Aetos officer allegedly told to dispose of monitor lizard rescued at Woodlands Checkpoint

Lizards are our friends too.

Sulaiman Daud | August 29, 2017, 04:20 PM

Most people would run away screaming if a monitor lizard latches itself onto their motorcycle and refuses to let go.

But not Amelia Lee, an Aetos officer.

While the motorcycle owner and other bystanders at the Woodlands Checkpoint kept clear, Amelia stepped in and restrained the lizard with her bare hands.

A photo of her heroic rescue was taken for posterity's sake.

No photography though

However, according to the post, the Aetos officer might be in trouble for her brave act.

This is so as the post claimed that her photo was taken in the area where no photography is allowed.

According to Immigration and Checkpoints Authority regulations, photos are indeed not allowed to be snapped within the checkpoint zone.

We were informed during a call to the ICA's feedback hotline that there are warning signs displayed at the Woodlands Checkpoint that remind people not to take photos there.

The post also claimed the photo of Amelia holding the monitor lizard was snapped by a fellow ICA officer.

Monitor lizard disposed of

Exacerbating the situation is the claim in the post that the Aetos officer was told to dispose of the monitor lizard after it was caught, by putting it in a plastic bag.

The post claimed the Aetos officer had volunteered to release the animal.

It is not known whether the person who took the photo is in any trouble.

Mothership has reached out to ICA for comment.

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This is the full Facebook post, in case you cannot see it:

Please read and share to encourage AETOS into commending instead of condemning their brave officer.

A monitor lizard got lost and in the midst of chaos, it got stuck onto the fairings of a motorcycle (motorcycle body which is closest to the front wheel). The monitor lizard had its head and one of the front legs stuck onto the very motorcycle in the photo. While everyone moved away from it and pest control was informed, officer Amelia Lee braved the situation and personally dislodged the monitor lizard on her own.

The photo was taken by an ICA officer and officer Amelia is now being questioned for having the photo taken despite strict codes of no photography within Woodlands Checkpoint. How could a noble act of saving a life be shadowed by the law and where is the case-by-case exception in this? Officer Amelia did not only save the monitor lizard, but also saved the rider and owner of the affected motorcycle, whom was desperately in need of help.

Moreover, while officer Amelia had the intention of releasing it back into the wild, she was forced to put it into a trash bag and had to hand it over to the cleaner to be disposed off far away from scene.

My point here is, officer Amelia rescued the monitor lizard when no one else could and now she's getting into trouble for having a photo of her taken, despite it not being taken using her own phone. While officer Amelia had personally offered to release it back into the wild, her superiors instructed her to hand it over in a trash bag to the cleaner and was then told to get back to her job. I personally believe that no matter the duration or distance, no live animals should ever be kept in a trash bag.

Is this what is becoming of Singapore these days? Are we really just robots, forced to mind our own business and are discouraged from helping those in need? Are animals really disregarded in Singapore? Why are noble and well-intentioned human beings getting punished for their benevolent acts?

Honestly, I am beyond proud of her actions because i would've done the exact same thing. Yet, I am truly disgusted at the amount of 'trouble' she has gotten herself into.

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Top image via Pixabay