Special armed police unit begins MRT patrols
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A dedicated team of police officers, set up to handle security incidents on the MRT system, have begun their patrols.
But will they shoot to kill if they come across suspected suicide bombers?
"Yes, they may have to", explained Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng when he replied to a question in Parliament on Monday.
Bags and items being checked onboard trains will soon become a common sight for the 1.2 million commuters using the MRT daily.
While patrols by police officers at MRT stations are not new, these officers from the Police MRT Unit have been specially selected and trained to deal with security incidents.
Unlike troopers from the Special Operations Command (SOC) with their red berets, these officers don blue berets.
They are also equipped with less firepower - the Taurus service-revolver and T-baton.
But in the face of potential threat, will these officers shoot to kill?
Member of Parliament Irene Ng, who raised this question, cited the shooting of an innocent man in London who had been mistaken for a suicide bomber.
Mr Wong said: "We have to evolve our rules of doctrine according to the circumstances. In our context today, we have not come across a suicide bomber case and we hope we will not come across one.
"But I would not rule this out because suicide bombing is one of the preferred techniques of the terrorists to frighten and intimidate normal citizens.
"In the case of other countries where they have experienced this, they have adopted a shoot-to-kill policy because they cannot live with the chance that this person may turn out to be an innocent person as you have seen in the case of London.
"If an officer is confronted with a situation where there is immediate danger to life, he is authorised to use the necessary force to remove the danger and this may extend to the use of firearms.
"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 who in his opinion, he has to neutralise the threat, he may have to take such an action."
The highly-visible officers will patrol in pairs in and around the MRT stations, and depending on the circumstances, other specialist units may also be activated to deal with the situation.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Bernard Ng, OC of Police MRT Unit, said: "The Police MRT Unit is set up to complement the existing security measures implemented by the MRT operators, which include the surveillance cameras and security guards."
Their deployment at bus interchanges is also under consideration.
Police said for the officers to be effective, there would not be any regular scheduled patrolling.
Instead, they will adopt a flexible schedule where their presence would be both random and unpredictable.
The public is advised not to be alarmed by the enhanced patrols.
WAT D HELL R DEY DOIN IN MRT TRAINS NOW???AAARGGH!!DEY'RE EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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aiyah......i took cab this morning..........
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peak hrs aso got? if so how r they gonna move ard the packed sardine mrt?
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Better to stay away from the trains during peak hours.
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Incident like London where the guy kana shot may happen in Singapore. Minister said that if the situation become tense. So if Police ask u to stop u better stop... Don't continue to run, if not shoot u.
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didnt see any today...
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can refer to d straits times today for d full coverage of d news.....nt sure durin peak hrs or not....
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another wayang show
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haha...i knw wat u're referring to....i think dey r tryin to cover up d embarassment dey've caused....Originally posted by crazy monkey:another wayang show 
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Originally posted by ashtina82:haha...i knw wat u're referring to....i think dey r tryin to cover up d embarassment dey've caused....
what embarassment have they caused recently? i want to know leh!
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so freaking waste of man power lor....
eat full full nothing to do come up with this kind of stupid idea... do show for public to see only...
during peak hour how they going to patrol the train? so pack.
if i terrorist, i sure choose peak hour one. cos will kill more people... -
if there terrorists...dun tell me they gona spray bullets among the crowd...
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is it even necessary? surely the SMRT staffs can do the patrolling, no reason for the polices to step in.
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they think the terrorists will introduce themselves before planting bombs...Originally posted by Gordonator:is it even necessary? surely the SMRT staffs can do the patrolling, no reason for the polices to step in.
and when exploded, the machine guns will come in handy.... -
Why didn't they consider arming the patrol with both a taser and a firearm?The ROE should include the PO to draw the taser while his partners cover him with their firearms.This would no doubt be a better way, as firing a firearm in the confines of a passenger packed MRT is definitely not wise as the round may over-penetrate and kill/wound those standing near or behind the suspect,unless they are using frangible ammunition.
In the case if the suspect is unarmed and is just a civilian running away in fright,the use of the Taser will definitely de-escalate the situation quickly and effective. Now the SPF don't want a similar situation as the London cops do right?So best is to perhaps arm them both with Tasers and a firearm. -
waiting for the first incident to happen...
*croco sits down eat pop-corn and waits* -
u didn't read d news eh...happened recently...4 so called protestors..against 40 stupid 'dog's...Originally posted by digicharat:
what embarassment have they caused recently? i want to know leh! 
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wat if der r kids ard.....
wat if d bullets kena one of em....
wat if...... -
Hope they don't increase MRT prices - wait give excuse cost going up
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ha-norOriginally posted by gerrykoh:Hope they don't increase MRT prices - wait give excuse cost going up
next time we walk lah... -
i heard from some ang moh langs that if the person really has a real bomb the voltage from the taser can so call set it off , dont know whether true or not
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possibleOriginally posted by chronicles:i heard from some ang moh langs that if the person really has a real bomb the voltage from the taser can so call set it off , dont know whether true or not -
I think tourists will avoid using the MRT for now.
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WTF ! KINS Unit is it ? i am very scared cos i giah i ganna go do dis saigung when i go for myh reservist.....nabeh !
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For show only