Fence at bus depot cut open but no illegal entry

A section of a fence that is part of public transport operator SMRT's Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot was found cut open on Thursday evening and police are investigating the incident as a case of mischief.

The public transport operator's vice-president of corporate information and communications, Mr Patrick Nathan, however clarified that there was no breach to the depot's perimeter fence.

This is because the hole in the affected fence leads to a grassy area in between the perimeter fencing of SMRT's bus depot and the adjacent bus depot that is run by the other public transport operator, SBS Transit.

Still, while there was no unauthorised access to either compound, the latest incident is the third case of compromised security at a public transport depot this year.

Last Saturday, an SMRT train was found vandalised in Bishan depot before service hours.

In May, a train was found with a red scrawl at the same depot.

A spokesman for the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said: "A fence that covered the grass verge between the perimeter fences of SMRT's Ang Mo Kio bus depot and the adjacent SBS Transit's Ang Mo Kio bus depot appeared to have been cut.

"The perimeter fencing of the two bus depots is still intact, and there was no unauthorised entry into the depots."

LTA added that SMRT had reported the incident to the police, who are conducting investigations into the case. The police said they had received a call for assistance at about 8.10pm on Thursday and added that investigations are ongoing.

The incident was first reported by Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao yesterday. A reporter who went to the scene had said the hole was about 3m wide, which was big enough for a person to slip through.

When The Straits Times visited the scene at 8am yesterday, the fence had been repaired.

audreyt@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Nov 15, 2014.
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