‘Give me chance, I cannot go court’: S'porean man, 40, on trial for dragging ICA officer with car after getting stopped for fuel tank check

A 40-year-old man, Steve Ling Wei Liang, was stopped by an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer at Woodlands Checkpoint after his car was found to have only a quarter tank of fuel.

Vehicles leaving Singapore are required to have their fuel tanks to be at least three-quarters full.

Drove off with the officer caught in his car window

CNA reported that the ICA officer, whose name is Tan Yi Loong, had asked Ling on Dec. 12, 2023, to provide his passport during the check.

However, Ling allegedly drove off with Tan still partially caught in the car window, injuring him.

According to court documents seen by Mothership, Ling went on trial on Nov. 10, 2025, for one count of causing hurt to Tan by accelerating while the officer was partially inside the vehicle.

Tan suffered a right knee contusion as a result of being dragged along.

Tan, who joined ICA in 2020, was at Woodlands Checkpoint that Tuesday as a first response team officer and was the deputy team leader that day.

His responsibilities included fuel gauge checks and handling security-related incidents, reported CNA.

He explained that during fuel gauge operations, his team would narrow traffic to a single lane, slow down vehicles, and ask drivers to wind down their windows so that they could inspect the fuel gauges.

Tan's testimony

When asked by the prosecution how his shift ended that day, Tan said "it ended with [him] going to the hospital", adding that it was "a result of [him] being dragged by the car", CNA reported.

Footage of the incident played in court showed Tan conducting a check on a red car.

When asked if he remembered the car, Tan said he did.

"It drag me before. So I remember."

Tan recalled that Ling refused to comply when asked to produce his passport, saying: "Sir, give me chance ah, I cannot go court".

He testified that as Ling was speaking, he began to inch the car forward despite being told to stop.

The footage then showed the red car suddenly lurching forward towards the right while Tan was still caught in the window.

Another officer could be seen moving in to help.

Tan said that when the car moved, he ended up grabbing the steering wheel as he tried to regain his balance.

"I remember when he moved the car, he was looking at me and I was looking at him," Tan said. "While grabbing onto the steering wheel with my right hand and my left hand grab onto him. So we were both in shock."

"It felt like forever," he added. "Nobody gets dragged — this is not normal, right."

Tan said he was relieved when the car finally came to a stop.

The case remains before the court.

If convicted of committing a rash act endangering human life, Ling could be jailed for up to a year, fined up to S$5,000, or both.

Top photos via ROADS.sg/Facebook and Tokai Teio/Google Maps