SINGAPORE, 24 Dec 2017:
In Singapore no one is above the law. Cars belonging to its president Halimah Yacob’s convoy were almost issued summonses by the authority on Wednesday as they were waiting along double yellow lines at Prinsep Street.
A photo of a Land Transport Authority (LTA) officer talking to a driver of a white Mercedes bearing a plate number “SEP1”, was circulated on social media since Wednesday.
“SEP1” is the exclusive car number plate for Singapore’s head of state and “SEP” is the acronym for Singapore elected president.
Quoting a joint statement by LTA and Singapore Police Force (SPF), Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported that an LTA enforcement officer was conducting his routine patrol along Prinsep Street on Wednesday when he noticed two vehicles waiting along a stretch marked with double yellow lines.
The officer approached the vehicle to ask the driver to drive off, in line with LTA’s approach to enforcing the double yellow lines regulation, said the report.
“The driver informed the LTA enforcement officer that he was there to pick up the president who was leaving the place. In the midst of the engagement, the president arrived and the driver drove off. There was no summons issued,” LTA and SPF were quoted as saying.
CNA reported that the agencies explained that the Police Security Command (SecCom) provides security protection for the president and other senior political leaders.
“As part of the security protection operations, the vehicle convoy is to be positioned close to the event location in compliance with traffic rules, to facilitate swift evacuation during contingencies.”
In this case, the SecCom ground commander made a decision for the convoy to wait there for the president as there were no street-side parking lots available in the immediate vicinity – which would have allowed the convoy to come quickly to the scene in the event of an emergency, they added.
The online news reported that the police and LTA have reviewed this incident and SecCom officers have been reminded to park the convoy “in compliance with traffic rules, without compromising their mission to ensure the safety and security of those they are escorting”.
The president’s security officers have been reminded to park the convoy “in compliance with traffic rules”, the authorities reportedly said.