Clearing traffic important but not at expense of security

The New Paper
25 Oct 2009

WE REFER to the letter by Mr Chua Kheng Yeow, 'Border checks are important, but why weren't lanes open?' (The New Paper, 19 Oct).

The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) had explained in our earlier letter that there was a sudden surge in traffic on the night of 3 Oct when Mr Chua was caught in slow moving traffic at the Woodlands Checkpoint.

We are surprised that Mr Chua continued to dwell on the time taken for him to travel from the immigration booth to the clearance area. We noted that in his first letter he claimed he waited for 45 minutes for a vehicle check and yet in his second letter, this duration was shortened to 28 minutes.

The ICA would like to clarify again that the entire journey he took on the day when he used the Woodlands Checkpoint was 28minutes.

Unlike the air and sea checkpoints where immigration and security clearance of the passenger load is assisted by the predictable and regulated flow of airplanes and vessels, vehicular traffic at the land checkpoints is largely free-flowing.

This can often be unpredictable and occasional surges are not uncommon.

Any sudden traffic build up at the checkpoints can be caused by a confluence of factors. During the unexpected surge that MrChua experienced, we had deployed all available resources to open eight out of 10 lanes in the two arrival zones.

But two of the lanes in the zone that MrChua was in were temporarily suspended to deal with contraband smuggling cases that had been detected by the checking officers.

Mr Chua had attested that sufficient lanes were in operation during the same peak hours when he used the checkpoint the following week.

We are glad that Mr Chua understands the need for stringent checks at our borders.

What we would like to impress upon MrChua and all readers is that such stringent checks are carried out 24/7 regardless of the traffic conditions at the checkpoints.

Smugglers are known to have made use of peak periods to smuggle in undesirables into Singapore.

The numerous smuggling cases of illegal immigrants, contraband and drugs, detected in the course of our daily operations underscore the need for ICA to keep up with the security procedures in place.

We would like to advise travellers to play their part when using the checkpoints. Travellers should avoid bringing security items or contraband through the checkpoints as their actions will bring inconvenience to the other checkpoint users.

Checkpoint users are also advised to use the Red Channels for customs clearance if they have dutiable items so as not to cause any unnecessary delays to the bona fide users of the Green Channels.

The ICA is mindful of the need to facilitate the movement of travellers through the checkpoints but this cannot be done at the expense of national security. As such, we would also like to seek the understanding and cooperation of all checkpoint users when undergoing security checks. Together, we can keep Singapore safe and secure.

CHIA HUI KENG
HEAD, PUBLIC & INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS BRANCH
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION
IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY


Border checks are important, but why weren't lanes open?

The New Paper
19 Oct 2009

I REFER to the reply from Ms Chia Hui Keng of the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, 'Longer wait inevitable during peak' (The New Paper, 14 Oct) to my letter 'Can more lanes be opened?' which was published earlier.

Ms Chia explained the needs to have stringent checks at the checkpoint, and I have no dispute with that.

But she failed to address why only two out of five lanes were open at that time. That was the main cause of the massive jam that night.

She said the officers were deployed to direct traffic so that they could clear the queue at the immigration booths and ease the congestion.

But the jam was from the immigration booths to the vehicle check area, a distance of about 100 metres.

Incidentally, I used the same checkpoint again the following Saturday and there was no jam this time.

I noticed that four of the five lanes were open.

It was the same peak hour and the same checkpoint and the only difference, as far as I could see, was that more lanes were open.

To make a driver wait 28 minutes to travel from the immigration booth to the vehicle check area, as I did the previous week, is not something we should be satisfied with.

FROM READER CHUA KHENG YEOW