HIJACKING OF VIETNAMESE AIRCRAFT (Landing in Singapore)

Dr Ong Leong Boon asked the Minister for Home Affairs and Education if he will (i) give a detailed account to the House of the hijacking of the Vietnamese DC-3 Aircraft that landed at Seletar Aerodrome on 29th October, 1977; and (ii) enlighten the House if the police were at the Aerodrome when the hijacked aircraft landed.

Mr Chua Sian Chin: Sir, at 1522 hours on Saturday, 29th October, 1977, Paya Lebar Airport received a message from the Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control Centre to the effect that Bangkok had informed it of a hijacked aircraft which had taken off at 1210 hours (local time) and was heading south. No other details were then available, either about the aircraft, hijackers or how it all arose.

At 1624 hours the hijacked aircraft established radio contact with our Joint Air Traffic Control Centre (JATCC) and identified itself as belonging to Air Vietnam. Its position was then reported as 40 miles north of Mersing. The pilot requested for permission to land at Singapore Airport. When JATCC refused their request to land, the pilot pleaded that he must land at Singapore Airport because the aircraft was short of fuel.

At 1657 hours the pilot reported that he had only 35 minutes of fuel left and repeated his request to land in Singapore. At this point the pilot also informed our JATCC that there were four hijackers armed with knives and pistols, two dead bodies and 34 passengers on board.

As the aircraft was observed on radar to be still heading towards Paya Lebar, it was directed towards Seletar Airport. The aircraft landed at Seletar Airport at 1730 hours after landing instructions and weather information were given to the pilot. It was directed to park on the northern- most taxiway facing west. Immediately after the aircraft was parked, Police Reserve Unit troops who had arrived earlier at 1706 hours at Seletar Airport took up position surrounding the aircraft.

After the aircraft landed, several government officers, members of a committee to handle such emergencies, arrived and proceeded to the Seletar Airport Control Tower and were in communication with the pilot. At 1758 hours the pilot of the hijacked aircraft relayed a message seeking contact with government authorities. He confirmed that there were 34 passengers on board and two crew members were dead. Following exchanges between the pilot and the Control Tower, two persons from the aircraft and two government representatives met on the tarmac.

The Permanent Secretary (Home Affairs) had as Chairman of this group of officers taken decisions on the courses of action to be taken, in the light of the facts then available.

Negotiations continued until the hijackers agreed to surrender their arms. They surrendered their arms at 1945 hours. Immediately after that the injured person was brought down for treatment. After initial medical attention at the tarmac and the Base Sick Bay the injured person was taken away and admitted to Toa Payoh Hospital.

The passengers who had in the meanwhile come down were then moved to the Airport Terminal Building where they were given refreshments before being transported to the dining hall of a SAF Unit in Seletar Airport to be fed and subsequently bedded in the barracks for the night. The four hijackers were placed under guard and subsequently taken away by officers of the CID Special Investigation Section for questioning. The aircraft was thereafter cleared by the Bomb Disposal Unit. At 0130 hours on 30th October 1977 the pilot and co-pilot were offered to the press for an interview on the hijack incident.

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation officials with the help of the staff of several companies engaged in refuelling, servicing and ground handling of aircrafts in Seletar Airport, worked through the night to prepare the aircraft for take-off. A post-mortem on the two dead bodies was also arranged and conducted during this time and completed by daybreak. Opportunity was also taken during the night to take statements from eye witnesses, the pilot and co-pilot on what actually took place in the aircraft when it was hijacked.

At 0814 hours after breakfast, the passengers were taken to the aircraft for boarding. At 0937 hours the aircraft departed for Ho Chi Minh City and arrived there at 1346 hours Singapore time.

The Police were there at the Aerodrome when the hijacked plane landed.