SINGAPORE: Fifty foreign vehicles have been turned away from both Singapore's land checkpoints as of Wednesday morning (Apr 3) due to outstanding fines, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).
It added that the clearance time for incoming vehicles at the checkpoints - in Woodlands and Tuas - has not been affected by the decision to turn away those with outstanding fines.
AdvertisementSingapore had announced in February that foreign vehicles with outstanding fines for traffic, parking or vehicular emissions offences could be denied entry into the country from April.
Malaysian news portal The Star Online reported on Monday that the move caused long queues on the Causeway and Tuas Second Link.
Some drivers stopped to pay their fines while other were forced to turn back, according to a commuter quoted by the news outlet.
"ICA had planned ahead for this initiative, and clearance time for incoming vehicles at our checkpoints has not been affected due to the turning away of these foreign vehicles with outstanding fines," said ICA on Wednesday in response to CNA's queries.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"All vehicles to be turned away are diverted to separate parking spaces to be processed, and as such it does not affect the flow of other traffic."
ICA added that traffic at the land checkpoints is "dynamic" and can be affected by various factors, including peak hour travel, school holidays and events like the ongoing Qing Ming festival.
"ICA monitors arrival and departure traffic conditions in real-time across the different conveyance modes, and adjusts our deployment of resources accordingly," said the agency.
"We will continue to monitor the implementation of the new policy on the traffic situation at the land checkpoints, and seek the cooperation of foreign motorists to settle all outstanding fines promptly.”
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