Man arrested for misusing boarding pass to send off his wife at Changi Airport

SINGAPORE - A man was arrested on Sunday (Aug 25) for misusing his boarding pass at the transit area of Changi Airport, police said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

Investigations later revealed that the 27-year-old man was entering the transit area to send off his wife and had no intention of leaving the country.

Since January this year, 33 people have been arrested for the misuse of boarding passes.

In March, a 42-year-old woman from Macau was charged in court over allegedly misusing her boarding pass in the transit area of Changi Airport.

The woman was arrested on Sept 12 last year after she entered the transit area to claim a goods and services tax (GST) refund with no intention of leaving Singapore.

In January 2018, two women were arrested on separate occasions. One case involved a 20-year-old woman who had bought an air ticket to meet members of a South Korean boy band. The other involved a 23-year-old woman used her air ticket to shop at retail stores in the transit area.

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The transit areas of Changi Airport are gazetted as protected places. Passengers who enter the area with a boarding pass should be there for the sole purpose of travelling.

Police warned members of the public that those who misuse their boarding pass to enter transit areas with no intention to travel are liable for an offence under the Infrastructure Protection Act. The offender may be prosecuted in Court and fined up to $20,000, or be jailed for up to two years, or both.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.