While the entire country was eagerly waiting to welcome top delegates for the Singapore Summit, on Thursday, June 7 police arrested two South Korean men, who were allegedly trying to trespassing at the home of the North Korean ambassador.
Reports stated that those two men, aged between 42 and 45, are the employees of South Korean broadcaster KBS News. The police said in a statement in a news release on Friday that they were alerted to the alleged trespassing incident, which took place in Joo Chiat Lane at around 3.50 pm.
However, regarding the investigation, officers are interrogating two more employees of the same broadcasting agency, aged between 29 and 31. The reports showed that these two South Korean individuals work as a guide and interpreter. Police also confirmed that three KBS news employees are not accredited media personnel in Singapore.
The trespassing incident took place just a few days before the high profile scheduled summit, which will happen on June 12 between US President Donald Trump and the leader of Democratic People's Republic Kim Jong Un.
Later the police stated that trespassing in the country is a serious offence and those who violated the law will be dealt with firmly and that may include the visa termination as well as repatriation. In addition, they also said the media officials, who commit any crime in the country, will also not be accredited and thus will not be allowed to cover the summit between US and North Korea.
As per the law of this south-east Asian country, Section 441 governs Criminal trespass, "Where a person enters into a property that is owned by another with the intent to commit an offence or to intimidate the owner, or when he unlawfully remains in the property with the intent to intimidate the owner."
Under Section 447, if a person found guilty of such offence then the convict can face an imprisonment up to 3 months, or fined up to $1,500, or both.
Section 442 stated that a person commits House trespass offence by entering into or remaining in a place used as a human dwelling, place of worship or place for the custody of the property. A convict of this offence can face imprisoned for up to 1 year, or fined up to $3,000, or both under Section 448.
There are other penalties, which could be applicable depending on the seriousness of the offence. These are:
- Under Section 449, if house-trespass was committed in order to commit an offence punishable with death, the convicted person shall be imprisoned for life or for up to 10 years, while also liable to a fine.
- Under Section 450, if house-trespass was committed in order to commit an offence punishable with life imprisonment, the convicted person shall be imprisoned for up to 10 years, while also liable to a fine.
- Under Section 451, if house-trespass was committed in order to commit an offence punishable with imprisonment, the convicted person shall be imprisoned for up to 2 years, while also liable to a fine. If the intended offence to be committed was theft, the term of imprisonment may be extended to 7 years.
- Under Section 452, if house-trespass was committed after preparation for causing hurt to any person was made, the convicted person shall be imprisoned for up to 7 years, while also liable to a fine.
