SAF expects ‘expeditious’ return of 9 armoured vehicles held by Hong Kong

SINGAPORE — Nine armoured vehicles belonging to the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and en route back from routine overseas training have been held by Hong Kong Customs authorities since Wednesday (Nov 23).

Hong Kong media, including the South China Morning Post (SCMP), broke the news of the detention on Thursday, which the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) confirmed, saying: “The Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicles were used by the SAF in routine overseas training and shipped back via commercial means as with previous exercises.”

The shipment, which also contained other unspecified equipment, was held at Hong Kong’s Kwai Chung Container Terminal “due to a request for routine inspections by the Hong Kong Customs authorities”, Mindef added. Mindef did not specify where the overseas training was but various Hong Kong media reports said the shipment had come from Taiwan. 

SCMP cited an anonymous government source as saying that “Hong Kong was not its final destination. It is not known why the consignment was unloaded here”. It also published a picture showing an uncovered Terrex. The seizure was made at the terminal after 12 containers were unloaded from a vessel arriving from Taiwan, the newspaper reported.

FactWire, an investigative journalism news agency founded and funded by Hong Kong residents which pays particular attention to China, posted pictures which showed the armoured vehicles wrapped in tarpaulin being guarded by at least two Customs officers. 

Citing unnamed sources, it said the armoured vehicles were found along with explosives, sparking suspicion of firearms smuggling activities. But Mindef said in its statement the shipment contained no ammunition.

FactWire, which broke news in July of SMRT returning 26 out of 35 defective China-made trains for repairs, said Hong Kong’s regulations list armoured vehicles as strategic commodities, for which import, export or transshipment requires a licence issued by the Director-General of Trade and Industry. 

The maximum penalty for failing to obtain a licence is an unlimited fine and seven years’ imprisonment, SCMP reported, adding that an investigation is underway, and no arrests have been made.

Mindef said the Singapore authorities are providing relevant assistance to the Hong Kong Customs and “expect the shipment to return to Singapore expeditiously”.

Designed and made in Singapore, the Terrex, which can carry more than 10 men, is the result of a partnership between the army, Singapore Technologies Kinetics and the Defence Science & Technology Agency. It has seven variants including command, trooper and medical versions.