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ICA Seized Gun Replicas That Are Declared as ‘Toys’ & They Look Real

2020-09-10 , 1:04 pm

Given the recent case of a Singaporean who was caught selling guns in Thailand, it’s understandable that anything “gun-related” would jump out at you.

Well, there’s now been another gun incident, specifically, gun replicas being bought into Singapore as “toys”.

Here’s what happened.

On 6 Sep (Sunday), Immigrations & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers uncovered four gun replicas and accessories at Tanjong Pagar Scanning Station.

According to the ICA’s Facebook page, anomalies were noticed in the scanned images of a container at the Tanjong Pagar Scanning Station.

The consolidated consignment declared the items within to be toys and household items but the officers decided to check things out.

Conducting “unstuffing operations”, which is just a fancy term for opening up the container and revealing the contents, they found these instead of a Pikachu plushie:

Handed over to relevant authorities

The case was referred to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for investigations.

In the same post, the ICA said that they are the first line of defence protecting Singapore and that they will continue to prevent such attempts.

“Our borders are our first line of defence in safeguarding Singapore’s security. The same method of concealment may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out attacks in Singapore. The ICA will continue to conduct security checks at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle in undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives and other contrabands.”

They then ended the post with the hashtags: #SecureBordersSafeSG and #GuardiansOfOurBorders

Which definitely reminded me of this iconic scene:

Netizens’ Reactions

Many netizens in the Facebook post have applauded the ICA officers for keeping Singapore safe.

Not Illegal To Own A Gun Replica

We all know that possessing a gun in Singapore is illegal and has one of the toughest gun control laws in the world.

Unless it is strictly used for sporting purpose, that is.

In order to get a license to possess Arms (defined as any other kind of gun from which any shot, bullet or other projectiles can be discharged or noxious fumes or noxious substance can be emitted), there are a number of criteria to be met, which can be read here.

However, it is not illegal to own a replica gun here.

But of course, you need to have a license for it as well.

According to Black Tactical, a store that specialises in tactical gear and replicas here in Singapore, all modified guns are to be kept in a place of dwelling solely for display purposes, and should not be carried in public places or in view of the public.

Their website further adds that anyone who needs to carry anything that resembles a gun in public that may cause unnecessary alarm to any member the public is required to seek approval from the Police Licensing Division

Stores that sell or import replicas are subject to official approval.

If you own a replica gun and are caught waving it around causing panic, you might end up like this joker.