Quoting a Singapore defence ministry spokesman, the report said the incident happened at 9.20am after it received reports of a potential threat.

“After ensuring that our security was not compromised, we stood down our aircraft,” the spokesperson told the news network.

The ministry was responding to CNA’s queries about a report of a Malaysian police helicopter that allegedly flew into Singapore airspace. The spokesman did not provide details of the “potential air threat”.

“On average, the RSAF fighter aircraft are deployed to investigate and deal with 350 potential air threats each year,” the defence ministry added.

Yesterday, Bukit Aman had denied reports that F16 jets were scrambled by the Singapore air force to intercept a Malaysian police helicopter that had allegedly intruded into the republic’s airspace.

Bukit Aman security and public order director Hazani Ghazali told FMT that Singapore had not alerted them about any such intrusion.

“There was no notification from Singapore that (the police helicopter) had intruded into their airspace.”

The helicopter was said to have taken off from a field opposite Jalan Yahya Aldatar in Johor Bahru at about 1am yesterday.