The police have arrested a 16-year-old male teenager for his suspected involvement in a case of evasion of roadblock.

On May 25, at about 2:55am, Traffic Police (TP) officers conducted a roadblock along Guillemard Road and directed the rider of a power-assisted bicycle (PAB) to stop for checks as he was not wearing a helmet.

The rider allegedly failed to stop and sped off.

While doing so, he knocked down a police road barrier, fell off his e-bike, and continued to flee on foot.

After a brief chase, the officers detained and subsequently arrested him.

Investigations revealed that the rider possessed duty-unpaid contraband cigarettes at the time.

The PAB, believed to be illegally modified, was seized by the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

Investigations are ongoing.

Penalties

The offence of evasion of a roadblock under the Police Force Act 2004 carries a fine up to S$10,000, or a jail term of up to seven years, or both.

The offence of altering a power-assisted bicycle to be non-compliant under the Road Traffic Act 1961 carries a fine of up to S$20,000, or a jail term of up to 24 months, or both for first-time individual offenders.

For repeat individual offenders, the penalty is a fine of up to S$40,000 or imprisonment up to 48 months, or both.

Buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing or dealing with duty-unpaid cigarettes carries a fine of up to 40 times the amount of duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded and/ or a jail term of up to six years under the Customs Act 1960 and the GST Act 1993.

The police said they conduct roadblocks to deter and detect crimes.

Members of the public are advised to cooperate and comply with police officers’ instructions at roadblocks.

Road users who evade roadblocks endanger the lives of police officers and other road users.

The police take a serious view of persons who evade roadblocks and perpetrators will be dealt with firmly in accordance with the law.

Top photo via Singapore Police Force Facebook