Shangri-La shooting incident: Police did the right thing, said Defence Minister
PUBLISHED ONMay 31, 2015 10:31 AM
SINGAPORE - Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said the police did "the right thing" in handling Sunday's incident near the Shangri-La hotel, where an annual security conference involving some of the world's defence ministers was being held.
In a Facebook post on Sunday afternoon, Dr Ng said the Singapore Police Force was vigilant to the fact that it could have been a terrorist plot.
"I was on my way to a breakfast meeting with another defence minister at the hotel, but the area was cordoned off until the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosives (CBRE) Team searched the car thoroughly. No explosives or weapons were found, and we were allowed to proceed and the meeting continued as usual," wrote Dr Ng.
The conference went on smoothly despite the incident involving three men who ignored police warnings when their car was stopped at a police vehicular checkpoint set up along Ardmore Park for checks.
When asked to open the car boot for routine checks, the 34-year-old Singaporean driver suddenly accelerated the vehicle towards Anderson Road.
Despite police warnings to stop, the driver continued to crash through police barricades, endangering the lives of officers.
The 34-year-old man was shot dead at 4.36am. The other two, who are also Singaporeans aged 26 and 31, have been detained.
No explosives, arms or weapons were found in the car. No weapons were found on the suspects either.
However, a bag containing white powdery substances believed to contain controlled drugs was recovered in the vehicle.
Substances believed to be controlled drugs and an item believed to be a drug-taking utensil were found on the men arrested.
Police investigations are ongoing, but they believe this is an isolated incident.
Orange Grove Road, Anderson Road and Ardmore Park, which were temporarily closed earlier today to facilitate police operations, are now open to all human and vehicular traffic.
klim@sph.com.sg