As the current Chair for ASEANAPOL, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) had the honour of hosting and chairing the 2nd ASEAN Police Forensic Science Network (APFSN) Annual Meeting which was successfully held in Singapore from 29 to 31 January 2018.
With the theme “Enhancing Regional Cooperation in Forensics”, the event provided a platform for the ASEAN police forensics community to gather, network and share ideas. The meeting was attended by Executive Director of ASEANAPOL Secretariat, Director for Police Services of ASEANAPOL Secretariat and representatives from ASEANAPOL Member Countries (AMC).
The Executive Director of ASEANAPOL Secretariat, Police Colonel Kenechanh Phommachack delivered the welcome speech to all the AMC delegates and stressed on the importance of the commitment and support from AMC in this APFSN meeting. He also shared that the outcome of the meeting will be reported in the coming 38th ASEANAPOL Conference which will be held in Brunei Darussalam later in September this year.
Following the welcome speech, SPF Deputy Commissioner (Investigations & Intelligence) concurrent Director Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Mr Tan Chye Hee officiated the opening ceremony. He had also emphasised the importance of regional cooperation in building a strong ASEAN forensic response to crimes and disasters in his keynote address.
Over the next 3 days, the delegates were actively engaged in their roundtable discussions, in particular the Draft Resolutions for the Establishment of an ASEANAPOL DVI/CSI committee under the auspices of the APFSN.
Delegates from AMC also shared their Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) &Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) capabilities and ideas to promote mutual exchange and capacity building within the APFSN.
SPF had also arranged guest speaker Dr Simon Walsh, National Manager Specialist Operations at the Australian Federal Police to share his experiences from the Disaster Victim Identification operation for the MH17 incident in Ukraine.
Ms Kim Legg, Senior Fingerprint Examiner, Capacity Building and Training Directorate of the INTERPOLwas the other guest speaker invited to share on the importance of Biometric exchange and the benefits of using the forensic capabilities of Interpol.
The delegates were given a tour to visit the Home Team Investigation Laboratory, CID Forensics Laboratory and were shown the Bomb & Explosive Investigation Division’s Response Vehicle.
While delegates were seriously on their meeting, social time was arranged for them to visit Gardens by the Bay, the S.E.A. Aquarium and they were also hosted to a Gala Dinner by Deputy Commissioner (Investigations & Intelligence) Tan Chye Hee.
The delegations attending the meeting expressed their sincere appreciation to SPF for their warm hospitality and excellent organisation which contributed to the success of the 2nd APFSN.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the APFSN members agreed on a resolution to establish an ASEANAPOL DVI/CSI Committee to strengthen regional capacity to respond to crimes and disasters within ASEANAPOL.
The fruitful meeting was conducted harmoniously in the spirit of ASEANAPOL.
