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Game Over for Man Under (The Bus)
You may have read in the news about the 'creative' ways in which people try to avoid paying their bus fare, but a Myanmar national's attempt to avoid paying the bus fare is probably the most astonishing one so far - he hid underneath the bus chassis. Well, the 31-year-old man had a more sinister reason for doing so (besides trying to get a free ride on the bus through Woodlands Checkpoint). He was attempting to enter Singapore illegally but was stopped by vigilant ICA officers with the help of public-spirited bus drivers.
2 On 9 Oct 2005 at about 1855 hrs, our ICA officer was conducting checks onboard the SBS Transit bus at the Woodlands Arrival Bus Bay when he was informed by the 44-year-old bus driver, Mr Tiew Eng Lee that a person might be hiding underneath the bus. Mr Tiew's colleague, who was in another bus behind his, had noticed a body appearing and disappearing from view beneath his bus. Our officer sprang to action and used the undercarriage mirror to check the undercarriage of the bus. A man was found clinging onto the chassis. He knew his game was over and crawled out from underneath the bus. He was immediately arrested.
3 Preliminary investigations revealed that the Myanmar national had hid underneath the bus chassis, using three metal bars located near the rear tyres for support, when the bus stopped at a bus stop in Johor to pick up passengers. He admitted that he had tried to enter Singapore illegally to look for employment here.
4 Immigration & Checkpoints Authority takes a serious view of attempts by foreigners to enter or depart from Singapore illegally. Security checks on passengers and vehicles at all checkpoints have been stepped up. The penalties for overstaying or illegal entry are a jail term of up to six months plus a minimum of three strokes of the cane.
5 As our country's first line of defence against terrorist threats, ICA has a duty to ensure the security and safety of Singapore. At our checkpoints, we have a robust inspection process to screen and detect undesirable persons and goods coming through our checkpoints. We leverage on technology and equipment to help us do our work better, from the Integrated Cargo Inspection System (a radiographic scanner that is integrated with a secondary radiation scanner that could detect the presence of radioactive materials that are necessary for making nuclear or dirty bombs) to mirrors used for checking the undercarriages of vehicles.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
10 October 2005
2 On 9 Oct 2005 at about 1855 hrs, our ICA officer was conducting checks onboard the SBS Transit bus at the Woodlands Arrival Bus Bay when he was informed by the 44-year-old bus driver, Mr Tiew Eng Lee that a person might be hiding underneath the bus. Mr Tiew's colleague, who was in another bus behind his, had noticed a body appearing and disappearing from view beneath his bus. Our officer sprang to action and used the undercarriage mirror to check the undercarriage of the bus. A man was found clinging onto the chassis. He knew his game was over and crawled out from underneath the bus. He was immediately arrested.
3 Preliminary investigations revealed that the Myanmar national had hid underneath the bus chassis, using three metal bars located near the rear tyres for support, when the bus stopped at a bus stop in Johor to pick up passengers. He admitted that he had tried to enter Singapore illegally to look for employment here.
4 Immigration & Checkpoints Authority takes a serious view of attempts by foreigners to enter or depart from Singapore illegally. Security checks on passengers and vehicles at all checkpoints have been stepped up. The penalties for overstaying or illegal entry are a jail term of up to six months plus a minimum of three strokes of the cane.
5 As our country's first line of defence against terrorist threats, ICA has a duty to ensure the security and safety of Singapore. At our checkpoints, we have a robust inspection process to screen and detect undesirable persons and goods coming through our checkpoints. We leverage on technology and equipment to help us do our work better, from the Integrated Cargo Inspection System (a radiographic scanner that is integrated with a secondary radiation scanner that could detect the presence of radioactive materials that are necessary for making nuclear or dirty bombs) to mirrors used for checking the undercarriages of vehicles.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
10 October 2005