Road barriers
26.—(1)  Despite any other law in force in Singapore, any police officer may, if the police officer considers it necessary to do so for the maintenance and preservation of law and order or for the prevention or detection of crime —
(a)erect or place barriers in or across any public road or street or in any public place in such manner as the police officer may think fit; and
(b)take all reasonable steps to prevent any vehicle being driven or ridden past, or any person from crossing, any such barrier.
(2)  Where a barrier is erected or placed in or across any public road or street or in any public place pursuant to subsection (1), a police officer may order the driver or rider of any vehicle travelling in the direction of the barrier —
(a)to proceed towards the barrier and stop the vehicle at or near, or before reaching the barrier; and
(b)to remain in the vehicle and keep the vehicle stationary until permitted by a police officer to proceed.
(3)  An order under subsection (2) to the driver or rider of any vehicle may be given —
(a)by spoken word in a manner which is likely to be audible to the driver or rider;
(b)by any recognised hand signal in a manner which is likely to be visible to the driver or rider; or
(c)by any other prescribed signal which is likely to be audible or visible to the driver or rider.
(4)  If any notice or sign warning of the presence of a barrier erected or placed in or across any public road or street or in any public place pursuant to subsection (1), is displayed to traffic approaching the barrier, the notice or sign constitutes and is to be treated, for the purposes of this section, as an order under subsection (2) addressed by a police officer to any driver or rider of any vehicle who is travelling in the direction of the barrier and who ought reasonably to have seen the notice or sign to do the following:
(a)to proceed towards the barrier and stop the vehicle at or near, or before reaching the barrier;
(b)to remain in the vehicle and keep the vehicle stationary until permitted by a police officer to proceed.
(5)  Any driver or rider of any vehicle commits an offence if —
(a)he or she is ordered under subsection (2) by a police officer —
(i)to proceed towards the barrier and stop the vehicle at or near, or before reaching the barrier; and
(ii)to remain in the vehicle and keep the vehicle stationary until permitted by a police officer to proceed; and
(b)he or she fails —
(i)to proceed towards the barrier and stop the vehicle at or near, or before reaching the barrier; or
(ii)to remain in the vehicle and keep the vehicle stationary until permitted by a police officer to proceed.
(6)  Where a barrier is erected or placed in or across any public road or street or in any public place pursuant to subsection (1), a police officer may direct a pedestrian travelling in the direction of the barrier —
(a)to proceed towards the barrier and stop at or near, or before reaching the barrier; and
(b)to remain there until permitted by a police officer to continue.
(7)  A person who is a pedestrian travelling on any public road or street or in any public place commits an offence if the person fails to comply with any direction of a police officer to the person under subsection (6).
(8)  A person who is guilty of an offence —
(a)under subsection (5) shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or to both; or
(b)under subsection (7) shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both.
(9)  In proceedings against an accused for an offence under subsection (5) or (7), where it is alleged that the accused failed to comply with an order under subsection (2) or a direction under subsection (6) (as the case may be), it is a defence for the accused to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that it was not reasonably practicable to do more than what was in fact done to comply with the order or direction, as the case may be.
(10)  Any police officer may, without warrant, arrest —
(a)any driver or rider of any vehicle who fails to comply with an order under subsection (2) by a police officer;
(b)any pedestrian who fails to comply with a direction under subsection (6) by a police officer; or
(c)any driver or rider of any vehicle mentioned in paragraph (a), or any pedestrian mentioned in paragraph (b), who in response to a request by a police officer giving the order or direction —
(i)refuses to give his or her name and a residential address in Singapore; or
(ii)gives a name which the police officer has reason to believe is false or misleading or gives an address other than the full and correct residential address in Singapore of the driver, rider or pedestrian, as the case may be.
(11)  No police officer shall be liable for any loss or damage to any vehicle, or for any injury to the driver or rider or any other occupant of the vehicle, as a result of the driver or rider of the vehicle failing to obey any police officer acting under this section.
[Act 21 of 2021 wef 01/01/2022]