Old Police Academy: There's nowhere like this, says ex-instructor

Saving a drowning female cadet was one of the most memorable things he did as an instructor at the Old Police Academy.

Marrying her later would be another significant life event for him.

He is now an instructor with AETOS Security Management and the cadets now are young enough to be his grandchildren.

But retirement is the last thing on his mind because of those happy times at the academy.

For 23 years, fearsome instructor Sri Kanthan, 65, known as the Black Panther, served at the academy in several roles - physical training instructor, range instructor and company commander.

The academy, located at Thomson, officially closed in 2006 and relocated to Choa Chu Kang.

The old building will soon be seeing its last days. TNP understands it will be demolished late this year or in early 2015 to make way for an MRT station and a condominium.

These days, only a few active units doing administration and logistics occupy the premises.

It is a far cry from its glory days, when the sounds of thousands of marching feet could be heard echoing across its grounds.

Walking across the now quiet grounds, Mr Kanthan is struck by a flood of memories from his days here.

"This used to be an obstacle course... this was a boxing ring, this used to be a hockey field," he said as we toured the place.

The spaces he points at are now either boarded up or stand empty, with no visible traces of their history.

Mr Kanthan said the academy used to be a lively place.

"On Friday and Saturday nights, there used to be boxing matches here.

"Every six months, we would have football and rugby matches as well as cross country events."

Mr Kanthan left the force in 2004.

"Things have changed here," he said.

Although he left the force 10 years ago, he feels his time spent there continues to influence his lifestyle till this day.

"I'm still a very disciplined person. My daughters sometimes have to tell me, 'Daddy, we're not policewomen,' when I sent them to school," he said.

His two daughters are now 30 and 31.

At an age when many people are thinking of retirement or relaxing, Mr Kanthan wakes up every day at 2.30am to prepare for his work day before leading exercises for his trainees at Aetos at 5.30am daily.

"I always say to them, 'How old are your fathers? I could be a grandfather and I still run faster than you,'" he said with a laugh.

FINDING LOVE

The academy was where he met his wife under unusual circumstances.

He said: "At that time, I wasn't interested in girls. But there was this young lady who was a trainee with (an auxiliary police group). One swimming lesson, I was the instructor on duty and she was drowning.

"I threw her a float, but she panicked and started to sink, so I dived in to grab her and pull her ashore.

"That's where the love blossomed."

Two years later, they got married.

Mr Kanthan can also claim to have trained many of Singapore's prominent figures including Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs; Mr Soh Wai Wah, director of the Singapore Prisons Service; and Mr Leo Yip, chairman of the Economic Development Board.

"I used to say to my instructors, 'Train them well because one day they'll become leaders.' And now they are."

His favourite place in the academy? The football field, where he would lead a group of about 600 trainees in exercises every morning, before selecting a squad of "lucky" ones to follow him for a run.

When asked how he feels about the academy being demolished, his eyes moistened.

He said haltingly: "I feel very sad. This is a wonderful place, you won't get a place like this anywhere else...

"I've been everywhere, but the fields, trees and flowers... it's a beautiful place you cannot find elsewhere.

"Here, we trained leaders, men, scholars."

timgoh@sph.com.sg

This article was published on May 12 in The New Paper.
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