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| Marcel Lee Pereira |
Mon, Mar 10, 2008
my paper
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Hordes of commuters lugging boxes and bags but... Why no checks?
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>IF YOU had been at City Hall MRT station yesterday, you would not have missed the throngs of people lugging printers, computers and TV sets onto the trains.
The station, one of the most crowded in Singapore, was packed, thanks to the IT Show 2008 at the Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre.
With the large crowds, one would have expected station staff to conduct more regular security checks on passengers and what they take into the trains.
my paper spent about 45 minutes observing people at the station yesterday. More than 30 were seen entering the station with large boxes and plastic bags, but none was checked by the station's security officers.
When contacted, the SMRT said its standard crowd-handling and security procedures were in place and that its staff were ready for larger crowds.
No extra measures were taken on top of that, though checks would have been done on suspicious looking people, the SMRT added.
Commuters who chose to take their purchases home by train generally welcomed spot-checks on their items, as they themselves would be concerned to see many huge boxes on board a train.
Said IT support executive Alan Choo, 43, who was lugging a large laser printer on a trolley: "They can check the box, no problem. I have the receipt. But my box is clearly marked, I would be more concerned if it were a plain box."
Marketing executive Jovern Lok, 25, agreed that the large number of unchecked boxes could pose a security risk. "Random checks are okay, to ensure safety," he said.
But a teacher who bought five cameras for her school said she would not welcome a spot-check. "These are new, and they would need to open the boxes," said the woman who declined to be named.
IT engineer Ken Law, 30, added: "A lot of people know about the IT Show, so it's no big deal. If someone really wanted to do something, they would not need such a big box."
Understandably, trains were the preferred mode of transport for many IT Show visitors as it would have been hard to get a taxi because of the crowds.
By 7.30pm last night, 725,000 people had visited the four-day show, ringing up over $53 million worth of sales.
marcelp@sph.com.sg
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