SINGAPORE — A civil engineering company was fined S$9,000 on Monday (July 8) for flying a drone in public for business purposes without a permit, becoming the first firm to be dealt with in court for such a case.

A representative of LT Sambo, which primarily deals with bridge, tunnel, viaduct and elevated highway construction, pleaded guilty to a single charge under 72F(3)(b) of the Air Navigation Order.

The charge carries a maximum fine of S$20,000. Under the law, offenders facing a second or subsequent conviction can face up to 15 months' jail, a fine of up to S$40,000, or both.

The incident happened on Nov 17, 2017, when a civil engineer from LT Sambo flew a DJI Phantom 4 drone along Marine Parade Road.

As the company was carrying out underground foundation works for an MRT development project, it wanted to capture aerial footage of the vicinity for its construction work plan.

In response to media queries, Mr Tan Kah Han, director of airworthiness certification and unmanned aircraft systems at the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), said: “CAAS takes a serious view of errant operations of unmanned aircrafts which may pose threats to aviation or endanger the personal safety of others, and will not hesitate to take enforcement action against unmanned aircraft operators who contravene regulations.”

WHAT HAPPENED

The following is a brief timeline of the events preceding the illegal drone operation.

• Aug 21, 2017: LT Sambo receives a drone operator permit after successfully applying for one.

• Sept 27, 2017: On behalf of the company, Mr Mohamad Wadud Al Hafiz Ponijan, who was employed as a quantity surveyor, applies for an activity permit to operate the drone along Marine Parade Road. LT Sambo also provides its proposed flight plan to CAAS.

• Sept 28, 2017: CAAS responds in an email stating that because the drone would be flown over a public road, with a high concentration of human and vehicular traffic, there are additional risks of damage to property and personal safety. Before granting any activity permit, it asks LT Sambo to provide details of its proposed comprehensive risk mitigating measures. LT Sambo does not do so.

• Nov 17, 2017: LT Sambo flies the drone twice along a 2km-long stretch of Marine Parade Road for about 20 minutes each, at a maximum height of about four storeys. Police officers arrive during the third flight. The matter is then referred to CAAS.

DRONE ‘COULD HAVE HURT SOMEONE’ IF IT FELL

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Tan Yanying sought a S$10,000 fine, pointing to several aggravating factors.

In particular, she noted that LT Sambo was in the midst of applying for an activity permit, but did not answer CAAS’ requests for more information.

The small unmanned aircraft, which weighed 1.38kg, could have caused “considerable… potential damage on impact in a densely populated area” as well, the prosecutor added. If the drone fell to the ground in mid-flight, it would have reached the ground in 1.5 seconds.

“Unsuspecting pedestrians and road users would have had inadequate time to react to the drone, to get out of harm’s way,” DPP Tan said.

In mitigation, LT Sambo’s lawyer, Mr Wong Tjen Wee, told the court that he was not sure why the company did not finish the application process. He added that the drone was for safety or surveillance purposes, and that LT Sambo had taken safety precautions on the day, but he did not elaborate on what they were.

District Judge Luke Tan agreed that a deterrent sentence should be imposed, noting that LT Sambo’s application had been “practically rejected” before it could give more comprehensive risk mitigating measures.