SINGAPORE – Belgium-based logistics and engineering firm Katoen Natie launched its driverless truck at Jurong Island on Tuesday (October 24).

Part of a collaboration with Singapore Management University and Dutch-based firm VDL Groep, the truck began operations at ExxonMobil’s manufacturing hub in Singapore. It will transport products between the company’s packaging and intermediate storage facilities, covering a round-trip distance of about six to eight kilometers.

The truck will operate 24 hours a day and, if successful, the project will be scaled up to 12 trucks after a six-month test run, moving some 3 million tonnes of cargo annually.

The trucks will go on to public roads in the final phase, shuttling between chemical plants on Jurong Island and to Tuas.

^{Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY}

Katoen Natie Singapore chief executive Koen Cardon previously said at a forum that given the limited availability of truck drivers in Singapore, moving to autonomous transport would be “the right path forward”.

To ensure safety, there will be demarcated speed zones with regulated speed controls built into the vehicle, the installation of key signs on roads within the facility and on the truck, as well as a safety bumper that triggers an emergency stop when it comes into contact with objects.

Other developments in the autonomous-vehicle arena include the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and ST Engineering’s land systems arm, ST Kinetics, inking an agreement in April for a three-and-a-half year autonomous vehicle trial, which could pave the way for driverless buses to ferry passengers along fixed routes based on selected feeder and trunk bus services.

ST Kinetics will build two 40-seater electric buses — the first time a Singapore company is building an autonomous bus — and test them at an industrial area during off-peak hours, before progressing to more complicated test sites.

The buses will use a satellite-based Global Positioning (GPS) System and sensors to scan and determine their location and immediate surroundings. They will also have radars and sonars to detect other vehicles and pedestrians up to 200m ahead.

SINGAPORE — A 52-year-old suspected drug trafficker was arrested in the pre-dawn hours on Tuesday (Oct 24) by officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB).

The Singaporean man was arrested at the traffic junction under Woodsville Flyover in Macpherson.

A small amount of the drug ‘Ice’ and cash amounting to S$2,400 were found on him, while a search of his bicycle led to the discovery of about 1kg of heroin and 25g of ‘Ice’.

The CNB said in a statement that the estimated street value of the drugs is about S$107,000.

Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, a smuggler will get the death penalty if the amount of diamorphine (or pure heroin) trafficked exceeds 15g. According to the CNB, 15g of diamorphine is equivalent to 1,250 straws, enough to “feed the addiction of about 180 abusers for a week”.

Police investigations are ongoing.

^{1kg cannabis seized at Tuas Checkpoint. Photo: CNB}

In a separate case on Monday, a 27-year-old Malaysian man was arrested by officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) after he was directed for further checks at Tuas Checkpoint.

Two bundles of suspected controlled drug wrapped in black tape were discovered hidden inside the left and right fairings — the shell placed over the frame of the motorcycle — of the Malaysian-registered motorcycle.

The man was arrested and handed over to the CNB for further investigations.

The two bundles were later found to contain a total of about 1kg of cannabis, estimated to be worth about S$10,000. According to the CNB, the amount of cannabis seized is sufficient to feed the addiction of about 143 abusers for a week.

Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, those convicted of trafficking more than 500g of cannabis may face the death penalty.