BY TEMASEK REVIEW
Despite the best attempts of SMRT to sugar-coat the
disastrous security breach at its depot, a deluge of letters
appeared in the Straits Times forum today questioning its handling
of the case.
On 17 May, two foreigners slipped into Changi depot undetected
and sprayed graffiti on the carriage of a train.
A commuter recorded a video clip of the graffiti on the train
and uploaded it to Youtube. SMRT lodged a police report only two
days later.
Ong Hong Boon still feels secure in spite of the official
explanation by SMRT:
“As a Singaporean, I am saddened and disappointed by
the breach at SMRT’s Changi train depot by two foreigners. The
culprits have achieved wide publicity and demonstrated to the world
that the well-guarded facilities in Singapore are not impregnable.
How the strategic facilities in Singapore will be protected
hereafter is paramount. The lame explanation for the security lapse
and additional safeguards planned by SMRT do not mitigate the
uneasiness felt by many Singaporeans.”
Another Singaporean Tim Mou Hui questioned the delay by SMRT in
informing the public of the security breach:
“SMRT has not provided a satisfactory explanation for the
delay in informing the public about the security lapse. Considering
that the incident was brought to public awareness only after video
footage of the vandalised train was uploaded onto YouTube, one
cannot help but wonder whether SMRT intended to avoid public
discussion of the embarrassing episode entirely if it could indeed
have done so.”
SMRT had explained that its staff did not make a police report
immediately as they have mistaken the graffiti for
“advertisements”.
However, it failed to explain why the gaping hole in the fence
surrounding the depot was left unnoticed for two days.
Its CEO Ms Saw Phaik Hwa also did not apologize to the public,
having only expressed “regrets” over what had happened while asking
commuters to do their “part”.
Her insensitive remarks drew flak from netizens who question her
sincerity in addressing the security lapse.
As Ms Tim puts it succinctly:
“SMRT’s emphasis on ‘the need for commuters to play their
part’ skirts the larger public concern about the adequacy of SMRT’s
security infrastructure. While we are cognisant of our role in
ensuring the security of the MRT system as commuters, we question
the extent to which SMRT expects us to go in ensuring the security
of the SMRT depot facility.”
In the meantime, the Ministries of Transport and Home
Affairs continued to distance itself from the fiasco as if it
has nothing to do with them, leaving the hapless SMRT to deal with
the public fallout on its own.
Staff thought MRT graffiti was art; security breach went
un-noticed for a week. SHAME.
http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=4113
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_537320.html
