Man charged with flying drone at Singapore Flyer during National Day Parade

SINGAPORE — A 21-year-old man was charged in court on Wednesday (Oct 2) after he flew a drone near the Padang during the National Day Parade (NDP) this year.

Tan Jin Kang allegedly remotely piloted a DJI Mavic 2 Zoom drone along Raffles Avenue in front of the Singapore Flyer at 7.55pm on Aug 9.

His charge sheet states that the drone ascended for a distance of 10.8m for about 45 seconds. 

Members of the public were not allowed to fly any unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) without a valid permit between 12am and 11.59pm that day. 

This was part of the enhanced security measures imposed around the Padang for the NDP, which this year included foreign dignitaries as guests — Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and their spouses were in the audience. 

In a statement sent on Tuesday night, the police said that they had spotted the drone flying along Raffles Avenue at about 7.55pm and managed to locate the man operating it “through ground inquiries”. 

They later detained Tan and seized the drone.

Tan will return to court on Oct 30. He told the court on Wednesday that he intends to plead guilty and does not intend to engage a lawyer. 

If convicted, he could be jailed up to 12 months, or fined up to S$20,000, or both.