New scanners to check buses, vans entering Tuas Checkpoint
Move to combat smuggling, terrorism at checkpoint to begin second half of year
Security for vans and buses entering Singapore through the Tuas Checkpoint will be stepped up in a move to fight terrorism, smuggling and stowaways.
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has set up two imaging scanners, which all vans and buses will have to go through, that can detect compartments that have been modified or contain explosives.
Officers have been familiarising drivers with the new process, which will begin in the second half of the year, according to Assistant Commissioner (AC) Colin Tan, who heads the checkpoint.
For the past five years, officers have detected an average of 13 smuggling cases involving buses with modified compartments at both checkpoints, said an ICA spokesman.
"Despite stringent checks, smuggling attempts have not ceased," the spokesman added.
WAITING TIME
The change is not expected to extend passengers' waiting time. AC Tan said: "Clearances for both bus and passengers will be conducted simultaneously... We will strive to have buses waiting for their passengers."
Nor will the X-ray scanner pose a health risk to drivers as their compartment will not be scanned but manually inspected.
Currently, officers have to manually inspect the entire bus, boarding it once passengers have got down for immigration checks, to look for anomalies.
Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo said during the Budget debate in Parliament last month that the scanners are expected to change that process.
Officers will now target questionable areas flagged by the scan for checks instead of having to inspect the entire bus in person, which is time consuming and possibly less effective, said Mrs Teo, who is now the Manpower Minister.
Besides the new bus scanners, passengers will have to go through metal detectors and have their bags scanned at the arrival hall before the immigration processing.
The ICA is also studying plans to implement bus scanners at Woodlands Checkpoint as well.
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