Tourists stranded at Woodlands Checkpoint: Bus company apologises, says driver waited 30 minutes before leaving

Bus operator Billion Stars Express has apologised to the two Australian passengers who said they were stranded at Woodlands Checkpoint after the coach bus departed without them on June 6.

In a TikTok video posted that day, passenger Brenda Tee said she and her boyfriend had taken the overnight express bus from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.

Tee claimed that they had taken "no more than 15 minutes" to clear immigration at Woodlands Checkpoint. But when they reached the pick-up point, the bus had already left.

And when she called Billion Stars Express, the customer service personnel allegedly told her: "You took too long, my bus driver cannot wait."

In a Facebook post last Friday (June 14), Billion Stars Express said in a statement that they "sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and poor experience" caused to the two tourists.

However, the operator stated that the passengers had "deliberately fabricated and disseminated false information" which "could severely harm our company's standing".

They revealed that the coach bus had waited for 31 minutes while Tee and her boyfriend were handling immigration procedures.

"Due to the extended waiting period, the bus had to leave to avoid delaying the schedule for other passengers.

"We sincerely hope the mentioned passengers understand the bus company's need to balance the interests and time of all passengers."

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com