SINGAPORE: A teenager was charged on Thursday (Jul 3) with trespassing onto an operational railway track along the East-West Line on the night of Mar 27.
The 17-year-old Singaporean cannot be named under the Children and Young Persons Act as he was under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged offence.
He was given two charges linked to the incident: First, for wilfully endangering the safety of rail travellers under the Rapid Transit Systems Act, and for committing criminal trespass under the Penal Code.
According to charge sheets, he entered “scaffolding point 12” at about 8.20pm on Mar 27 along Upper Changi Road. The area is under the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
He then climbed up the scaffolding and gained access to the MRT train tracks during operational hours, the charges indicate.
Soon after, he allegedly trespassed onto the railway track between Simei and Tanah Merah stations, endangering the safety of people travelling along the track.
He was remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for medical examination and will return to court later this month.
The police said in an earlier statement that they had received a report about the incident on Jun 10.
Officers identified the teen and arrested him on Jul 1.
After the police identified the teenager’s alleged point of entry, LTA took immediate action to enhance security measures at the location to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents, the police said.
If convicted of criminal trespass, the boy can be jailed for up to three months, fined up to S$1,500 (US$1,178), or both.
If convicted of wilfully endangering the safety of people on the railway, he could be jailed for up to five years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.
