Police arrested a 27-year-old Malaysian woman on 20 Jan 2014 at the compound of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Criminal Trespass. She is also being investigated for evading immigration.

 

2          The subject has a history of mental illness. The subject is currently under Police custody and investigations are ongoing. With the assistance of the Malaysian High Commission and the Royal Malaysia Police, we have since contacted her next-of-kin in Malaysia who are on their way down to Singapore to assist in our investigation.

 

3          Based on preliminary investigations, the subject had entered Singapore in a Malaysian-registered car on 17 Jan 2014 via the Woodlands Checkpoint at about 1.58pm. The subject then left the checkpoint at about 2.00pm.

 

4          The subject had managed to leave the checkpoint without being stopped, as the officers-in-charge did not immediately raise the alarm.  By the time the alarm was raised 2 minutes later, efforts to locate the car in Woodlands checkpoint were unsuccessful despite an immediate lock down of the arrival car zone.

 

5          Even though there is no immediate threat to public safety, ICA and Police take this case very seriously as it concerns the security of our borders. ICA and Police will review the incident and take the necessary steps to prevent a recurrence. In particular, we will review our security systems and work processes in place at the Checkpoints. The incident serves as a reminder that security is a dynamic process and we must constantly review and ensure that we are prepared for contingencies. We will continue with efforts to ensure that our processes and measures remain robust.

 

6          Deputy Commissioner of ICA Mr Aw Kum Cheong said: “This is a very serious lapse in our border security and we are disappointed by this incident. We will do a thorough investigation to prevent a similar occurrence. We will learn from the incident and further strengthen our security measures at the checkpoints to prevent a similar occurrence. ”

 

7          Mr Raja Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police added: “There is existing coordination between SPF and ICA at the Checkpoints to deal with potential threats. Police will work with ICA to study how we could further improve our incident response processes .”

 

             

 

IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY

SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE