A case, apparently of drug trafficking gone
wrong, caused a security scare hardly ever witnessed in Singapore.
The
failed breach of a checkpoint, lying barely 250m from the venue of the
Shangri-La Dialogue in the eponymous hotel early on Sunday morning, resulted in
one man being shot dead and two arrested.
The dead
man was the driver of a car that had crashed through security barricades,
forcing the police to fire.
Heroin
found on the two passengers has led to them being charged with trafficking.
Evidently,
the driver tried to flee a police barrier which he could have believed to have
been set up to nab drug traffickers.
In the
process, however, he ran up against a security cordon thrown around the
Shangri-La Hotel to protect it from a terrorist attack.
Much as
the loss of even a single life is cause for regret, events unfolded with a
logic that reflects the paramount importance of public safety and order,
including the lives of the policemen manning the checkpoint.
The
reflexes of the policemen, tested in reacting to an emergency, reflect well on
their training and mental composure.
Given the
proximity of the hotel where Singapore's signature security conference was
being held, they were right in suspecting the worst.
A
terrorist attack on the venue could have cost the lives of many international
luminaries attending the conference, including United States Defence Secretary
Ashton Carter and senior officials from Asia and Europe.
The
timing of the incident - in the early hours of the day, when indolence born of
the long quietude of the night could be expected to dull the senses -
reinforces the alertness of the policemen who responded to the refusal of the
driver to stop and have the car boot checked.
Split-second
decisions are all that are possible in such situations. The officers involved
must be commended for the professionalism and speed with which they prevented
what could have been a disaster had the car been carrying not drugs but
explosives.
This was
not a case of trigger-happy policemen gunning down an innocent who found
himself at the wrong place at the wrong time, but of the police acting quickly and
decisively.
Would-be
terrorists will no doubt draw lessons from the way this incident unfolded.
Much of
their effectiveness comes from the dastardly way they strike at unwary victims,
and the lack of honed ability in the security agencies to confront an
unexpected attack.
Singapore's
security calculus incorporates the countering of the psychological strategies
of attackers who depend on guile to break through a nation's comfort zone.
The
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has identified Singapore as a target. Being
ready to respond to the terror threat will help keep Singapore safe.
See more
at: http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/opinion/story/no-room-tarrying-terror-threat-20150605
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