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LTA, Police remind Presidential convoy to obey traffic rules

SINGAPORE — The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) have reminded Presidential security officers to comply with traffic rules, after a photo of the Presidential convoy being parked along double yellow lines was widely circulated on social media.

In a widely circulated photo on social media and messaging apps, a Land Transport Authority (LTA) officer can be seen talking to the driver of one of the cars, with the special number place "SEP1". Photo: Social Media

In a widely circulated photo on social media and messaging apps, a Land Transport Authority (LTA) officer can be seen talking to the driver of one of the cars, with the special number place "SEP1". Photo: Social Media

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SINGAPORE — The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) have reminded Presidential security officers to comply with traffic rules, after a photo of the Presidential convoy being parked along double yellow lines was widely circulated on social media.

However, even though traffic rules were flouted, the vehicle convoy for Singapore President Halimah Yacob was not issued traffic summons.

In the photo of the incident on Wednesday (Dec 20), a LTA officer can be seen talking to the driver of a white Mercedes with the number plate “SEP1”, which was parked along double yellow lines along Princep Street.

“SEP” is the acronym for Singapore Elected President and “SEP1” is the exclusive car number plate for Singapore’s Head of State.

In a joint statement by the LTA and SPF on Friday (Dec 22), the agencies confirmed that an LTA enforcement officer was conducting his routine patrol along Prinsep Street on Wednesday (Dec 20) when he noticed two vehicles waiting along a stretch of road marked with double yellow lines.

The officer approached the vehicle to ask the driver to drive off, who in turn told the officer that he was there to pick up President Halimah Yacob, “who was leaving the place”.

“In the midst of the engagement, the President arrived and the driver drove off. There was no summons issued,” the LTA and SPF said in the statement.

The agencies also explained that the Police Security Command (SecCom) provides security protection for the President of Singapore 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,” the statement said.

“In this case, the SecCom ground commander had 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,” said the authorities.

The Police have since reviewed the incident with LTA.

They added: “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.”

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