Suspicious object at Istana Park identified as toy hand grenade

A suspicious item found near Istana Park yesterday afternoon turned out to be a toy that resembled a hand grenade.

The New Paper understands that the police received a call around 2pm informing them of the object.

When TNP visited the area around 5pm, police had cordoned off a section of the park at the junction of Penang Road and Penang Lane, near Dhoby Ghaut MRT.

Penang Lane was closed to traffic to "facilitate police operations", the police said on their Facebook page.

There were at least six police vans in the area. TNP understands that members from the K-9 unit and the Singapore Armed Force's Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosives Defence Group were also present at the scene.

Mrs Sun Junyan, a TCM physician, said that some clients were late as they had to make a detour to get to her Hui Sheng TCM Clinic, which is located across Penang Road at Singapore Shopping Centre.

The grenade-shaped item was removed at about 5.20pm, and Penang Lane reopened to traffic.

Anyone with information on the incident is urged to contact the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.