Man arrested for not stopping at checkpoint might have under-declared food products
Photo: Reuters
SINGAPORE — The Singaporean who was arrested yesterday (June 23) after he drove through Tuas Checkpoint without heeding requests for further checks was stopped because he might have had under-declared the amount of curry puffs and kuehs he was transporting.
The 47-year-old had been directed to another parking lot for further inspection, but he drove off instead, possibly because he misinterpreted the gestures of Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers, TODAY understands.
Providing more details about the incident a day after it happened, the ICA said the man had arrived at the checkpoint in a Singapore-registered car at around 12.15pm. He was accorded immigration clearance and had proceeded to the customs red channel to declare the food products he was bringing in from Malaysia.
“Checks were conducted on his vehicle and there were some discrepancies in the quantities declared. (The driver) was directed to a designated inspection bay for further checks. However, he drove off instead,” the ICA said.
The police located the car along Pioneer Road North at about 2.04pm that day and arrested the driver. There were no damages or injuries from the incident.
TODAY understands the man was driving a BMW 7-series which he used to transport the curry puffs and kuehs that were likely for sale in Singapore.
Owing to the vehicle’s large size, ICA officers had tried to redirect the vehicle into a more spacious parking lot for further checks after they realised the driver might have under-declared the amount of food, but the man drove off.
This is the first incident this year of a vehicle not heeding instructions to stop at Singapore’s borders. Several high-profile border security breaches last year include a 27-year-old Malaysian woman who slipped past the Woodlands Checkpoint in January without being stopped by authorities and was arrested only three days later despite an islandwide alert. Less than two months later, a 64-year-old Malaysian man crashed a Singapore-registered Mercedes Benz through a security barrier at the Woodlands Checkpoint in an attempt to avoid a customs boot check, injuring an officer who tried to stop him from leaving.
