SINGAPORE - A 28-year-old Malaysian woman believed to be on drugs was arrested last week at Woodlands Checkpoints for not complying with the instructions of officers.

The woman, who was driving a Malaysia-registered car, was stopped by a traffic police auxiliary police officer at about 8.35pm on April 3, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a statement on Wednesday (April 11).

The police officer had been regulating traffic towards Woodlands Checkpoint. The woman did not comply with the officer's instruction and made an unauthorised right turn from Woodlands Centre Road towards the checkpoint during restricted hours.

She was directed to the traffic control post at Woodlands Crossing for her summons to be processed.

However, as she was driving towards the control post, she accelerated dangerously up the ramp towards the checkpoint, almost knocking into an ICA officer.

When her vehicle came to a stop at the checkpoint, the woman refused to alight from the car and instead locked herself inside, ICA said.

Checkpoint officers noticed that she seemed to be experiencing breathing difficulties after ingesting a white tablet.

Despite attempts to persuade her to unlock the car door, she refused to comply.

Officers had to break the front passenger window of the car to reach her and an ambulance was activated.

After it was assessed that she did not need to be taken to hospital, the woman was arrested for failure to comply with the instruction of authorised officers.

The Police K-9 unit conducted further checks on the woman and her car and uncovered one Erimin-5 wrapper on the centre console of her car.

Another Erimin-5 tablet was found inside her handbag.

Known also as Nimetazepam, the drug is a type of depressant taken orally in tablet form.

While it helps a person calm down and sleep, excessive use can lead to harmful effects such as loss of consciousness, distorted judgment and sight, as well as difficulty in speaking and moving.

Suspecting that she was driving under the influence of drugs, officers swabbed her hands and belongings, which yielded positive results for controlled drugs.

The woman was also in possession of a vape device, which was believed to also contain a controlled drug.

The woman and her car were handed over to the police and the Central Narcotics Bureau. Investigations are ongoing.