Man Jailed for Illegally Entering SAF Training Area With 3 Different Excuses

It’s easy to spot a SAF training area, for you’d see something like this plastered everywhere:

Image: Colourfusion.net / Shutterstock.com

Men with assault rifles could be hiding somewhere, and you could be fired upon by blanks only for the soldiers to come out and say, “Simi sai!? Who you?”

It’s therefore advisable to avoid these areas. We’ve not even touched on the tanks that can move faster than your car.

But two men didn’t get the memo, and one is going to jail for that.

Man Jailed for Illegally Entering SAF Training Area With 3 Different Excuses

On 9 September 2020, two men decided to trespass into an SAF training area in Lim Chu Kang.

While it’s not revealed where the area is, it should be the training area at Sungei Gedong, a large training area at the northwest of Singapore.

That morning, two men, Ng Kiong Hoe, 63 years old, Cheng Lee Meng, 61 years old, had used a key to enter the padlocked training area.

They had reportedly gone there to pick pandan leaves.

When they entered the training grounds, a warrant officer caught them.

Cheng initially told the warrant officer that he was a contractor and was assigned to do some work at the location. The warrant officer did not believe his bluff as he knew that there was no works to be done that day.

Cheng then changed his account, saying that he wanted to enter the premises to conduct prayers.

And like a true Encik style, the warrant officer didn’t believe him, too.

Finally, Cheng said he was there to pick pandan leaves.

The warrant officer then called the police.

It’s still unknown if the real reason for the trespass is to pick pandan leaves, though that was what he admitted to the police. Anyone who’s been through the army would now wonder: could they operating a Ninja Van, a van that goes into training grounds to sell food and snacks?

In August this year, Ng had pleaded guilty and fined $2,000.

As for Cheng, he contested the charge then, and yesterday, he got a heavier sentence: a two-month jailtime.

He had initially told the police that he got the key due to his previous work at Ama Keng Dormitory, but further investigations show that it was untrue as the padlock has been changed.

The investigators then found out that he had got someone to duplicate the key for him. The person conducted pest control work at SAF training grounds so he had the key.

In addition, it’s revealed that the pest control worker also told Cheng that there was no training on 9 September, the day that Cheng and Ng trespassed into the area.

Well, this means they might not be operating an illegal Ninja Van after all, and was indeed there for the pandan leaves.

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Featured Image: Colourfusion.net / Shutterstock.com