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Two men detained briefly for taking photos of Bishan SMRT train depot

SINGAPORE — Two men were detained and questioned briefly by the police on Wednesday (Oct 4) for allegedly taking photos of the Bishan SMRT train depot, just two days after a Bill was passed in parliament to beef up security for key infrastructure locations.

Photo of the Bishan SMRT train depot. Photo: Koh Mui Fong/TODAY

Photo of the Bishan SMRT train depot. Photo: Koh Mui Fong/TODAY

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SINGAPORE — Two men were detained and questioned briefly by the police on Wednesday (Oct 4) for allegedly taking photos of the Bishan SMRT train depot, just two days after a Bill was passed in parliament to beef up security for key infrastructure locations.


TODAY understands that the two involved are foreign nationals.

The police said that they were alerted at 10am by security personnel that the two men were seen to be behaving suspiciously outside the the train depot. 


“The vigilance of security personnel at Bishan Depot resulted in them approaching two individuals who were seen taking pictures of the train depot,” said an SMRT spokesman.


He added: “The depot is gazetted as a Protected Place. Our security personnel detained the two suspects and handed them over to the police. The safety and security of our transport network is a key priority for us.”

The police said that after conducting interviews and checks on the two men, nothing incriminating was found and no arrests were made.


The Infrastructure Protection Bill, which was passed on Monday, requires new buildings to integrate security measures such as video surveillance, vehicle barriers and protection against blasts in their design before they are built, and for selected existing buildings to incorporate such measures in their renovation plans.


In addition, unauthorised photography of protected places or areas listed under the Protected Areas and Protected Places Act (PAPPA) – which was repealed under the Bill – is also an offence, unless the authority in charge of the space permits it. 


The security vulnerabilities of Bishan Depot have been in the spotlight due to a string of breaches.


In 2014, two Germans entered the Bishan SMRT Depot without authorisation and vandalised the left exterior cabin of an SMRT train using indelible spray paint.


Andreas Von Knorre and Elton Hinz, who were both 21 at the time of the incident, were sentenced to nine months’ jail and three strokes of the cane in March 2015.
In a separate incident, SMRT was fined S$200,000 by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in Oct 2011 after a security lapse, which led to the vandalism of a train carriage.


Following these incidents, SMRT in 2014 identified drains and canals running underneath the facility as points presenting security vulnerabilities.
LTA later initiated and carried out detailed surveys of the Bishan depot, together with SMRT and other government agencies. Security measures were ramped up subsequently.

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