'Time wasted at immigration is not worth': E-gate glitch at JB checkpoint leaves thousands stranded

Jostling with a crowd that was at least a few thousand strong and queues going as far as the eye can see - that was what many had to deal with at the Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) checkpoint on Sunday. 

"If you are coming back to Singapore now, good luck," TikTok user MyKindGuide said in a video post on Sunday (Dec 8) documenting the crowds.

Thousands were stuck for up to four hours amid e-gate failures in Johor Bahru on Sunday as they attempted to enter Singapore through the checkpoint.

The outage affected at least 42 autogates at the bus halls and KTM station from 12.30pm, forcing immigration officers in Malaysia to manually clear travellers, The Star reported.

Other lanes were also activated to divert travellers at the entry and exit bus halls.

"This has never happened before at the JB CIQ, and it comes at the worst time, especially on a Sunday with a huge number of people, including Singaporeans, coming in for the long school holidays," a security official told The Star.

"Some of them have been stuck for hours due to the long lines at the bus arrival and exit halls."

Online, may users were dissatisfied with the long queues.

"The time wasted at the immigration is not worth going to JB," a user commented on TikTok.

Another said: "[I've had this happen to me] once. Will never go in again."

The outage did not affect immigration clearance for cars, motorcycles and heavy vehicles, and neither did it affect other government agencies.

However, Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) issued a travel advisory on Monday asking people to delay their journey to Johor Baru to help ease the situation.

Check conditions before travel: ICA

Following a gradual reactivation of the autogates, all gates have been brought back online, The Straits Times reported on Monday (Dec 9). 

This includes the gates at the BSI checkpoint, dispersing the large crowds that had formed amid the glitch.

As of Monday, all autogates at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) complex are now operational and huge crowds at the bus halls have started to disperse.

However, ICA cautioned in a Facebook post at 9am on Monday that there was heavy departure traffic at Woodlands Checkpoint due to tailback from Malaysia.

"Delays are expected and travellers are advised to check traffic conditions before embarking on their journey," the post also stated.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com