Debated in Parliament on 6 Mar 2026.
Chua Kheng Wee Louis questioned the Minister for Manpower about the types of information collected by the i-SMART facial recognition system at the NESST Tukang migrant worker dormitory and its usage by various stakeholders. Tan See Leng responded that the system collects residents' facial recognition data, timestamps for entry and exit, and body temperature readings for access management and health monitoring. The collected personal information is restricted to NESST Singapore Limited and not shared with other stakeholders, except in cases of disease outbreaks where it may be shared with relevant authorities as per legal requirements.
Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what are the specific types of information collected from users of i-SMART's facial recognition system at the NESST Tukang migrant worker dormitory; and (b) how will the information collected be used by stakeholders, such as (i) the Ministry, (ii) the dormitory operator, and (iii) employers, respectively.
The facial recognition system within Tukang Purpose-Built Dormitory's (PBD's) i-SMART tenant management system collects residents' facial recognition data, date and time stamps of entry and exit and body temperature readings. This is for access management to the dormitory and to facilitate health monitoring of the dormitory's residents.
The personal information collected via i-SMART's facial recognition system is only used by NESST Singapore Limited, the operator of Tukang PBD. It is not shared with any other stakeholder. Where necessary, such as in the event of a disease outbreak, the information may be shared with relevant authorities in line with applicable laws and regulations.