Singapore High Commission officer mentioned in UK parliament over alleged child neglect given warning: MFA

SINGAPORE: A public officer attached to the Singapore High Commission in London has been warned following an alleged child neglect incident, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Friday (Nov 15).

MFA said the incident in September 2023 occurred when the Singaporean officer left his sleeping children at home to pick up his spouse at night.

One child woke up and managed to exit the locked house to look for the parents, before being found a short distance away.

“This led to the involvement of the local police in the matter. The authorities have investigated and closed the incident with no follow-ups required,” said MFA in response to CNA queries.

“We appreciate the professionalism of the local police in handling the situation. The officer was counselled and issued with a warning following the incident.”

The incident had been brought up in British parliament on Thursday by junior foreign minister Catherine West. She cited it as one of nine cases recorded with the foreign ministry in 2023, of “serious and significant offences” by suspects with diplomatic immunity.

They included a Libyan accused of sexual assault, an Iraqi accused of possession or distribution of indecent images of children and a Portuguese accused of indecent exposure.

MFA said on Friday it was aware that the incident was included in the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) annual report to the UK parliament on offences committed by individuals with diplomatic immunity. But it said that diplomatic protection was not invoked in this case.

“The officer had cooperated fully in the investigation and diplomatic immunity was not invoked at any point,” said MFA.

“The officer has since deposted as scheduled,” it added.

MFA added that it 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.