In the fourth quarter of 2023, Ralph and Sid (names changed) came to Singapore as part of their jobs. They went out in the evening, saw a few sights and met a few other visitors. The next morning, the police showed up at their hotel.

Overnight, a person they had met the evening before had filed a police complaint against them. Ralph and Sid were not arrested, but simply required to “assist in investigations”. Nonetheless, the police took their passports, and they were told to remain in Singapore.

They would remain here for twenty months! No charges were ever filed.

Through this entire period, they were not allowed to work, and thus had no income at all. Their Investigation Officer (IO) was sympathetic and asked the Ministry of Manpower to admit them into the Temporary Jobs Scheme, but MOM rejected the request. Without income, they had no means for housing, food or other essential needs.

About six months into their ordeal, they found TWC2, and we stepped in to assist, all the while troubled at how callous Singapore’s system is.

Ralph and Sid had the bare minimum of updates from their Investigation Officer; little beyond the fact that the complainant, a tourist, had returned home long ago and since became uncontactable. The case apparently went into suspended animation and Ralph and Sid were expected to put theer own lives into suspended animation too. They had families to support, but were nonetheless disallowed from going home or resuming their lives.

Ralph and Sid appealed to their country’s embassy for help; the embassy wrote a letter. TWC2 too wrote letters to the Commissioner of Police. We received bare bones replies.

Finally, in August 2025, the Investigation Officer said they were free to go home. Before their departure, we sat the both down and made this video.

Till now, we know almost nothing about the case. Our sense is that there was never any evidence one way or another, but the police were simply following procedures once formal allegations were made. It is entirely possible, of course, that the allegations were less than truthful; we’ve all heard of such cases before. The point here, however, is how asymmetrical the process is, and how the economic and emotional impact on the “required-to-stay-in-Singapore” persons are ignored. At the very least, there should be a right to work, and if the subject is unable to work, the State should be responsible for their housing and sustenance.

TWC2 asked some lawyers we know whether there are legal limits to how long the police can hold someone’s passport and prevent that person from leaving Singapore. We were told there are no limits. The police can potentially require a foreigner to remain in Singapore for the rest of his or her life, and without the right to earn a living.

Sid and Ralph’s was hardly the first case that TWC2 came across. Debbie Fordyce (currently president of TWC2) recalled a need to intervene on behalf of another worker some years back, for whom the investigation seemed interminable.

The way that case was closed was of course a happy outcome, but it raises questions about how it had been languishing unnoticed until Debbie showed up at the police station. Police investigations are important, but they should be expeditious.

It is just not right to expect people, Singaporeans or foreigners, to put their lives on hold, lose years of income, depend on charity, just for the convenience of the police. A better balance has to be struck.

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