SINGAPORE — A 41-year-old man who flew his DJI Mavic Air drone without a permit on two separate occasions in Punggol was ordered to pay a S$9,000 fine on Thursday (March 5).
Tay Miow Seng, 41, is the second individual to be prosecuted here for illegally operating a drone for recreational purposes within 5km of an airbase.
His friend Ed Chen Junyuan, who was the first to be penalised for the offence, was fined S$2,000 last year.
Tay pleaded guilty to two charges under the Air Navigation Order, including flying his drone in an open field above the Obstacle Limitation Surfaces limit of 64 metres. This would have endangered the safety of aircraft flying in and out of Paya Lebar Air Base.
A third charge of flying his drone within Coney Island without a permit on March 26 last year was taken into consideration for sentencing.
In a statement on Thursday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said that it takes a serious view of such offences and “will not hesitate to take enforcement action against unmanned aircraft operators who contravene regulations”.