A Singaporean man is facing serious legal consequences after posting photos of an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer on Facebook, an act that constitutes as an offence in Singapore.
The incident occurred at Woodlands Checkpoint, where the man and his wife were travelling through when they encountered the officer.
In a post shared on August 12 in the Facebook group “Complaint Singapore,“ the man recounted how the officer questioned whether he and his wife were discussing him, which left him confused.
He further alleged that the officer instructed him to wind down the car window, despite it already being down.
After this exchange, the officer reportedly asked the man to follow him to the office, where he spent the next 30 minutes resolving the situation.
He wrote: “Then the officer asked driver to go their office, which was a total wastage of time for 30 minutes, just for not answering back the way he expected and explaining it was not him we are talking about.”
On August 15, the ICA released a statement clarifying the situation.
The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) is aware of social media posts alleging that an ICA officer was rude to a driver who was clearing immigration at Woodlands Checkpoint on 12 August 2024.
The posts included the name of the officer as well as photographs and videos of him at the car counter.
“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 statement read.
“The driver also took photographs and videos of our officer when the latter was contacting his supervisors to report the incident.
“The driver was referred to the Duty Office, and administered with a stern warning after admitting to taking photographs and videos within the checkpoint premises and agreeing to delete them,” it said.
“However, ICA subsequently found the photographs and videos uploaded online. The case has been referred to the Police, who are investigating.
“ICA officers at the checkpoints carry out their duties to safeguard Singapore’s borders,” it stated.
“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,” the statement concluded.
The statement revealed that the man had made “uncalled-for remarks” after the officer asked him to remove the sunshade on the right passenger window.
During the incident, the man also took photos and videos of the officer as he contacted his supervisors to report the matter.
The incident has sparked backlash online, with netizens criticising the man for blatantly violating the law and sarcastically wishing him “good luck” for the impending consequences.
“Well done officer. Should not allow such arrogant people to abuse or assault civil servants on duty. Authority should take serious action on this guy, obstructing the officer from doing his duty,” one user called VR Sara remarked.
Mike Bond wrote: “Driver should be charged for not following instructions which he failed to comply and abused it!”
