Two Home Team agencies -- the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) -- will be getting new heads after the Ministry of Home Affairs announced leadership changes on Wednesday (July 2). 

Veteran narcotics officer Sebastian Tan, 49, returns to CNB as its director on Aug 1. He is currently the Senior Director of the Ministry's International Cooperation and Partnerships Division. 

He takes over from Leon Chan, 44, who is currently acting director of CNB. Chan will return to the Singapore Police Force.

Tan joined CNB in 2002 and rose to become its deputy director for operations between 2017 and 2021.

During his tenure, he is credited with maintaining a high tempo of anti-drug enforcement operations in the line divisions he oversaw. He was also responsible for significant policy and legislative amendments, including the review of the drug rehabilitation regime. 

Under the review, third and subsequent-time drug users who have not committed other concurrent offencesare referred to the Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) for treatment and rehabilitation, instead of being sentenced to long-term imprisonment. In a 2021 written reply to a Parliamentary question, then-Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam said that participants who had previously undergone long-term imprisonment regime reported that they are better able to maintain ties and integrate back into society under the DRC regime. 

Meanwhile, ICA Commissioner Marvin Sim will be handing over to Lian Ghim Hua, 45, on Sept 15 after seven years at the helm.

Lian joined the Singapore Police Force in 1999 and became Deputy Commissioner of Police in 2022.

He has held several key appointments in police, including as its Director of Operations, when he oversaw high-profile security operations such as the General Election this year, the late Pope Francis' visit in 2024, and the Presidential Election in 2023. He is also credited with advancing the use of technology in policing operations, such as the expansion of the police camera network to enhance public safety and the deployment of unmanned systems to augment operations. 

Sim, 54, led ICA'smulti-year transformation plan to redefine border clearance and service delivery, such as the new clearance concept which includes the use of QR code for immigration clearance.

He will return to the Home Ministry to take on another leadership role in due course.

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editor@asiaone.com