By Andre Yeo

THE sea was under a blanket of darkness. As small fishing boats bobbed sleepily on the waters around Singapore, elite members of the Police Coast Guard (PCG) were scanning the vessels for their target.

Sure enough, a rogue vessel was spotted among the genuine fishing boats.

What followed was a heart-pounding high-speed chase that forced the PCG vessel's pilot to weave his way around fish farms without crashing his vessel.

The day, 16 Mar, had begun quietly for the members of the PCG's Special Task Squadron (STS).

These elite officers are trained in boarding ships to arrest illegal immigrants and heavily-armed suspects.

They are also trained to pilot PCG boats, which can go over 40 knots in high-speed chases.

PCG Deputy Superintendent of Police Patricia Lui, 42, said that, depending on its length, material and number of engines, a fishing boat can go at a speed of between 20 and60 knots.

Because of their highly sensitive duties, the faces of STS officers cannot be shown nor their real names used.

That day, the PCG had received a tip-off that a vessel would be trying to unload its human cargo of illegal immigrants in mainland Singapore.

Hours before their mission began, the STS team studied maps, checked their equipment and went over the area of operations to prepare for their mission.

One of the STS members is Staff Sergeant Daniel, 28, (not his real name)who has been with the PCG for eight years. He signed on with the squadron while doing national service.

Staff Sgt Daniel and several colleagues, who are normally stationed at the PCG's base in Brani, reported for duty at the PCG's Loyang Regional Base at around 4pm that day. They don't have fixed shifts and are deployed when needed.

The commanding officer (CO) of the STS, a deputy superintendent, said they needed around three hours to prepare themselves for the night's activities. Staff Sgt Daniel's task that night was to steer their boat.

As the sun set, he and his team of about three men left the pier at Loyang and headed out to the waters off Pulau Punggol Barat, near the Singapore Orchid Country Club golf course.

It didn't take them long to spot the target vessel at 7pm. With their blinkers, or siren, screaming, an officer on board used the public address system to order the boat to stop.

An order in Malay was given several times: "This is the Singapore Police! Stop your boat! Stop your boat."

But they were ignored.

Zig-zagging

The boat sped away, zig-zagging among fishing boats as the STS gave chase.

With the wind slamming into his face, the gunner on the PCG craft fired several warning flares across the suspects' boat to show they meant business.

It was already dark. The STS was aware of other boats and fishing villages in the area.

Staff Sgt Daniel knew that if the situation deteriorated, he would have to know where each boat was and when he would have to turn to avoid the dark silhouettes.

Officers from the PCG's police coast guard command were also feeding them information about the location of the other vessels and what obstacles they had to avoid, like fish farms, kelongs and buoys.

Because of the darkness and the high speed, the STS could not tell how many people were in the speedboat. But the occupants in the vessel knew their game was up.

The STS managed to cut off the boat's escape route. It was forced to make a U-turn, said the CO.

Then, a twist. Several people were seen jumping off the speeding vessel.

The STS managed to catch up with the now-empty boat and secured her next to their boat before towing it back to base.

Later, a search was conducted on land and a Bangladeshi was found and arrested by the PCG. The others swam away into the night.

High-speed chases are highly dangerous manoeuvres which can kill innocent fishermen and even PCG personnel.

In April 2007, two PCG officers were killed during a chase involving two PCG boats and a speedboat carrying illegal immigrants.

One of the PCG's boats clipped the speedboat in a planned manoeuvre, but that vessel suddenly veered towards the other police vessel, causing it to launch into the air. It crashed into her sister boat, killing two of its officers.

Although a coroner's enquiry found that the PCG had done nothing wrong, it weighed heavily on its men.

Staff Sgt Daniel knew the circumstances of that crash and explained some of the tactics boatmen use to shake off the PCG on their tails.

He said: "They tried to get me to crash into fish farms and other vessels carrying genuine fishermen. I had to keep my eye on the boat and scan around for other vessels so I would not hurt innocent people."

His CO added: "This is the challenge they face. They have to know each other and their roles well and work closely with each other.