By Desmond Ng

DESCRIBE the tattoos and scars on your body.

That is not a request you expect to see on an application form from a government body.

And it stumped Michael (not his real name) when he was filling up the form to apply for a licence from the Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA).

The licence is required for his new job as a card dealer with Marina Bay Sands.

Said Michael: "I have been in the workforce for many years but this is the first time I have come across such a question.

"Why is it necessary for them to know about my scars and tattoos?"

Michael, who is in his 30s, secured a job as a card dealer in July this year. Since his new job is gaming-related, he has to apply for a special employee licence or dealer's licence from CRA, which he did in September.

He requested anonymity so as not to jeopardise his application.

He was bewildered by the CRA application form, which asked: "Do you have any scars, tattoos or other distinguishing marks and/or characteristics? If yes, please describe".

CRA is a statutory board that draws up and enforces policies on gaming operations here, as well as social safeguards to combat problem gambling.

The rest of the form had the usual requests for his personal particulars and referee details.

From the age of 13, Michael has held various jobs - bus-boy, floor captain, driver, renovation contractor, crane operator.

In July, he left the marine industry to pursue his dream of working as a card dealer.

Although he was taken aback by the requirement,

Michael meticulously counted his scars and tattoos and described them in the form. "I have nothing to hide," he said. When contacted, CRA did not answer The New Paper's questions about why applicants need to describe scars and tattoos on their bodies and how it is relevant to the licence.

But Mr Jerry Markling, chief (enforcement division) of the Nevada Gaming Control Board in the US, shed some light on the practice.

He said the board requests gaming-related employees to declare their scars, tattoos and birth marks when applying for a licence, so as to identify them.

The board does not keep a database of pictures of the 27,000 licensees under its management.

Some 35 per cent of those arrested for offences such as fraud and cheating in the industry are casino employees, and these marks are useful in such cases.

Mr Markling said: "If we want to identify a person, we'll ask him to show us his scars, tattoos or body marks. Even if we have his picture, what happens if he has a twin brother who looks the same? Identification through bodymarks is a better security measure."

'Unusual but reasonable'

Mr David Ang, executive director of the Singapore Human Resources Institute, said that while such a practice is unusual, it sounds reasonable in this context.

He said: "Perhaps these questions could also be used to sieve out those who may be involved in gang-related activities.

"If this employee is going to work in a sensitive environment, there needs to be some security-clearance as the person may be working with large amounts of money."

There are about 4,500 gaming positions at Marina Bay Sands and about 3,000 at Resorts World at Sentosa to be filled.

CRA said that as part of the licensing process, these employees have to fill up a personal history disclosure form with personal, employment and financial information details.

CRA spokesman Joyce Ho said: "CRA would then conduct probity checks based on the information provided to determine the applicant's suitability to hold a casino special employee licence."

The CRA is in the midst of processing the applications for special employee licences.

This article was first published in The New Paper.