KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 ― Police on duty at Singapore's Istana momentarily stopped traffic to allow a family of otters to cross the busy Orchard Road safely.

The encounter came to light following a one-minute clip showing the family of up to 16 otters crossing the road was shared on social media, Mothership reported.

The sped-up clip, shot by a commuter on a double-decker bus, showed the otters outside the main Istana gate waiting to cross the road.

Seeing the mammals, the Istana police guards on sentry duty promptly turned the traffic light red to allow the mammals to cross the road.

At one point, one guard had to stand in the middle of the road to hold the traffic as some of the otters were trailing behind.

This incident was a far cry from the previous encounter in January last year where a family of otters were almost run over by a taxi on the same road.

According to the portal, there were no wardens regulating vehicles at that time and the otters made a mad dash across the road.