Traffic via Singapore land checkpoints expected to build up ahead of CNY

Traffic through the Tuas and Woodlands checkpoints is expected to build up in the week leading to the Lunar New Year and will be particularly heavy from Jan 26 to Jan 31.

In a statement today, Singapore Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said about 400,000 travellers used the land checkpoints daily and this number was expected to increase to 430,000 during peak periods.

It said its officers would remain watchful and vigilant as smuggling attempts continued despite the stringent checks.

More than 46,000 cases of contraband items were detected at the land checkpoints in 2016 and this worked out to an average of 126 cases per day, it said.

The authority has also reminded travellers not to bring in prohibited items such as firecrackers.

"Controlled items such as 'bak kwa', eggs and potted plants, are subject to travellers' allowance only from approved countries," it said.

Travellers are also reminded to check and ensure that they are using their own passports with remaining validity of six months or more before setting off on their journey.

Last year, about 800 cases of Singaporeans were detected at the land checkpoints using wrong passports or passports earlier reported as lost or stolen.

Such cases would lead to delays and cause inconvenience to the passport holders and other checkpoint users, the ICA said.

-- BERNAMA