SINGAPORE - The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has stepped up checks at checkpoints, including airports, following reports about a missing radioactive device in Malaysia, it said on Saturday (Aug 25).

In response to The Straits Times, the ICA said it is monitoring the case of the reported missing device containing iridium, a radioactive material, in Malaysia.

In its statement, the ICA said: "Our checkpoints have capabilities to detect radiological threats. For example, ICA officers use equipment such as scanners and handheld detectors to screen for radiation levels on cargo, vehicles and travellers entering Singapore."

News broke this week that Malaysian police were hunting for an industrial device containing radioactive material that went missing from the back of a pick-up truck on Aug 10.

The Selangor police and the Atomic Energy Licensing Board have mobilised a special task force to track down the 23kg device, but Selangor police chief Datuk Mazlan Mansor said on Thursday that the police have yet to receive any information as to whether the device has been taken out of Selangor.

Malaysian newspaper The Star reported on Saturday that the increased security checks by the ICA have resulted in longer waiting time for motorists heading into Singapore via the Causeway.

It reported that motorists have noticed an increased number of officers at Woodlands Checkpoint, with officers also being more thorough in their checks.

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