Finding Missing Persons In Singapore (or 'Presumed Dead')

If your loved one is missing, there are certain steps that you can take in attempting to find him or her.

This article will explain:

• What should you do if your loved one is missing;
• What other ways are there to find or track your loved one who is missing; and
• What can be done if the missing person is never found.

What Should I Do If My Loved One is Missing?

Make a Police report

How long after a person is missing must I make a police report?

There is no minimum time period for which you must have lost contact with your loved one to make a police report.

If you have tried all your best efforts to contact or locate your loved one yourself but have failed to do so, you should make a police report as soon as possible.

Please lodge a police report at the nearest Neighbourhood Police Post. If you have reason to suspect that your loved one’s life may be in danger (e.g. they are suffering from a medical condition that makes them less lucid or unable to determine their surroundings), you should call ‘999’ immediately for emergency assistance.

What information must I provide when making the police report?

When making the police report, you should provide the following information about the missing person to the Police:

1. Name and NRIC or passport number;
2. Their date of birth
3. Description of their physical attributes (including any unique attributes such as tattoos) and their last-seen or known attire or clothing that they were wearing;
4. The places that he/she frequents;
5. The name of their employer/last known employer;
6. The date, time, and/or place that he/she was last seen at; and
7. Any other relevant information that would assist with the investigations, such as the missing person’s mobile number.

You must also bring along your NRIC or other identification documents, as well a recent photograph of the missing person if you have one, in addition to providing the information above.

What Happens After the Police Report has been Made?

After lodging a police report, the officer assigned to your case will advise you on the next course of action. They will also keep you updated if they have located your loved one.

What are the types of searches the police will conduct?

The Singapore Police conducts inquiries immediately after a missing person report is filed.

Some of the preliminary actions include:

• Screening the missing person in the police databases
• Checking with institutions and hospitals
• Disseminating the missing person’s information to police officers on the ground to keep a lookout
• Issuing appeals for information from the public on social media

What if I find my loved one after making the police report?

If you find your loved one after lodging the report, you should immediately notify the Investigation Officer-in-charge.

What Should I Do If My Loved One is Missing Overseas?

If your loved one is missing overseas, you should first lodge a police report at the nearest Neighbourhood Police Post.

You may then contact the relevant Singapore Overseas Mission or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Duty Office at 6379 8800 and provide them with a copy of the police report lodged earlier.

MFA can check with major local hospitals to verify if your loved one has been hospitalised, or if there are reasons to suspect that your loved one has been arrested, they will check with the local authorities.

However, do note that MFA cannot track down your missing loved one, nor are they able to advise on whether or not your loved one has left Singapore or entered another country.

What are Other Ways of Finding/Tracking My Loved One Who is Missing?

Contact the missing person’s mobile phone

After making the police report, you should continue to try and contact your loved one e.g. calling their mobile number. The most important part here is to check if the number rings or goes straight to voicemail. This may shed some light on whether the mobile phone is in an accessible mode (i.e. switched on) or if has been switched off.

If the mobile phone is in an accessible mode, satellite technology makes it possible to geo-locate the mobile phone, which would help in locating the current (if the mobile phone is in their possession) or last known location of your loved one.

If you know that your loved one has installed safety and location sharing applications such as “Life 360” or “Find My Friends”, you may try to establish contact or get information from these applications.

Check your loved one’s social media accounts

You may also wish to keep track of your loved one’s activity on social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Their last social media posting may give a clue on your loved one’s mental or emotional state and wellbeing. If you have reason to believe or suspect that your loved one was suffering from depression or expressed a suicidal intent, you should inform the police immediately.

If your loved one had recently checked-in to a location on social media, it may also be useful to start searching for them there.

As the date and time of the social media postings are usually recorded, you would be able to see the last time he/she was active on social media. Any ongoing activity on social media would tell you that your loved one is able to access social media (and also the Internet), which may be helpful to the police in facilitating the investigation.

Spread the word online

You may also wish to spread the word on your, your family and/or friends’ social media platforms.

According to Crime Library Singapore, a crime awareness and prevention non-profit organisation that mobilises volunteers to search for missing persons, the chances of locating missing persons have been higher and quicker with the help of social media.

For example, in November 2017, a 32-year old woman who was reported missing was found by a man who recognised her from a viral Facebook post about her disappearance.

When a post is shared about a missing loved person, more awareness is raised and more people can help to keep a look-out or provide any useful information or leads in locating the missing person.

Retrace the missing person’s last steps

It would also be helpful to find out the last known activity of your loved one.

For example, you may contact his/her friends or neighbours directly to request for information on his/her activities for the past few days. This may shed light on new locations that should be searched.

Hire a private investigator

If you have the financial means to do so, you may also consider hiring a private investigator to help locate your missing loved one. You will need to provide them with all the relevant information about your missing loved one – the more information you are able to provide, the better equipped the private investigator would be to help locate your loved one.

You can learn more about hiring a private investigator in Singapore in this article.

If the Missing Person is Never Found

In the unfortunate event that your missing loved one is never found,  you may have to apply for a presumption of death certificate, and then register the death with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority. Doing so will allow you to manage your loved one’s personal affairs (e.g., bank accounts, property) by applying for a Grant of Probate (if he/she has made a will) or a Letters of Administration (if he/she did not leave behind a will).

A presumption of death certificate declares the missing person as presumed dead. In order to obtain this declaration, applicants must seek a court order and fulfil the following requirements:

1. The missing person must not have been heard of for 7 years

Under section 110 of the Evidence Act, if the missing person had not contacted those whom he/she would naturally have contacted in the past 7 years it may be presumed that the missing person is dead.

This is unless there are facts to suggest that the missing person is presumed to be alive in the last 30 years, in accordance with section 109 of the Evidence Act.

2. The missing person must not have been heard of by persons who would have naturally been contacted by the missing person, if he/she was alive

Persons who may have been naturally contacted includes any persons with whom the missing person was in a close and good relationship with, prior to his/her disappearance and, would confide in if he/she was alive.

3.  The applicant (or persons who would have naturally have been contacted) must have taken sufficient steps to ascertain if the missing person is alive

Before applying for the court declaration, you should take sufficient steps to find out if your loved one is alive. Whether the steps are sufficient or not depends on the circumstances of your loved one’s absence and the circumstances surrounding the application.

However, there must be attempts to establish contact with the missing person and not merely waiting for him/her to contact you. This may include situations where you may have taken additional steps to search for your loved one’s whereabouts and subsequently discover any information that would not have been discovered if such steps had not been taken.

For example, if you had lodged a police report upon your loved one’s absence, contacted his/her friends, searched for the places that he/she frequents, and had appealed online (as discussed above), these actions may constitute sufficient steps if there are no other attempts that can be pursued.

What If My Loved One is Missing due to a Natural Disaster?

Must I still prove the death of my loved one to obtain the presumption of death certificate?

If you can prove that your loved one was at the location of the disaster, perhaps by sharing a copy of their flight ticket to the location or the accommodation details where the natural disaster had occurred, you may immediately apply to the court for the presumption of death certificate.

Once the court has declared your missing loved one as presumed dead and you have obtained the presumption of death certificate, you may then proceed to apply and obtain the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration to manage your loved one’s property and financial affairs.

View this post on Instagram

#ICYMI: two Singaporeans have gone missing while kayaking in Mersing, Johor, since last Thursday (8 Aug). While the pair are likely proficient kayakers, they were in turbulent waters with strong winds when they went missing. Since then, their kayak has washed up on the Kuantan coastline, more than 200km away from Mersing – but there is still no sign of the kayakers, despite extensive search efforts. ? – If you have tried but failed to find your missing loved one, make a police report immediately. There is no minimum “waiting period” before you can do so. If your loved one went missing overseas, you should also contact the relevant Singapore Overseas Mission or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for assistance. – If at least 7 years have passed since your loved one’s disappearance, you may consider declaring them as deceased so you can manage and protect their affairs. This involves applying for a presumption of death certificate and registering the death with the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). Otherwise, your loved one will be treated as alive. – This is the experience of one Facebook user: on 5 Aug, she posted that her father’s MediShield Life premiums (about $7,300 so far) are still being deducted despite his disappearance 23 years ago and a police report being made. The CPF Board clarified that this is because her father hasn’t been registered as deceased – and as a result, he has also continued to receive about $15,000 in cash and CPF from the government over the past 23 years. – In any case, a loved one’s disappearance is a terrible ordeal for anyone to go through. We hope that the families of the missing persons mentioned in this post will be reunited with them – or at the very least, they will be able to have closure.? #SingaporeLegalAdvice

A post shared by SingaporeLegalAdvice.com (@singaporelegaladvice) on Aug 13, 2019 at 2:49am PDT

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Having a missing loved one is an anxious situation to be in. Should you require any emotional support, you may reach out to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) at 6389 2222 or refer to a list of hotlines for further assistance and support.

You may also wish to contact online support groups such as Crime Library, “Singapore Missing People” and “Reunite Missing Children” to learn more about what can be done when your loved one is missing.

In the event that you have exhausted all possible efforts to locate your missing loved one, it may be best to start managing their personal affairs. Should you require any assistance in applying for the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, please feel free to contact any one of our probate lawyers.