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SINGAPORE: The manhunt on Pulau Tekong for three gunmen has been narrowed down to the eastern part of the island.
MediaCorp's NewsRadio 93.8 quoted Mindef spokesman Lt Colonel Richard Tan as saying on Friday that efforts are now focused on the remaining 12 square kilometres, which covers about 40 percent of the island.
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He explained that this area is filled with swamps and dense vegetation.
Overnight operations by 700 army and police personnel have covered more than half the island, used by Singapore for military training.
Lt Colonel Tan said they have not been able to flush out the three armed robbers.
He reiterated that all field training on Pulau Tekong has been suspended.
The 5000 recruits and their instructors remain confined to their camps for indoor training.
There is no housing on the island.
The three robbers, believed to be Indonesians, are armed with a pistol and a shotgun.
The trio fled to the island in a wooden boat after two robberies in Johor on Thursday morning.
And at 9am, heavily armed soldiers, police special force officers as well as a dozen sniffer dogs were sent to the island to flush out the robbers.
To stop them from escaping using the same boat in which they fled from Johor, the island was cordoned off by the Coast Guard.
And since 90 percent of Pulau Tekong is covered in dense forest, two helicopters also joined the manhunt.
Right through the afternoon, more and more troops were deployed to Pulau Tekong to join in the manhunt.
By the evening, there were some 700 soldiers, police special forces and Gurkhas.
The Police Coast Guard also set up a command post at the jetty to facilitate the search operations.
At least one Malaysian patrol craft was also spotted in the waters just off Pulau Tekong.
"This group of robbers, one armed with a revolver and the other with a pump gun ... I believe they are dangerous," said Superintendent Tajudin Isa, Officer-in-Charge, Kota Tinggi District. - CNA
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Another link (earlier report):
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/76005/1/.html
