WE REFER to the letter, "Open more lanes at checkpoint", by Mr Chua Kheng Yeow (my paper, Oct 12).

On Saturday, Oct 3, the Woodlands Checkpoint experienced a higher traffic volume from 10.30pm till after midnight for both arrivals and departures.

It was during this peak period that Mr Chua entered the checkpoint.

Contrary to his claims that he waited 45 minutes for a vehicle check, our records show that he reached the immigration booth at 12.41am and left the checkpoint at 1.09am.

The total time taken was 28 minutes.

As with any peak period when travellers choose to use checkpoints at the same time, a longer waiting time is not unexpected.

It is imperative to conduct mandatory security checks on all vehicles, as smugglers have used conveyances to conceal illegal immigrants and items of security concern.

Stepped-up checks are also required during peak periods as smugglers have been known to try to exploit the traffic situation for their smuggling attempts.

While Mr Chua may see it as a "cursory check", our officers are trained to look for telltale signs and suspicious behaviour swiftly.

In his letter, Mr Chua questioned the need to deploy officers to direct traffic near the immigration booths.

These officers are deployed to perform security-observation duties and assist in directing vehicles to available booths.

We have observed that some drivers are selective about the immigration booth they queue up at, such as those who wait for a counter that operates on the driver's side, for their convenience.

Such selective queueing slows down operations and creates a bottleneck.

We appreciate the public's feedback on ways to improve our clearance efficiency.

However, security measures must take precedence as we strive to ensure that undesirables, be they people, goods or conveyances, do not slip through our border checkpoints.

We would be doing Singapore a disservice if we compromised on security at the nation's first line of defence.

Ms Chia Hui Keng
Head, Public & Internal Communications Branch
Corporate Communications Division
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority

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