Reuangthieng Miss Varinda was fined on Jan 8 after she pleaded guilty to obstructing an immigration officer in the execution of his duty. - ST
SINGAPORE: A Thai woman, who was said to be drunk when she disembarked from a plane at Changi Airport, scratched an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer who was directing her for manual immigration clearance.
Reuangthieng Miss Varinda, 45, was fined S$3,000 (US$2191) in court on Jan 8 after she pleaded guilty to obstructing an immigration officer in the execution of his duty.
Another charge for using criminal force on a public servant was taken into consideration during sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Janessa Phua said Varinda arrived at Terminal 1 at 7.40pm on Aug 28, 2024, from Bangkok, having consumed alcohol during her flight.
While using an automated lane for immigration clearance, she ignored the instructions of an ICA officer who told her to look into a camera and tried to exit the lane before being cleared.
The officer asked Varinda for her travel itinerary and whom she was travelling with, and observed that her speech was slurred and incoherent.
Varinda was then taken to the duty office for secondary checks and told to wait at a lounge beside a counter where her passport was placed.
“At this point, the accused became increasingly agitated,” DPP Phua said.
Another ICA officer, on duty to perform secondary screenings on incoming travellers, noticed Varinda’s behaviour and went to help her clear immigration at the manual counter at the office.
He retrieved her passport and instructed her to use the biometric and fingerprint scanner at the counter.
Instead of complying, Varinda snatched her passport from the officer and walked towards the automated lanes.
After she placed her passport on a scanner, a third ICA officer took it and tried to escort her back to the duty office.
Varinda snatched her passport from the officer and scratched his right forearm as she was doing so.
Varinda was then escorted to a holding room, and the police were alerted. She was arrested later that day.
Submitting for a “high fine”, DPP Phua said Varinda behaved in an uncooperative and defiant manner, even though she was neither attempting to conceal any other offences nor trying to enter Singapore illegally.
She noted that Varinda has underlying mental conditions of panic disorder and recurrent depressive disorder.
The prosecutor also clarified, upon a query from District Judge Brenda Chua, that it was the prosecution’s position that Varinda was intoxicated at that time.
David Nayar, Varinda’s lawyer, asked for a fine of S$2,000 (US$1461), saying that while his client was uncooperative, she was not extremely belligerent.
For obstructing an immigration officer in the execution of his duty, Varinda could have been jailed for up to 12 months, fined up to S$4,000 (US$ 2921), or both. – The Straits Times/ANN
