RINA CHANDRAN SINGAPORE’S more than four million residents will have to use facial verification technology to access government services through the national identity scheme, a move criticised as intrusive and heavy-handed by privacy advocates. Facial verification, which works by scanning someone's face and matching it with a database image, is already used widely to unlock smartphones and access bank accounts, but Singapore is the first state to use it in a national ID scheme. "Unlike the use of biometrics for surveillance, it ensures that the user is aware and that their explicit consent is sought before proceeding with the verification…