By Ashley Chia, TODAY, 22 Jan 2014
In what has been described as a very serious lapse in border security, a 27-year-old Malaysian woman drove past the Woodlands Checkpoint last Friday afternoon in a Malaysia-registered red Perodua without being stopped by the immigration authorities and gave them the slip despite a lockdown of the car arrival zone.
Three days later, police officers failed to recognise the woman or her car despite an islandwide alert, when they encountered her while helping a taxi driver whom she tailgated all the way to the Police Cantonment Complex. Barely an hour later on the same day, the woman drove her car into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Sherwood Road premises and drove around the compound without authorisation, after slipping past the security post by tailgating a vehicle in front.
She was stopped when her car was boxed in by two vehicles driven by MFA security officers.
The woman, who is said to be a teacher from Kuala Lumpur, was arrested on Monday for criminal trespass after the MFA called the police.
In a joint statement yesterday, the police and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said the woman is also being investigated for not having cleared immigration. They added that the woman, whose name was not revealed by the authorities, has a history of mental illness.
She is in police custody and investigations are in progress. “With the assistance of the Malaysian High Commission and the Royal Malaysia Police, we have contacted her next of kin in Malaysia, who are on their way to Singapore to assist in our investigation,” said the police and ICA.
In a press statement, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean made clear his unhappiness with the breach, which he noted could have had more serious consequences. “This case should have been prevented and dealt with more urgently and decisively. I have expressed my dissatisfaction to the Commissioner of ICA and Commissioner of Police over the breach at the Woodlands Checkpoint and the subsequent response actions,” he said.
Mr Teo also directed the Commissioners of Police and ICA to report to him the corrective measures and recommend appropriate action against officers who did not discharge their duties properly. The police and ICA said they will review the incident and take steps to prevent a recurrence. In particular, the security systems and work processes at the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints will be reviewed.
Based on preliminary investigations, the woman entered Singapore at about 1.58pm on Friday by tailgating a car in front. Her vehicle was not stopped and, by the time the alarm was raised two minutes later, “efforts to locate the car at the Woodlands Checkpoint were unsuccessful despite an immediate lockdown of the arrival car zone”, said the police and ICA.After the 30-minute lockdown, the police issued an islandwide alert to its officers to keep a lookout for the vehicle and reviewed closed-circuit television footage from the Land Transport Authority to trace it.
On Monday, at 1.32pm, the police received a call from a taxi driver who reported that a woman was tailgating him. The police advised him to drive to the Police Cantonment Complex and the woman followed him. At the complex, police officers tried to talk to her, but she drove away. About an hour later, she was arrested at the MFA compound after the ministry called the police. The woman was “unresponsive” when nabbed, the police added.
ICA Deputy Commissioner Aw Kum Cheong said: “This is a very serious lapse in our border security and we are disappointed by the incident.”
The authorities said between 2011 and 2013, a total of 26 motorists were arrested for trying to evade immigration clearance.
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Security intrusions: Woman charged
By Lim Yan Liang, The Straits Times, 23 Jan 2014
THE Malaysian woman at the centre of two security intrusions here has been charged with criminal trespass and remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for a psychiatric assessment.
The 27-year-old, said to have a history of mental illness, was arrested on Monday in her red Perodua hatchback after she had driven into the compound of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) without authorisation.
She had also apparently sneaked past immigration at the Woodlands Checkpoint last Friday, giving police the slip for three days before finally being nabbed in the grounds of the MFA, located off Holland Road.
An islandwide advisory to look out for her was sent to police patrol cars, but she was not found until Monday's incident at the MFA compound.
The Straits Times understands that about an hour before she breached the MFA compound, a taxi driver had dialled 999 while close to Singapore General Hospital, informing police that he had been tailed by the woman for the past hour.
The cabby was told to drive to the nearby Police Cantonment Complex, where he was assisted by officers.
It is understood that the woman, a teacher from Kuala Lumpur, also stopped her vehicle nearby but did not respond to officers' questions and drove off minutes later.
The incident prompted Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean to express his "deep dissatisfaction" to the Commissioner of the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and the Commissioner of Police about their response.
Trespass incident: MPs call for review of border security
Some lawmakers say many questions remain unanswered; Malaysia reveals trespasser's identity
By Ashley Chia, TODAY, 23 Jan 2014
Urging the authorities to review and step up border security, Members of Parliament (MPs) yesterday expressed shock and disappointment at the recent breach at the Woodlands Checkpoint, which saw a Malaysian woman drive into Singapore, evade immigration clearance and stay here for three days before she was arrested for trespassing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
The woman, who has been named by the Malaysian Foreign Affairs Ministry as 28-year-old Nurul Ruhana Binti Ishak from Kedah, has been charged with criminal trespass and has been remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric evaluation, the police said.
MPs on the Government Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs and Law whom TODAY spoke to called for an inquiry into the series of lapses, pointing out that many questions remain unanswered. They also stressed the importance of having a “watertight” border as a critical line of defence against threats to national security.
Marine Parade GRC MP Tin Pei Ling said: “I am quite shocked by this incident because the border and checkpoints are our first line of defence and I would expect the authorities to be very strict and have thorough checks there ... once you’re inside the country, more mischief is possible and there is much more risk.”
Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Hri Kumar Nair added: “We need to get to the bottom of it and deal with the loopholes.”
He noted how the woman had given immigration officers the slip despite a lockdown of the car arrival zone being activated about two minutes after she drove into the checkpoint.
“Why wasn’t there a sufficiently quick reaction when it was realised that she had gone through without the proper checks?” he said, adding that questions also have to be asked about why the officers initially failed to stop her for checks.
The lockdown lasted 30 minutes, after which the police issued an islandwide alert to officers to look out for the woman and her car.
Three days later, police officers encountered the woman while helping a taxi driver she was tailgating. The officers, who did not recognise the woman or her car, tried to speak to her but she drove off.
Sembawang GRC MP Vikram Nair said he was curious as to how the alert had been disseminated to police officers. “An alert must have gone out, but I don’t know whether every patrolling officer was aware of (it), whether it was a matter of course that they would (look out for the suspect),” he said.
Responding to TODAY’s queries about the procedures after the alarm had been raised at the checkpoints and why there had been a two-minute delay before the alarm was raised last Friday, an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) spokesperson said investigations are in progress.
Reiterating that security at the checkpoints was of “utmost importance to ICA”, she said: “We will seek to further strengthen our security measures at the checkpoints to prevent a similar occurrence.”
The police also cited ongoing investigations and said it was premature to provide further details, in response to this newspaper’s queries on the procedures for islandwide alerts and why its officers did not recognise the woman or the car when they encountered her.
The woman entered the ministry on Monday afternoon without authorisation as she tailgated a car. She drove around its Sherwood Road compound before she was boxed in by vehicles driven by MFA security officers.
An MFA spokesperson said the ministry carried out an internal review immediately after the incident and has put in place additional security measures which the spokesperson did not elaborate on. It is working with the Ministry of Home Affairs to improve security at its premises.
Following the incident, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean expressed his “deep dissatisfaction” to the Commissioners of Police and ICA, noting that it could have had more serious consequences. He directed them to report to him the corrective measures they will be taking and to recommend appropriate action against officers who did not discharge their duties properly.
Speaking to reporters last night after a visit to a foreign workers’ dormitory, Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam declined to comment on the trespassing incident, stressing that it was under investigation.