Police search operation near Rail Corridor sees four men arrested

Four men were arrested following a police search operation near the Rail Corridor after they were seen running into a forested area there by patrolling police officers on the evening of Aug 8.

"As their behaviour was deemed suspicious, officers from Clementi Police Division, Police Operations Command Centre, Police Intelligence Department, Gurkha Contingent, Special Operations Command and Home Team Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Command were activated for a search operation," the police said on Aug 9.

The men are aged between 36 and 41, and police investigations are ongoing.

Officers, including dog-unit personnel and plain-clothes policemen, were seen searching a forested area near Greenleaf Place on the night of Aug 8.

Greenleaf Place is a quiet cul-de-sac lined with landed houses in a private residential estate, and near the Rail Corridor.

A resident who lives in nearby Sixth Avenue, and who wished to remain anonymous, told The Straits Times that on the night of Aug 8 "there were police cars parked near the entrance of my street, with about six police vehicles farther down the road".

She added that the police were present from about 7pm on Aug 8 and were still there as at 8am on Aug 9. She also noticed that several police trucks, which were not there on the night of Aug 8, arrived later.

When ST contacted her again at around 11.30am on Aug 9, she said the police vehicles were no longer in the area.

On the night of Aug 8, she said her husband saw officers standing in the street, a rare sight in the neighbourhood. She noted that the police cars had their flashing lights on throughout the night, but no sirens were heard. The officers did not appear to be speaking with any of the residents in the vicinity, she added.

Although she usually closes her gates and windows and was not worried about safety, she found the visible police presence unusual.

When ST visited the scene at about 10.50pm on Aug 8, three police cars and a van were parked in the area.

A drone was seen flying over the forest nearby. Police officers were stationed at every junction of the small roads leading to the vicinity.

By close to midnight, three of the four vehicles, including the van, left the scene as the operation appeared to be winding down.

At about 12.30am on Aug 9, only one police car remained parked there. A police car was also seen parked at a bus stop in Holland Road, the main street adjacent to the forested area.

A security guard working at a condominium in the estate told ST that she saw both police officers and personnel in military fatigues in the area.

The woman, who did not want to be named, added that the police and army vehicles were parked along the street throughout the night and that the operation appeared to have ended at around 8.30am on Aug 9.