First individuals charged for flying drones without permit near airbase

SINGAPORE — Two men have become the first individuals prosecuted here for flying drones without a permit near an airbase.

Ed Chen Junyuan, 37, and Tay Miow Seng, 40, were charged in court on Friday (July 5) for allegedly flying drones recreationally at an open field in Punggol, which is within 5km of the Paya Lebar Air Base.

They each face one charge under the Air Navigation Order, which states that it is illegal for anyone to operate a small unmanned aircraft within 5km of an airport or an airbase, unless issued with a Class 2 activity permit for recreation or research.

The men allegedly flew their devices at about 9pm on June 26 at an open field near Block 128C Punggol Field.

Charge sheets stated that Tay was flying a 430g “bumblebee-wrapped” DJI-branded drone, while Chen was flying a 357g DBPOWER FPV drone.

If convicted, they can be fined up to S$20,000 each. Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to 15 months, and fined up to S$40,000.

The accused were represented by lawyers Josephus Tan and Cory Wong, and will return to court on Aug 2.

So far, only a construction company has been taken to court for a similar offence.

On May 28, the Singapore branch of LT Sambo Co was charged with operating a 1.3kg DJI Phantom 4 drone along Marine Parade Road on Nov 17, 2017 without a Class 1 activity permit, which is required to fly drones for business purposes. The case against the firm has not yet concluded.