‘Not even that dangerous’: 10 jaywalkers fined $50 each in Traffic Police ops near Boon Keng MRT
Nadine Chua
The Straits Times
July 18, 2026
Despite a Traffic Police (TP) officer standing less than 30m away from them, a couple brazenly jaywalked across a busy four-lane road near Boon Keng MRT station on July 13.
They weaved around a lorry, and motorcycles whizzed past as they dashed to the other side of the road, where another TP officer was waiting for them.
Their particulars were taken down and they were each fined $50 for jaywalking.
The couple was among 10 people, aged 24 to 80, who were each offered a composition fine of $50 for jaywalking during an anti-jaywalking operation conducted by TP in Serangoon Road on July 13.
During the operation, which The Straits Times was invited to, at least 20 people jaywalked or tried to jaywalk before being stopped by TP officers.
For almost an hour from 1.30pm, five TP officers patrolled the area outside Boon Keng MRT, advising some who were about to jaywalk to use the signalised pedestrian crossing instead.
One woman in her 70s, who was hobbling while holding an umbrella, was about to step onto the busy road when she was stopped by a TP officer. He told her to use the pedestrian crossing, which was less than 50m away.
She nodded, but jaywalked across the road two minutes later.
Another elderly woman also jaywalked across the road with her domestic helper, before the pair were approached by a TP officer on the other side.
As their particulars were taken down, the domestic helper was heard telling the officer that she had advised her employer to use the pedestrian crossing, but the older woman insisted on taking a shortcut.
A total of 1,421 people were caught for jaywalking in 2025, with 1,591 caught in 2024. These numbers were significantly higher than the annual average of around 1,000 caught from 2021 to 2023.
Most jaywalkers caught by TP officers on July 13 admitted they knew it was wrong, but they did so anyway as they were lazy and wanted to save time. Others lamented that the signalised pedestrian crossing, which was less than a minute’s walk away, was too far.
One jaywalker in his 30s, who declined to be named, told ST: “Jaywalking just takes less than 30 seconds. It’s not even that dangerous.”
Another pedestrian said he jaywalked almost daily, as it was “not a big deal”.
At Bendemeer Road later that day, which was the second location in the TP operation, ST observed at least 12 people jaywalking in a span of 30 minutes.
Several pedestrians who appeared about to jaywalk from Bendemeer Market and Food Centre to the office buildings across the road noticed the TP officers, and used the pedestrian crossing instead.
When ST returned to the location outside Boon Keng MRT station later that day when the TP officers were no longer there, this reporter counted six people jaywalking in a span of 10 minutes.
Most were elderly pedestrians, with some even extending their arms to signal motorists to stop as they made their way across the road.
The number of traffic accidents involving jaywalking elderly pedestrians increased from 95 in 2024, to 101 in 2025.
Of the cases in 2025, 15 were fatal. This was more than double the seven fatal cases in 2024.
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