Orange Grove shooting: Police actions correspond to threat faced
The shooting incident involving the police near Shangri-La Hotel in May corresponded to the threat faced, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean told Parliament yesterday.
He said the car had crashed through security barriers around the hotel, where the Shangri-La Dialogue, a major international security summit, was being held.
DPM Teo, who is also Home Affairs Minister, said the summit was assessed to be subject to a "high level of threat" because of the presence of defence ministers and security chiefs from around the world.
In the current security climate, such an event could be seen as a "prime target for terrorists", he added.
"The threat of terrorism is real and present. The police will continue to do their utmost to counter security threats to secure Singapore and protect Singaporeans from those who wish to carry out acts of violence and destruction."
The shooting resulted in the death of car driver Mohamad Taufik Zahar, 34. His passengers, Mohamed Ismail, 31, and Muhammad Syahid Mohamed Yasin, 26, were arrested. Drugs were found in the car.
LAST RESORT
DPM Teo said: "In a situation where a driver ignores police's repeated orders to stop and crashes his vehicle through the concrete barriers, causing an imminent threat to lives, the police's procedure, as a last resort, is to open fire at the driver of the vehicle to neutralise the threat immediately to prevent it from causing danger to the event and those involved in the event."
He added that the measures taken by the police were precise and their effect limited to the vehicle and those in it.
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