The Police will be charging a 20-year-old male Singaporean for his involvement in separate cases of flying an unmanned aircraft (UA) within no-fly zones.
A police report was lodged on 19 October 2019 regarding the sighting of a UA along Dairy Farm Lane. Through ground enquiries, officers from Jurong Police Division established the identity of the man who had operated the UA. The man was also investigated for two earlier incidents of operating a UA on 8 October 2019 from Cashew Road, and 9 October 2019 from Stagmont Ring, without a permit. He had allegedly taken aerial view photographs of MINDEF Gombak Base and Gali Batu Depot with the UA on those occasions and flown into the airspace above MINDEF Gombak Base and Stagmont Camp.
For allegedly taking one photograph showing the aerial view of MINDEF Gombak Base and one photograph showing the aerial view of Gali Batu Depot, the man will be charged with one count of prohibited photography of a protected area using a UA punishable under Section 7(2A)(a) of the Air Navigation Act, and one count of prohibited photography of a protected area using a UA punishable under Section 30(4) of the Infrastructure Protection Act 2017 respectively.
For the alleged acts of operating his UA at an altitude above 200 feet on all three occasions, the man will be charged with three counts of failure to obtain a permit to operate a UA, punishable under paragraph 72F(2) read with paragraph 72D(c) of the Air Navigation Order and punishable under Section 80(5) of the Air Navigation Order.
For allegedly flying his UA into the airspace above MINDEF Gombak base and Stagmont Camp on three separate occasions, the man will be charged with three counts of operating a UA over a protected area punishable under Section 7A(2A)(a) of the Air Navigation Act.
Anyone convicted of the offence of prohibited photography over protected areas using a UA punishable under Section 7(2A)(a) of the Air Navigation Act, or operating a UA over a protected area punishable under Section 7A(2A) of the Air Navigation Act, will be liable to a fine of up to $50,000 or to an imprisonment term of up to two years, or both. For the offence of operating a UA without permit under Section 80(5) read with the Thirteenth Schedule to the Air Navigation Order, offenders will be liable, on first conviction, to a fine of up to $20,000. For the offence of prohibited photography of a protected area using a UA under Section 30(4) of the Infrastructure Protection Act, offenders will be liable to a fine of up to $20,000 or to an imprisonment term of up to two years, or both.
The Police will not condone the flying of a UA in an unsafe and irresponsible manner, as it poses a risk to aviation and public safety and security. UA users should refer to the OneMap.sg website or use the OneMap app to check the areas where the flying of a UA is not allowed unless a permit [1] has been obtained. Any UA with a total weight of above 250g must be registered before it can be operated in Singapore. From 1 February 2021 onwards, certain UA users will also need to obtain an unmanned aircraft basic training certificate (UABTC) or unmanned aircraft pilot licence (UAPL) before they operate their UA in Singapore. Members of the public who witness any unauthorised UA activity are advised to report their observations to the Police.
[1] UA users are advised to refer to www.caas.gov.sg/public-passengers/unmanned-aircraft/ua-regulatory-requirements to ensure that they have fulfilled the relevant regulatory requirements before they operate their UA.
Annex
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Extracted from: OneMap |
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
15 October 2020 @ 7:00 AM