ICA investigating single voter in uninhabited Tampines BTO district

The case of a solo voter in a polling district within the new Tampines Changkat SMC is being investigated by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).

The anomalous single voter came to light after the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee (EBRC) released its report on March 11 ahead of the upcoming general election.

ICA told The Straits Times: "ICA is investigating the case of the solo voter and is unable to provide further details at this juncture."

In the report, a single voter was listed under the East Coast 42 polling district, which comes under the new Tampines Changkat SMC in the upcoming election.

The report was based on the Provisional Registers of Electors as at Feb 1.

But checks by The Straits Times found that there was no known valid residence in the polling district at that time, as it comprised only four upcoming Housing Board Build-To-Order (BTO) projects and an industrial estate.

Three of the BTO projects remain under construction, and the Tampines GreenEmerald project was recently completed, with the first batch of residents getting their keys only on Feb 23.

Responding to ST's questions, ICA said that under the National Registration Act, all identity card (IC) holders are required to report a change of address within 28 days of moving into a new residence, whether local or overseas.

This change can be done online via ICA's change-of-address e-service.

"An individual's declared place of residence should be based on his physical residence," said the agency.

"This ensures that government agencies can reliably reach individuals for various purposes, including voter registration, contact tracing during health emergencies, and other administrative matters."

ICA said it is important that IC holders make truthful declarations, as these addresses serve as the official point of contact for government agencies.

It added that in cases where property or premise owners have issued guidelines restricting the use of their premises as a place of residence, it is the responsibility of these owners to enforce such restrictions.

ICA added that it is "not operationally tenable" for the agency to verify every person's declared place of residence, or check with premise owners if they disallow individuals from living in their commercial or industrial buildings.

Those who fail to report a change of address or falsely declare their residential address may be fined up to $5,000 and jailed for up to five years.