SINGAPORE — A restless crowd milled about the courtyard, clearly agitated by the drumming on overturned dustbins and chants for more money.

Without warning, an object arced through the air and burst into flames upon impact with the ground. More of the incendiary projectiles came flying as the mob got rowdier and more aggressive.

Sirens blaring, four anti-riot vans sped towards the mob and disgorged a small contingent of anti-riot police officers and their canine partners from the Police Tactical Unit (PTU).

The public order troops, decked out head-to-toe in protective gear, immediately formed a shield wall and braced themselves for confrontation.

“This is the police. You are committing an offence. Disperse immediately,” a voice repeated over loudspeaker.

In response, the mob threw more of the flaming projectiles towards the law enforcers before rushing head-on into them.

This brazen display of civil unrest was all part of a demonstration organised by the Singapore Police Force at the Home Team Tactical Centre in Mandai for the media on Oct 12 to showcase the PTU.

The showcase is part of an on-going experiential experience the police has arranged for members of the media. Past experiences have included showing journalists how an arrest is made.  

 Apart from quelling civil disobedience, the PTU — armed with a non-lethal P4 riot control weapon — also performs security-related duties such as searches for armed criminals, illegal immigrants. It also responds to terrorist incidents in the form of Armed Strike Teams.

The unit was last activated during the recent riot at the Singapore Boys’ Home at Jurong West on Sep 27, but the police declined to reveal how many were involved for security reasons.

READY TO RESPOND EVEN WHEN TIRED

As part of the media showcase, 10 journalists were given a chance to experience what it was to be in the shoes of the public order troops.

The moment we were made to don the protective gear, I knew the day would not play out well for me.

For starters, the body armour was a size too small for someone who enjoys his naans and butter chicken masala.

The gear, which weighed around 20kg, restricted my movement severely, and I was soon perspiring profusely from both a lack of ventilation and the merciless humidity. And I could not breathe!

Though I was glad for the full-body riot shield that protected me from the “lethal” flying water bottles being thrown at us next, after close to half an hour of holding it up by locking my arms at a 90-degree angle, I was ready to give.

As I tried to surreptitiously rest a segment of it on my thigh protector, one of the PTU instructors noticed and barked: “Don’t put it down!”

The warning was for good reason. We needed to hold the line against the rioters, and a weak link in the shield wall would let a protester through.

Though the rioters did not charge into us, the scrum the instructors got them into gave us a fair idea of what it would be like to be in the thick of it.

Being at the front rank, I was compressed between the mob and the sweaty officers behind as we fought to hold our ground and push the rioters off.

Then, we were fast-marched to our next location.

“Left foot on the war cry bro,” one of the PTU officers whispered to me helpfully.

Marching in-sync, however, was the least of my concerns.

With the body armour and the riot shield, I was struggling to keep up and found myself breaking into a jog just so I would not fall behind.

By the time we reached our next destination, just a few blocks away, my heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to explode. Forget crossfit exercises, this was cardio insanity.

We were immediately instructed to pick up the P4 weapon and squeeze off five rounds into a dummy target ahead.

We were told this was to simulate the intensity of a real operation where officers must be ready to respond even when fatigued.

The P4, which resembles a rifle, allows an officer to fire projectiles that can be filled with indelible paint to mark and identify rioters, or oleoresin capsicum, a form of irritant that has an effect similar to that of tear gas.

I was told by a police spokesperson that the riot control weapon will only be used when rioters turn violent and start harming the officers or destroying property.

I took aim at the target’s belt as instructed and fired. Perfect. But considering that the target was barely five metres away from me, anything less would have been embarrassing.

NO WAY TO WITHSTAND TEAR GAS

Then came the final experience for the afternoon — the gas chamber.

We were told during the safety briefing that PTU officers are regularly exposed to CS gas, more commonly known as tear gas, so that they would know how to react if they ever encountered it during their actual operations.

The spokesperson said that the PTU has never had to deploy tear gas to date, and they would only do so during a life-threatening situation.

With our gas masks on, we trooped up to the gas chamber on the third floor of one of the training blocks, where we sat for around three minutes, as an instructor fanned the fumes from a burning tablet that gave off the tear gas.

Though this was not my first encounter with tear gas — the last time was during my NS stint — I felt its full effects for the first time.

Without the full chemical suit that I donned previously, my exposed arms and neck felt like they were doused with an extremely concentrated version of medicated oil. While the intense tingling sensation may not hurt, it sure does irritate.

How bad could tear gas be without the mask? I was about to find out.

In teams of four, we were told to line up in front of a viewing gallery. There, we had to take off our masks before reciting our names and National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) number.

The trick, we were told, was to take a deep breath before removing the mask. Few remembered.

As the last man in group, I watched as one by one, reporters forgot that advice and immediately started choking and tearing up as mucus ran down from their noses. It was not pretty and I was panicking inside.

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Hold your breath, hold your breath. I did. But my eyes still stung and I could not keep it open as I quickly rattled off my name and NRIC number.

We were told later that what we experienced was only a fraction of the strength of the actual tear gas used. It is the most effective way to disperse an unruly crowd — there is no way you can withstand it without protection.

At the end of the day, I knew whatever we were put through was a very watered-down version of the actual training that the public troop officers had to go through.

Even though we have not had major riots in Singapore in a very long time, there is no doubt these men and women are well trained, and I have full confidence in their abilities.

And I must say that I am just glad that they have chosen to take up this burden on our behalf.