At the tail end of the Hari Raya Haji long weekend, and with Christmas in less than a month, there has been an air of festivity of late. Our experience has shown that smugglers, whether syndicated or petty, tend to be a little more active during the holidays and festive periods. Perhaps they expect us to wave all and sundry through when traffic is heavy? Or perhaps they hope for us to stretch the spirit of charity just a little further?

2 The morning of Sunday 29 November 2009 saw Woodlands Checkpoint bustling with activity. As usual, the crowd of weekend shoppers and holiday-makers from both sides of the Causeway thronged the checkpoint. The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at the checkpoint remained vigilant, as they looked out for cleverly-concealed compartments and contrabands amongst the endless flow of cars and consignments.

3 At about 11.30am, a blue Malaysia-registered sedan driven by a lone Malaysian driver pulled up and was stopped by ICA officers at the Arrival Car Green Channel for a routine check. Feeling about the seats, the officers suspected that some items were hidden beneath the upholstery. The car was then directed to the inspection pit for further checks.



The Hyundai Matrix is stopped for a check

4 True enough, the officers found uncensored/ suspected obscene optical discs hidden in the rear seats of the vehicle. This prompted a more thorough search of the car. The efforts were not wasted as similar discs were uncovered hidden in the driver and front passenger seats and even the compartment below the rear seat of the vehicle. The driver was immediately placed under arrest and the vehicle detained. In all, a total of 1,815 pieces of uncensored/ suspected obscene optical discs were retrieved from the car during the search.



The first lot of discs is found in the rear seats

   

Detailed searches reveal more discs in the rear compartment (left) and front seats (right)


5 The 37-year old driver claimed to have been promised RM 400 to drive the consignment into Singapore. He was subsequently referred to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for further investigation together with the illicit haul.



The 1,815 optical discs are referred to the Police


6 Under the Copyright Act (Cap 63), persons found guilty of selling or distributing articles of any work in which copyright or trademark subsists are liable to a fine of up to $10,000 per article (or up to a maximum fine of $100,000), and/ or to a jail term up to 5 years. Under the Films Act (Cap 107), persons found guilty of importing obscene films are liable to a fine not less than $1,000 for each film imported (but not exceeding an aggregate of $40,000), and/ or to a jail term up to 12 months. Repeat offenders are liable to a fine not less than $2,000 for each film imported (but not exceeding aggregate of $100,000), and/ or to a jail term up to 2 years.


7 As our country's first line of defence against terrorist threats, ICA has a duty to ensure the security and safety of Singapore. We have tightened our security checks on passengers and vehicles at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle in undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives and other contraband. The same methods of concealment used by contraband smugglers may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out attacks in Singapore. We would like to advise the public against smuggling unlawful goods into Singapore.

END OF NEWS RELEASE

IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
1 December 2009