Singapore govt officer in London warned for leaving kids home alone: MFA

SINGAPORE - A Singapore government officer posted to Britain was counselled and warned after he left his children alone at home while they were asleep to pick up his spouse at night.

In response to queries from ST, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of an incident regarding alleged child neglect by a public officer attached to the Singapore High Commission in London. This was included in the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's annual report to the British Parliament on offences committed by people with diplomatic immunity.

During the incident in September 2023, one child woke up and left the locked house to look for the man and his spouse. The child was found a short distance from home, triggering the involvement of local police.

MFA did not say how old the child was.

Local authorities "closed the incident with no follow-ups required", said the ministry.

"The officer had co-operated fully in the investigation and diplomatic immunity was not invoked at any point," it added.

The officer has since ended his posting in London as scheduled.

MFA added: "We appreciate the professionalism of the local police in handling the situation.

"MFA expects all its staff and other officers attached to its missions to uphold the highest standards of conduct and to abide by the laws of their host countries."

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The British government logged nine "serious and significant offences" by suspects with diplomatic immunity in 2023, British junior foreign minister Catherine West said in a written statement on Nov 14.

Such offences could, in certain circumstances, carry a penalty of 12 months' jail or more.

Also among the offenders listed are a Libyan accused of sexual assault, an Iraqi accused of possession or distribution of indecent images of children and a Portuguese person accused of indecent exposure.

There are 26,500 people in Britain with diplomatic or international organisation-related immunity.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.