SINGAPORE: A driver who allegedly took photos of an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer at Woodlands Checkpoint is also accused of posting the officer’s rank and name on Facebook, and lying to the police that he was not the user responsible.
Wong Jeo Wah, a 37-year-old Singaporean, was first charged in August with one count under the Infrastructure Protection Act of taking photos and videos without permission at a departure lane counter on Aug 12.
Photos and videos of the ICA officer, along with his name, were uploaded to Facebook group Complaint Singapore a day after the incident.
In the post, which is no longer accessible, the driver made negative comments about the exchange, alleging the officer was rude.
ICA said in a Facebook post on Aug 15 that investigations indicated the driver had made “uncalled for remarks” when the officer instructed him to remove a sunshade from the right passenger window during immigration clearance.
The driver was referred to the duty office and given a stern warning after admitting to taking photos and videos on checkpoint premises, said ICA. He also agreed to delete them.
However, they were uploaded online and ICA referred the case to the police.
Wong was remanded briefly and later told the court he wanted to plead guilty, saying he “did not realise that the offence was so serious that I was in remand”.
On Monday (Oct 21), Wong was handed two new charges: One count under the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA) for abusive communication about the ICA officer, and one charge of giving false information to a police officer.
According to the charges, Wong posted the ICA officer’s rank, name, photos and videos on Facebook using an account called “Sky Sg” at about 2pm on Aug 13.
Three days later, while in a police interview room, Wong allegedly gave a false statement to an investigation officer, claiming he was not the owner of the Facebook account “Sky Sg”.
This was allegedly done to cause the investigation officer to not conduct investigations against him for the POHA charge against the ICA officer.
According to the judiciary’s public hearing list, Wong has hired lawyers to represent him: Mr Anil Singh Sandhu and Mr Nurfan Sufi Muhamad Adzman from Kertar & Sandhu law firm.
Wong’s case was adjourned for further mention in November.
If convicted of taking photos and videos while in a protected area without permission, he could be jailed for up to two years, fined up to S$20,000 (US$15,200), or both.
If convicted of abusive communication against a public servant in the execution of his duty, he could be jailed for up to a year, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
For giving false information to a public servant, an offender could be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.
