Exchange student who trespassed into F1 Singapore VIP areas gets jail

SINGAPORE: An exchange student who wanted to attend the F1 Singapore Grand Prix found tickets too pricey and decided to gain unauthorised access instead.

He snuck in without a ticket, broke into the Paddock Club where F1 drivers were present and entered the highly restricted pit lane area.

Swedish national Alkallas Karam, 23, was sentenced to four weeks' jail on Monday (Dec 1) after pleading guilty to two counts of criminal trespass, with a third charge taken into consideration.

The court heard that Karam held a student pass at the time, as he was a university student on an exchange programme in Singapore.

He asked his friends about F1 ticket prices but decided they were too expensive.

On the evening of Oct 4 this year, Karam went to the Marina Bay Street Circuit where he met a 17-year-old student volunteer.

The volunteer was working at Gate 1 of the Circuit Park Area and was responsible for scanning tickets of those entering the F1 area.

When asked if he had a ticket to enter, Karam said it was "with his friend". He later explained that his friend was not present and the ticket was with his friend.

The teenage worker said he could not allow entry and asked him to wait at the side.

However, after persistent pestering from Karam, the worker felt sympathy for Karam and agreed to help him sneak in.

Karam joined the queue and presented his mobile phone with a blank screen, and the teenager allowed him to enter.

Karam cleared the bag check and entered the F1 area without a valid ticket.

BROKE IN AGAIN

He wandered to the service road behind the Paddock Club, a restricted VIP area housing F1 drivers and other VVIPs, including a minister who was in attendance that day.

The Paddock Club is a separate high-security zone requiring a VIP pass and is controlled by security checks at several entry points, the prosecution said.

While walking along a service road, Karam noticed a bicycle chain securing one of the gates leading to the back entrance of the Paddock Club.

This area was unmanned.

Karam tried to guess the code but failed. He then searched on his mobile phone for how to do it. He eventually managed to open the bicycle lock, trespassing into the Paddock Club and closing the lock behind him.

Inside, he roamed around the ground floor area where F1 drivers were present with their guests.

He video-called his sister, who recorded the call, and both of them can be seen laughing when an F1 driver walks by.

Karam later went to the toilet, before walking past an auxiliary police officer and entering the pit lane area without authorisation - his third occasion of trespass.

The pit lane area is a highly restricted operational zone where F1 vehicles, drivers and crew are situated during race operations, the court heard.

Karam took photos of the area before the auxiliary police officer stopped him and requested to see his access pass.

Karam claimed he had a valid ticket and asked a friend to send a photo of a ticket, but investigations showed he never bought a ticket or used one.

He also claimed to have entered the Paddock Club as the gate was unlocked.

The officer escorted Karam to the gate and saw that it was locked.

Karam claimed he had locked it "for security reasons" after entering. He persistently denied tampering with the bicycle lock until confronted with evidence in his browser history.

RESOURCES DEPLOYED

Jurong Division of the Singapore Police Force oversaw the police operations in the sector where Karam had trespassed.

As a result of Karam's initial false claims that the gate was unlocked, officers deployed at the High Security Sector had to check the perimeters to verify his claim.

They also had to engage the Singapore Grand Prix and Formula One Management from 9pm to 2am to conduct checks on the area.

Emergency planning meetings were required to plan for a bomb sweep before race day, with officers recalled from home to carry out the bomb sweep.

The Singapore Grand Prix also suffered disruptions due to Karam's actions due to the bomb sweep, with staff members activated during rest time to open and unlock areas for the sweep.

The prosecution sought four weeks' jail for Karam.

The judge said this was an egregious case of criminal trespass, causing significant disruptions and requiring significant resources to address the security breach.

He called Karam's conduct "socially irresponsible" and said a fine as suggested by his lawyer would not be an adequate deterrent.

He said he hoped Karam would learn from this.

The penalties for criminal trespass are a jail term of up to three months, a fine of up to S$1,500, or both.