POLICE MRT UNITS (Standard Operating Procedures)

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POLICE MRT UNITS:

(Standard Operating Procedures): 2.

Dr Chong Weng Chiew asked the Minister for Home Affairs what are the standard operating procedures for the new Police MRT units, particularly with regard to their patrols of MRT stations and other public areas and the use of firearms in these places.

The Minister for Home Affairs (Mr Wong Kan Seng): Mr Speaker, Sir, Police

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have deployed dedicated armed officers at Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations and on board trains starting from today. The mission of the new Police MRT Unit is to deter and detect potential terrorist attacks in the MRT through armed police presence, high visibility patrols and security checks.

The deployment of Police officers at MRT stations is not a new initiative. Since 9-11, Police have increased patrols at MRT stations as well as at places where there are large crowds. However, the skills required for MRT Unit officers are distinct from those of NPC officers. They will be equipped with specialised skills and knowledge to handle typical incidents in MRT stations, eg, response to improvised explosive devices (IEDs), bomb hoaxes, suicide, molest and pick-pocket, to conduct searches of persons, buildings and vehicles. The dedicated Police MRT Unit will complement the existing security measures adopted by the two MRT operators, which include the use of surveillance CCTVs and the deployment of private security guards.

Officers from the Police MRT Unit will concentrate primarily on security duties and be on the lookout for suspicious persons and items. However, the officers will also respond to a crime report and apprehend the suspect at the scene, if possible.

The officers will be equipped with revolvers. The rules of engagement on the use of firearms are similar to those of other police officers from the Police Divisions or Neighbourhood Police Centres. This is governed by the Singapore Police Force's Use of Force and Firearms Doctrine. Under this Doctrine, if an officer is confronted with a situation where there is immediate danger to life, he is authorised to use necessary force to remove the danger, and this may extend to the use of firearms.

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Let me reiterate, Sir, that implementing enhanced Police measures on the MRT system is not an indication of a specific threat against the MRT or any public transport infrastructure. Rather, it is part of our ongoing efforts to keep Singapore safe and secure. Members of the public are advised not to be alarmed, and they should also play their part in the safety and security of Singapore and remain vigilant.

Dr Chong Weng Chiew (Tanjong Pagar): Sir, I would like to ask the Minister whether there would be sufficient public education, as this is a new Police Unit. I think, to many members of the public, they would not know what are the standard operating procedures that the Minister has talked about earlier on.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Sir, I am confident that Singaporeans are aware of public education as in the form of alerting the public as to what they should look out for when they come across suspicious items or persons and report them to the police; and many of them are already playing a role in this. Of course, the message needs to go down further so that everyone gets involved and plays a deeper role.

The Police MRT Unit officers are dressed differently from the normal NPC officers. They are dressed like the Special Operations Command officers and their role is to patrol our MRT and transport system. So when members of the public see these officers, they will be able to distinguish the Police MRT officers from the rest. Over time, members of the public will get used to the idea and know what our officers are supposed to do.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo: I would like to ask the Minister whether there would be any drill exercises for MRT commuters,

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like we would do for fire drills, so as to prepare citizens on how to actually react in response to a crisis situation.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: As Members are aware, the Singapore Civil Defence Force has conducted a number of such civil defence exercises using the MRT stations as exercise areas and this has been going on for years, and members of the public are involved, including our grassroots leaders. In the case of Pasir Ris, for example, I think they had a large community turn-out to support the "Heartland Alert" exercise which they did last year and this year.

I want to encourage all advisers of grassroots organisations to take advantage of that and make full use of the resources made available by the SCDF and the Police to conduct such exercises. At the same time, security agencies like the Police, SCDF and others involved in the security of Singapore, including MOH for example - because we need the hospitals to help with the medical treatment of those who may be affected by a bomb explosion or by any civil disaster - are involved in such exercises. And we have from time to time conducted such exercises. There will be a major exercise coming up in November in which we will simulate several incidents in different MRT stations, and we hope that the public can also get involved to get an idea of what it means and what to do when they unfortunately have to experience such an incident in the MRT station.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong (Tampines): Can I ask the Minister whether our Police Officers have a similar kind of instruction that the London Police have, which is to shoot to kill any suspected suicide bomber on the spot? In the recent case of London, they actually shot an innocent person. Can the Minister please enlighten us?

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Mr Wong Kan Seng: Sir, we have evolved our doctrine of rules on engagement according to the circumstances. In our context today, we have not come across a suicide bomber case, and we hope that we will not come across one. But I would not rule that out because suicide bombing is one of the preferred tactics of the terrorists to frighten and intimidate normal citizens. In the case of other countries where they have experienced this, they have indeed adopted a shoot-to-kill policy because they cannot leave it to chance that this person may turn out to be a suicide bomber, as we have seen in the case of London. But, in our case, the Police Officer has to use his judgement. He has to assess at the time when he is confronted with a person who may appear to be a suicide bomber and, in his opinion, to neutralise the threat, he may have to take such an action.

Assoc. Prof. Chin Tet Yung (Sembawang): May I ask the Minister, with the introduction of the MRT Police, is that due to a special threat posed in terms of our general public transport situation that MRT stations are more vulnerable to attacks? Is there any other arrangement also made for other public transport systems, like buses, ferries and so on?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Sir, I have mentioned that we do not have specific information now with regard to any threat to the MRT system. But Members will be aware that when we exposed the various cells of the Jemaah Islamiyah in 2002, some of the cells did consider, and they did recce, the MRT system. So we are aware that some of them do think about this, as we have seen in the case of Madrid and London. So we cannot rule out the possibility of the MRT system or any part of our transport system being vulnerable. In fact, the public transport system is one of the most vulnerable areas where terrorists would want to

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cause harm to Singapore. And we have to continually step up our measures and continually review the measures we have taken so that we will be ahead of the terrorists. This is what we have been doing over the last two or three years. We have also involved not just the security agencies and the Government departments but also the transport operators. In the case of the MRT system, for example, the two MRT transport operators have indeed been involved in the security planning as well as in the deployment of guards and other CCTV systems in their MRT platforms and trains, and so on.

In the case of other parts of the public transport system, the bus interchange is an area which we have also paid attention. Members would have noted that we have also started putting in cameras at these bus interchanges.

The other component of the public transport system is the taxi drivers. Since early this year, in fact, last year, we have started talking to the taxi operators as well as the taxi drivers' associations. We have recently mounted an exercise to brief them on how to look out for suspicious persons who board their taxis. This exercise is still going on and many talks and seminars have been held for our taxi operators, and we will continue to do so. We will do it also for the other agencies or businesses that would have a role to play in our security. Take the example of the major shopping centres and shopping malls which have security guards. We, too, would want to involve them in the security of the building, not just in looking out for crime but also in looking out for suspicious parcels and individuals who may want to attempt a bombing in their building.

Dr Geh Min (Nominated Member): Mr Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister how the Police would respond to the possibility of a chemical or biological

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terrorist attack in the MRT. We know, for example, that in the attack on the Tokyo underground system, they were caught off guard because they were just checking luggage and they might not have cast a wide enough net to catch suspicious objects. Unless you monitor air quality, you might miss this until it is too late.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Sir, whether it is an explosive device, improvised explosive device or a parcel containing chemical or biological agents, these could be suspicious items, and the staff and the operators of the MRT and the public transport system have been and will continue to be trained to look out for these objects. Once that item is identified to contain chemical and biological agents, the Civil Defence has the capability to deal with it. We have learned from the example of the Tokyo sarin attacks in 1995. Since then, the Civil Defence has built up its unit as well as the resources and expertise in coping with such devices.

Mr Speaker: Last question. Ms Irene Ng.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: Sir, there have been instances where the MRT services were disrupted because suspicious parcels were found but they were found to be actually litter left behind by Singaporeans, such as food parcels, drinks and cups. Can I ask the Minister, given the higher vigilance being put upon residents and Singaporeans to make sure that these things are reported, whether we can at the same time educate Singaporeans to be more mindful about not leaving behind parcels, such as their own litter?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: I entirely agree with the Member that we need to educate Singaporeans not to leave things behind on the train, otherwise they may not just be considered as lost items. If the items

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look suspicious, they may even cause inconvenience to other travellers, and I would urge them to be very careful about leaving any parcel behind. And such an exercise goes on all the time. Even on the MRT trains and stations, we have posters advising commuters to look out for items left unattended. When they see such posters, I hope they will also be reminded that they should not leave such items behind that may cause suspicion. The train operators and the staff are also trained to look out for such items.

There are people who want to play pranks on the MRT and cause inconvenience to the public transport commuters. I would advise them not to do this, because when the person is caught, the penalty can be very heavy. Just in June last year, there was a staff of one of the MRT operators who was not quite happy for some reason, and he decided to put a parcel under a seat. Unfortunately for him, that act was captured on the CCTV and that man is now serving a three-and-a-half-year jail sentence. There were also instances where people think that they could call up and make bomb hoaxes. If they think they can get away with it, think again, because two individuals, who either sent letters to people and threatened them or made phone calls to threaten them, were also sentenced to long jail sentences.

Under our current situation and the threat that we are facing, we will not look kindly on anyone who wants to cause such a prank. Just this morning, two persons were charged in court for doing such a thing.