well as four new divisions concerning the safeguarding of national security, which will be tasked with the collection of intelligence, the investigation of suspected cases, policy research, and general affairs.Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak introduced the outline of the bill during a plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle yesterday.
The bill will now be passed to one of the legislature’s standing committees for in-depth review before being re-submitted to another plenary session for its final debate and vote.Wong underlined that both the Law on the Defence of National Security and the Anti-computer Crime Law came into force in 2009, while the Cybersecurity Law took effect last month. Wong said that consequently there was a need to amend the current PJ law, which came into force in 2006, so that the Judiciary Police will be formally given powers and functions to investigate crimes endangering national security and crimes concerning cybersecurity, as well as to monitor the possible risks in the field of cybersecurity.
Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak (centre) looks on during yesterday’s plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle, flanked by his chief-of-cabinet Cheong Ioc Ieng (right) and Judiciary Police (PJ) Director Sit Chong Meng. Photo: GCS
