Malaysian woman involved in security intrusions in Singapore charged in court

The Malaysian woman was finally found within the MFA compounds off Holland Road. (Photo: Google Street View) Deputy Teo Chee Hean has expressed his 'deep dissatisfaction' over the case of a 27-year-old Malaysian woman who drove into Singapore last Friday without clearing any customs checks at the Woodlands Checkpoint. The woman, reportedly a teacher from Kuala Lumpur, was only arrested three days later on Monday when she and her Malaysian-registered red Perodua car were found inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs compound off Holland Road.'I have expressed my deep dissatisfaction to the Commissioner of ICA and the Commissionder of Police over the breach at Woodlands Checkpoint and the subsequent response actions,' DPM Teo said in a media statement.'This case should have been prevented and dealth with more urgently and decisively as it could have resulted in more serious consequences than what occurred. I have directed the Comissioners to report to me the corrective actions they are taking, and recommend approproiate action to be taken against officers who have not discharged their duties properly,' he added.According to an ICA joint statement, the Malaysian woman, who is believed to have a history of mental illness, drove into Singapore last Friday in a red Perodua car at about 1:58pm. She managed to leave the checkpoint without being stopped, as the officers-in-charge did not immediately raise the alarm.By the time the alarm was raised 2 minutes later and the arrival car zone was locked down, she had already left. Despite a police islandwide advisory to look out for the woman and her car, she was only arrested three days later on Monday afternoon. Today newspaper reported that police officers initally failed to recognise the woman or her car despite the islandwide alert, when they encountered her while helping a taxi driver whom she tailgated all the way into the Police Cantonment Complex.She was finally arrested an hour later when she had entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs front gate off Holland Road by tailgating an authorised vehicle. She was driving around the compound for a few minutes before MFA security officers cornered her car, local media reported. The ICA and Police are now reviewing security systems and work processes in view of the major security breach. 'This is a very serious lapse in our border security and we are disappointed by this incident. We will do a thorough investigation to prevent a similar occurrence. We will learn from the incident and further strengthen our security measures at the checkpoints to prevent a similar occurrence, ' said deputy Commissioner of ICA Mr Aw Kum Cheong.Mr Raja Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police added: 'There is existing coordination between SPF and ICA at the Checkpoints to deal with potential threats. Police will work with ICA to study how we could further improve our incident response processes.'The next of kin of the Malaysian woman, who has been held on charges of criminal trespass and evading immigration clearance, have been contacted and they will be in Singapore to assist in investigations.