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Singapore Border
Security Tightened Page created 15 March 2003. Updated on 17 Mar 2003 Return to D'Singapore Scene . MARCH 15, 2003 All motorists checked on way into Singapore Home Affairs Minister asks drivers to be patient, as increased security is there to protect Republic from terrorist attack By Chong Chee Kin and Alexis Hooi EVERY vehicle, whether car, truck or motorcycle, was inspected as it entered the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints yesterday, as Singapore moved to gird itself further against potential terrorists, especially with war looming in the Middle East.
Border authorities, bolstered by extra policemen, ordered motorists to open all their storage areas, from car boots and glove compartments to motorcycle seats, for inspection. Motorcyclists even handed over their helmets and turned out their pockets for the officers to check. The move from random to 100 per cent checks took many by surprise, leading to longer queues as well as some frayed nerves among waiting motorists. But Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng yesterday asked people to tolerate the inconvenience, as 'it is a balance we need to make for the sake of security and a small price to pay'. The tighter procedures follow increased levels of security at the airport and checks of everyone coming through sea checkpoints, which were put in place to protect the home front following the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in New York. With the 'escalation of the threat in the Middle East', he told Parliament yesterday during the debate on his ministry's budget, inspections at the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints would apply to all. More than 55,000 vehicles use the links daily. To bolster Singapore's borders, a new agency, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority - which will merge the border control functions of Singapore Immigration and Registration and the Customs and Excise Department - will be formed on April 1. Yesterday, officers checked three vehicles at a time. Each inspection lasted up to a minute from the moment a vehicle arrived at the inspection bay. When The Straits Times was at Woodlands checkpoint at 3 pm yesterday, civil servant Stephen Cheng, 26, said he had waited for about 30 minutes before getting to the checkpoint. 'But for security, I can say it's worth it.' Mr Lim Chan Teck, 43, a sales executive, counted himself lucky that he waited in his car for only 15 minutes. He said: 'I don't think it's a big problem if it's because of safety. But it must be a lot worse during peak hours and in the morning.' It was: During the morning peak hours, between 5.30 am and 9.30 am, inspection lanes meant for cars had to be opened to the crowd of motorcyclists travelling into Singapore to work. And the queues had started forming again by 5 pm, with cars lined up bumper to bumper for more than 100 m. Mr Chan K.S, 29, said it took him almost an hour to reach the immigration checkpoint at close to 5 pm. The Malaysian, who rides in daily from Johor to work in a restaurant here, said he was worried about being late for work and might consider starting his journey an hour earlier from today. 'The exhaust from all the cars and bikes waiting here is very bad. If it's like this every day people are all going to die from the fumes,' he said. And motorcyclist Chin Hon Mun, 28, a Malaysian who works for a renovation company here, said he usually left his Johor home by 7 am. He said in Mandarin: 'It's very troublesome for all of us. Now I'll have to leave at 5 am instead.' Motorists who want to find out the latest traffic situation at the checkpoints can call the Check-Tips hotline on 6863-0117. Source URL: http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/topstories/story/0,4386,177061,00.html? |
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 MARCH 16, 2003 The L-O-N-G jam at the Causeway Queues stretch during morning peak hours due to stepped-up security linked to looming Iraq war and terrorist threat By Theresa Tan
AT LEAST 30 motorcyclists at the Woodlands Checkpoint yesterday found a way to keep themselves and their vehicles cool while waiting to come into Singapore during the morning rush - they got out of the queue. They parked their bikes on the road shoulder, chatted, smoked cigarettes and waited for the crush to ease. Said 58-year-old hawker Lee Hye Eng, who was one of the group: 'If I join in, my engine would be overheated. 'Also, I have to breathe in all the exhaust fumes. So I'd rather stop and wait.' In front of him, hundreds of helmets were visible, all waiting to be checked. It was 8.45 am on Day Two of the 100 per cent checks at both the Tuas and Woodlands checkpoints. The stepped-up security started on Friday because of the looming war in Iraq and the threat of terrorists retaliating. Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng asked people to tolerate the inconvenience, as 'it is for the sake of security and a small price to pay'. Security at the airport and at sea checkpoints was tightened after the Sept 11 attacks in the United States. At the two checkpoints, border authorities, bolstered by extra policemen, told drivers to open all their storage areas for inspection - car boots, glove compartments, bike storage boxes. Previously, vehicles coming from Malaysia into Singapore were only checked randomly. As a result, the 10- to 15-minute wait for border formalities during the morning peak period stretched to about an hour. This is even though two or three vehicles were being checked at the same time by a few officers, and though each check took about a minute. At 8.45 am yesterday, the vehicle queue to enter Singapore was about 1 km long. Every day, about 35,000 motorcycles, 20,000 cars, 1,500 lorries and 800 buses pass through the Woodlands Checkpoint. Mr Lee waited for about an hour but did not see the line shorten, and was prepared to wait for about another hour. He was chatting away when The Sunday Times spoke to him. Like him, many motorists were resigned to the wait, but that did not stop them from complaining about it. 'The checks are good for the safety of our country, but I don't want to get stuck in a traffic jam,' said Mr Steve Mohamad, 45, a contractor. He said he will probably cut down his trips to visit friends and relatives in Johor from now. For Johorean factory worker Anbalagan Kunnasararan, 22, it means waking up at 4.30 am, at least 30 minutes earlier than usual, so he can get to his workplace in Tuas by 7 am. At the Tuas Checkpoint yesterday between 1.45 pm and 2.30 pm, there was no queue at all. But only 8,000 motorcycles, 2,000 cars, 700 lorries and 150 buses pass through there daily. Source URL: http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,177318,00.html? |
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