I WOULD like to know who residents can contact when the police are unable to respond to calls for help for genuine reasons such as a temporary lack of resources.

Two Monday evenings ago, a group of rowdy teenagers in school uniform - four boys and six girls - decided to make our Housing Board corridor on the upper floors their party venue.

They were noisy. At first, they were verbally obscene. Then, when they started burning tissue paper and sniffing glue, they took off their tops.

Concerned, my wife called the police.

When no officer arrived after about 20 minutes, she called another police station and was advised that they were informed of her report and would send officers to check.

After an hour, and with no sign of the police, my wife called the police to ask why they hadn't come.

She was told resources were limited because there were more urgent reports that required attention. I can accept the explanation and understand the difficult demands placed on our police force.

I have two suggestions:

• First, the police should advise residents who else they can call for help if such situations arise - the town council, perhaps?

• Second, residents should be advised on a subsequent course of action to safeguard themselves if the police are unable to attend to public calls for assistance. For instance, how do we know when to call whom?

The teenagers left behind a mess. They threw some packs of liquid over the parapet and left a trail of painkillers, burnt tissue, glue and sweet wrappers.

However, we considered ourselves lucky in this case because no one was hurt.

Eu Eng Sing

POLICE, SCDF PRAISED FOR SWIFT RESPONSE

I salute the police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force for their swift response to my call after I spotted a foreign domestic helper leaning precariously out while she was cleaning the windows of a flat near my home in Tampines. I was terrified at the sight, but reassured by the speediness with which they reacted and saved the day.

MADAM VISALECHIMI, who added that the incident was a timely reminder for the public to exercise consideration in calling the police and SCDF so that they can attend to absolute emergencies