Police investigating driver who took photos of ICA officer at Woodlands Checkpoint

The Singapore police are investigating after a driver took photos and videos of an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer at Woodlands Checkpoint, whom he accused of having a "bad attitude" on Aug. 12.

The driver also posted the photos and videos on Facebook group Complaint Singapore on Aug. 13.

Driver's post

In his Facebook post, the driver said he was driving through Woodlands Checkpoint and talking to his wife "about some incident" at around 12:30pm on Aug. 12 when the officer allegedly asked if the couple were commenting about him.

The driver also alleged that the officer requested him to "wind down his car window" even though the window had already been wound down.

"Driver seh (got attitude) or officer seh?" the driver asked in his post.

Later on, the driver claimed he was asked to visit ICA's office at the checkpoint, where he "wasted 30 minutes just for not answering the way [the officer] expected and explaining that it was not him" that he and his wife were talking about.

The driver also attached several photos and videos of the officer to his post, in which the officer could be seen speaking on the phone.

Response from ICA

In response, the ICA said in an Aug. 15 Facebook post that it is aware of the social media posts and has conducted investigations into the case.

"Our investigations show that the driver made uncalled-for remarks when our officer had instructed him to remove the right passenger window sunshade during departure immigration clearance. The driver also took photographs and videos of our officer when the latter was contacting his supervisors to report the incident," wrote ICA.

ICA added that the driver was subsequently referred to the Duty Office where he was administered a stern warning after "admitting to taking photographs and videos within the checkpoint premises" and "agreeing to delete them".

The case has since been referred to the police after ICA found out that the driver uploaded the photographs and videos online.

"ICA officers at the checkpoints carry out their duties to safeguard Singapore's borders. Travellers are reminded to cooperate and comply with their instructions. It is also an offence to take photographs or videos within the checkpoint premises, which is a Protected Area, without consent from the authorities. ICA will not hesitate to take stern action against those who commit such offences," added ICA.

Those found guilty of taking photographs of a protected area without permission could be fined up to S$20,000, jailed for up to two years, or both.

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