ST Explains: What are gazetted, protected areas, and which are you not allowed to enter?

SINGAPORE - A man was hospitalised after he suffered a gunshot wound to his lower back while cycling with his friends in a restricted area between the Upper Seletar and Upper Peirce reservoirs on June 15.
At the time of the incident, the man was about 2.3km away from a military range in Nee Soon, where an authorised live-firing activity was taking place.
Mindef said in a June 16 statement that under the Military Manoeuvres Act (MMA), 'unauthorised persons are not allowed to enter gazetted areas designated for SAF (Singapore Armed Forces) live firing in consideration of their own safety'.
Here is what you need to know about restricted areas in Singapore.
In Singapore, an area can be recognised, or gazetted, by the Government for purposes such as conservation, public safety and national security.
In the case of the cyclist who got hit, he had entered a restricted forest area specified by Mindef for firing practices or military manoeuvres.
Mindef has the authority to declare areas for such purposes under the MMA, said LIMN Law Corporation managing director John Lim, an expert in land law. The ministry may also declare that such areas are no longer used for such military purposes.
Other than military uses, areas may also be gazetted for the purposes of preserving the appearance of an area under the Planning Act, or tree conservation under the Parks and Trees Act, among others.
These would be published in the Government Gazette, an official public record that is available online.
Examples of such areas used by the military are the Jurong Troop Manoeuvring Ground, the Changi Troop Manoeuvring Ground and even Bedok Jetty, Mr Lim noted. Other areas also include firing grounds such as Pulau Tekong, Mandai Camp IV 25m Range and Nee Soon Ranges I and II, he added.
Such areas are comprehensively defined by both coordinates and distance in the Military Manoeuvres Proclamations.
There are two tree conservation areas – Central and Changi – which contain a particularly high density of mature trees. These areas are gazetted to prevent the unapproved felling of these trees, some of which are more than 100 years old, according to NParks.
There are also over 7,000 buildings, mostly shophouses and bungalows, gazetted for conservation. These include buildings in the four historic districts of Boat Quay, Chinatown, Kampong Glam and Little India, and some residential districts such as Cairnhill and Emerald Hill.
You may have seen bright red signs outside certain facilities, warning people that the areas are protected areas or places, and that people should not enter such areas unless they are allowed to.
According to the Singapore Police Force website, a protected area or protected place is a location 'where special measures are needed to control the movement and conduct of persons for public safety and security reasons'.
Protected areas, such as the land checkpoints, are generally accessible to the public, while people have restricted access to protected places, such as military camps and water treatment plants, according to the same website.
There is no one distinguishable factor between gazetted and protected areas or places, according to Mr Lim.
Locations can be designated protected areas or places under the Infrastructure Protection Act (IPA), he said, adding that those locations tend to be sensitive installations or infrastructures such as the ICA Services Centre.
Yes. It is possible that the same areas may be gazetted under both the MMA and the IPA.
An individual found to have unlawfully interfered with a military manoeuvre or entered a camp without authority faces a $2,000 fine or a six-month jail term.
Other examples of punishments include a $20,000 fine and two years' imprisonment under the IPA for anyone caught taking photos or videos of a protected area.
A person found to have damaged a tree with a girth of more than 1m in a tree conservation area faces a $50,000 fine under the Parks and Trees Act.
There are no known prosecutions under the MMA, said Mr Lim.
However, there have been a number of prosecutions under the Protected Areas and Protected Places Act (PAPPA), which was repealed and partially incorporated under the IPA in 2018.
Notably, in 2010, Swiss national Oliver Fricker and his accomplice were sentenced to two months in prison for violating the PAPPA by breaking into SMRT's Changi depot.
The Mindef website publishes advisories on the locations and dates of SAF military exercises, where live-firing and demolition activities may be conducted.
The public should avoid areas where the SAF will be conducting military and live-firing exercises, Mindef says.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction
Discover how to enjoy other premium articles here

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

USA Today

4 hours ago

• USA Today

Three-week rollercoaster: Klaudia Sygula hit full reset after unfortunate circumstances rocked UFC debut

Klaudia Sygula hasn't been on the roster for long, but there have been more ups and downs than many UFC athletes encounter in their entire careers. If the name isn't ringing a bell, Sygula (6-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) gets why. Her debut wasn't great. She knows it, but says that wasn't her. Even as she tries to explain the circumstances of her second-round TKO loss to Melissa Mullins in November, she cuts herself off at even the slightest chance her reasoning could be construed as an excuse. But she pushes through, because a story is a story. Three weeks before that November fight, is when the UFC offer – her dream – came true. Sygula was initially an economics major. She's smart, her grades were good, and school was the priority. When she first signed up for a karate gym, the coach scolded her because of her lack of dedication. But her passion was in the classroom until MMA took over her life and became her obsession. So when that offer came through from Mick Maynard, Sygula couldn't say no. But the time period leading up to that seven-and-a-half minutes inside the cage was a fight within itself. "To be honest, my debut was not good," Sygula recently told MMA Junkie. "One day after I got the UFC contract, my coach ended up in prison. It was not an easy situation for me." Renowned Polish coach Andrzej Koscielski was arrested in October. His arrest was reportedly linked to a 22-year-old murder cold case. Koscielski remains in prison. "He's still in prison. It is not an easy situation," Sygula said. "I think I shouldn't talk more about it. At this moment, it was really hard for me because I was left alone and I had to rely only on myself, so it was not easy." It's never ideal to have to find a new training home as a fighter. But three weeks before your big break fight? Even worse. Sygula's boyfriend and another relatively inexperienced training partner made the trek over to the United States – but it's a trip that almost didn't even happen. It wasn't until Tuesday of fight week that Sygula secured her travel papers. "I took this fight as a replacement," Sygula said. "I wasn't in good shape. I'm not looking for excuses, but the situation was not easy. I didn't have visa. It was hard to take a replacement. I had 12 kilograms to cut. It was not a good camp and I was not in good shape – and this was my debut in the UFC. I didn't show myself and it hurt the most." "I got my fight three weeks before, but I got my visa on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I had flight. On Thursday, I was in Las Vegas. I had to make my weight. On Friday, was the weigh-ins and Saturday, the fight. At that moment, I thought, 'It's not important for me. I'm ready and everything is OK.'" The loss was a disappointment for Sygula, who had to reroute her whole career in the wake of victory. However, as fate as it, Sygula wasn't the only Polish fighter on her debut card. Former UFC title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz fought on the same card and lost. The two met up in the hotel afterward, and Sygula found the positive change she was in dire need of. "(Kowalkiewicz) came with her coach Marcos 'Parrumpa' (De Matta) and that is how I met him," Sygula said. "Unfortunately, we both lost our fights. After the event, we met together in her room to talk about this, to cry together, to eat something. I talked a lot with her coach, with coach Marcos. He convinced me to come to Florida, to ATT. He said one important sentence that stayed with me, which was if I want to be a professional fighter, I have to have professional people around me. I was thinking a lot about this. I thought that I have to change something if I want to stay in the UFC, if I want to change something. I made the decision that I'd come to ATT for the first time to see how it works, to see how their coaches are and how their sparring partners are." For this camp, Sygula found herself brushing shoulders, grappling, and sparring with the likes of Dakota Ditcheva, Kayla Harrison, Bia Mesquita, Yana Santos, and others. She enters her second promotional appearance Saturday at UFC on ABC 8 in Baku, Azerbaijan feeling like a totally different fighter. "I'm sure they will see me, 'real' Klaudia," Sygula said. "Because in the first fight, I didn't show anything. As I've said before, the UFC deserves more. The people, my supporters, they deserve more. I hope that this time, they will see, 'real' Klaudia. I think that will be a better version of me."

Yahoo

10 hours ago

• Yahoo

Anchorage cyclist struck and killed; driver arrested on manslaughter and DUI charges, police say

Jun. 20—A woman who struck and killed a cyclist on C Street in Anchorage on Thursday night has been arrested on charges including manslaughter and driving under the influence, Anchorage police said. Officers were called to C Street near 64th Avenue shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday for a report of a collision with injuries, the Anchorage police said in a statement Friday. Police determined that while driving in a Mazda SUV, Anchorage resident Stephanie Dill had struck the adult male cyclist. The man was declared dead on the scene despite life-saving efforts, Anchorage police said. C Street was closed between Dowling Road and West 64th Avenue for a period of time Thursday night while police processed the scene. Asked for additional details, Anchorage police spokesperson Christopher Barraza said the department had "no other information to share about the cyclist." Dill was arrested on charges of manslaughter, driving under the influence, refusing a chemical test, reckless driving and bribery, police said. She was remanded to Hiland Mountain Correctional Center. Online court records show that charging documents in the case are pending, and that Dill was scheduled to be arraigned on Friday.

CBS News

2 days ago

• CBS News

Colorado prosecutors say no one will be charged in hit-and-run despite finding car

Cycling victim in hit and run reacts to news of no charges in the case Cycling victim in hit and run reacts to news of no charges in the case Cycling victim in hit and run reacts to news of no charges in the case Greg Johnson walks with a limp, part of the aftereffects of what happened to him the morning of June 18, 2022. An avid bicyclist, he was en route to Golden Gate Canyon for one of his long weekend rides. The ride followed his usual commute on a bike from Wheat Ridge to Denver International Airport and back for work most days. But that morning was different. He was struck from behind on 32nd Avenue in Golden by a car and went tumbling over it, taking out a side mirror on the way. He didn't wake up until he was in a hospital. Greg Johnson was struck in a hit-and-run on 32nd Avenue in Golden on June 18, 2022. Bob Shaver "Twenty-plus broken bones. The right femur was shattered into 40 pieces. Right hip was crushed," he listed as some of his injuries. He is full of new parts installed. A back surgery went poorly and he had to have it redone in February. It has been a tribute to his fitness and determination that he has gotten back on a bike. But a 20-to-30-mile slow ride is tops. It hurts to much with all the screws in wrong places he shares. "I'm never going to be back to what I was or where I was," he said. And there is frustration with what happened. "The only ones that have been held responsible for this have been my wife and I." As of June 18, 2025, the statute of limitations has ended the ability for investigators to file charges in the case they worked to make. In Colorado, aside from serious charges like murder or kidnapping, most felony charges have a three-year statute of limitations. And so with no charges filed, no one will be charged, he was told this week by the First Judicial District Attorney's Office in Jefferson County. Not that there wasn't a chance. In the days after the hit-and-run, Colorado State Patrol detectives leading the investigation, acting on a tip, found what they believed was the car involved. It was damaged and was missing the mirror that matched the one left at the scene. They identified an 18-year-old as the car's owner. He was arrested on a warrant connected to a prior DUI charge out of Denver. What they didn't get from the car's owner was a confession. They got no cooperation, says the Colorado State Patrol. Not from the driver or the other two people reportedly in the car with him. "The story that was relayed to me was that the three people who were in the vehicle, all three claimed to have been too intoxicated to know who was driving," said Johnson. In March, Colorado State Patrol investigators met with the district attorney's office. CBS Colorado's Alan Gionet interviews Greg Johnson. CBS "To file criminal charges, the district attorney's office must be able to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a specific individual committed a crime. In this case, the investigation conducted by the Colorado State Patrol did not establish probable cause for who was driving the vehicle, and therefore, they did not recommend charges," said the First Judicial District Attorney's Office director of public affairs Brionna Boatright. Johnson said he heard little from the Colorado State Patrol about the investigation over the past three years. He says he's not upset, but disappointed. "There's got to be some means to follow through with this," said Johnson. Colorado State Patrol spokesperson Trooper Sherri Mendez said: "Our hearts go out to the victim… They put a lot of work into the investigation. In this case, we were all disappointed that the charges didn't go through." Johnson says friends continually ask, 'Why not charge all of them?' In order for there to be a conspiracy, there would have had to have been an agreement to hit the cyclist, explained Boatright. The charge under the circumstances of a traffic case would most likely be as an accessory. But a hit and run is a singular act, and charging as an accessory depends upon someone being charged as the driver. No one is accused as the driver at this point. In effect, the three believed to be in the car investigators connect to the case found a loophole in the law. Johnson says he understands the need to guard against abuse of the rights of the accused. "It is the way it is to protect people's rights from their standpoint, and I completely support and grasp that. But when you're on the other side of it and you look at it, I still find it a stretch to say it's serving justice, the fact that there were three people in that car. All three of them were culpable at some level, at least of not having the humanity to stop and render aid to someone who was severely injured." In the time he is back on a bike, Johnson loves to hear the sounds of birds as he passes them, but wishes he could ride farther up into the canyons like he used to. "I wish it had worked out differently. I wish I had never been on 32nd Avenue at 6 o'clock in the morning… with a drunk driver behind me. It is what it is now."