Singapore One of Few Countries Using Interpol Database

The Straits Times

12 March 2014

VISITOR passports presented to immigration officers at Singapore checkpoints are screened against Interpol’s database of lost or stolen travel documents, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) yesterday.
And if a passport is one of more than 40 million on Interpol’s list, the officer is automatically alerted and the traveller pulled aside for further checks.
This procedure has been in place since May 2008, an ICA spokesman told The Straits Times.

He did not elaborate on how the system works, but security experts said that this verification typically takes just a few seconds.

But despite the fact that checks are quick, Singapore remains one of only a few countries that useInterpol’s database to ensure border security, experts noted.

… Terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna from Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies said it should be mandatory for governments to report lost and stolen travel documents, as well as for immigration agencies to screen passenger passports against the Interpol database.

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