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08-12-2014, 01:30 AM
An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
PUB tells SMRT: Bishan depot not built on flood plain (http://www.tremeritus.com/2014/12/05/pub-clarifies-bishan-depot-not-built-on-flood-plain/)
http://www.tremeritus.org/simages/dmca_protected_sml_120n.png?e81b6f http://www.tremeritus.org/wp-content/themes/WP_010/images/PostDateIcon.png?e81b6f December 5th, 2014 | http://www.tremeritus.org/wp-content/themes/WP_010/images/PostAuthorIcon.png?e81b6f Author: Editorial (http://www.tremeritus.com/author/editorial/)
http://www.tremeritus.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/desmondkuek.jpg?e81b6fLG (NS) Desmond Kuek, SMRT President and CEO
In a statement yesterday (4 Dec), SMRT said that its 30-hectare Bishan depot, built over swampy land which is the flood plain for the Kallang River, has a network of canals and drains running underneath.
“This presents vulnerabilities that are unique to the Bishan depot,” it said.
On 8 November 2014, graffiti was discovered on the exterior of a train at Bishan Depot. SMRT reported the incident to LTA and the police. 2 Germans were later arrested on 21 November and charged for vandalism. They were nabbed with the help of Malaysian police at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on 20 November and extradited to Singapore the following day.
This was the fourth vandalism incident involving SMRT in 4 years.
The first case of vandalism occurred in May 2010 when two men cut through the fence and spray-painted graffiti on a train at SMRT’s Changi depot. One of the vandals was a Swiss foreign talent Oliver Fricker. He was jailed for 7 months and given 3 strokes of the cane, while his accomplice, Briton Lloyd Dane Alexander, remains at large. In fact, in the incident, the train was already in service for 2 days before someone raised the alarm. The SMRT staff had originally thought that the graffiti was some sort of an advertisement.
The second incident took place in August 2011 when a hole was cut in the fence at Bishan depot, and the words “Jet Setter’s” were spray-painted on a train. No one has been caught yet.
The third incident took place on 5 May this year, again at Bishan depot but no one has been caught also.
The latest incident on 8 November raises fresh questions about security at SMRT’s train depots.
Fences not breached in this year’s incidents
SMRT said that in the 2 incidents on 5 May and 8 November this year, its fences were not breached.
“We have noted that the original open design of Bishan depot poses a number of unique challenges because of its size and full visibility from adjacent buildings. It has a fencing perimeter of 6.5 km, and this has been reinforced with enhanced security features following the breach by vandals in 2011,” SMRT said.
“These fences were not found to have been breached in the two recent cases in 2014. Further security measures were, however, put in place within the depot perimeter following the May 2014 graffiti incident.”
Still, despite the extra security measures put in place after the May incident, the 2 Germans were able to get into the depot without apparently breaching the fences in the latest incident.
SMRT then blamed the breach on the network of canals and drains running underneath the depot.
SMRT said, “We have noted that the 30-hectare Bishan depot, built on a concrete platform deck over swampy land which is the flood plain for the Kallang River, has a network of canals and drains running underneath.”
It said that this presents vulnerabilities that are “unique to the Bishan depot”.
In response, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) said it has 3 outlet drains that run through Bishan Depot. While SMRT had claimed that the depot was built on a flood plain for Kallang River, PUB clarified that the depot was not built on a flood plain.
“The entrance and exit points of two covered drains are outside the depot. The third drain, which is open, is fenced out from the depot premises,” PUB added.
In any case, SMRT said it will develop, with national security agencies, an effective strategy that encompasses “deterrence, vigilance and swift response against the prevailing threats”.
“SMRT shares the public concern and anxiety over the recent security breaches in the MRT network,” it said.
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?195334-PUB-Bishan-depot-not-built-on-flood-plain-What-Excuse-Next-Paper-General&goto=newpost).
PUB tells SMRT: Bishan depot not built on flood plain (http://www.tremeritus.com/2014/12/05/pub-clarifies-bishan-depot-not-built-on-flood-plain/)
http://www.tremeritus.org/simages/dmca_protected_sml_120n.png?e81b6f http://www.tremeritus.org/wp-content/themes/WP_010/images/PostDateIcon.png?e81b6f December 5th, 2014 | http://www.tremeritus.org/wp-content/themes/WP_010/images/PostAuthorIcon.png?e81b6f Author: Editorial (http://www.tremeritus.com/author/editorial/)
http://www.tremeritus.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/desmondkuek.jpg?e81b6fLG (NS) Desmond Kuek, SMRT President and CEO
In a statement yesterday (4 Dec), SMRT said that its 30-hectare Bishan depot, built over swampy land which is the flood plain for the Kallang River, has a network of canals and drains running underneath.
“This presents vulnerabilities that are unique to the Bishan depot,” it said.
On 8 November 2014, graffiti was discovered on the exterior of a train at Bishan Depot. SMRT reported the incident to LTA and the police. 2 Germans were later arrested on 21 November and charged for vandalism. They were nabbed with the help of Malaysian police at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on 20 November and extradited to Singapore the following day.
This was the fourth vandalism incident involving SMRT in 4 years.
The first case of vandalism occurred in May 2010 when two men cut through the fence and spray-painted graffiti on a train at SMRT’s Changi depot. One of the vandals was a Swiss foreign talent Oliver Fricker. He was jailed for 7 months and given 3 strokes of the cane, while his accomplice, Briton Lloyd Dane Alexander, remains at large. In fact, in the incident, the train was already in service for 2 days before someone raised the alarm. The SMRT staff had originally thought that the graffiti was some sort of an advertisement.
The second incident took place in August 2011 when a hole was cut in the fence at Bishan depot, and the words “Jet Setter’s” were spray-painted on a train. No one has been caught yet.
The third incident took place on 5 May this year, again at Bishan depot but no one has been caught also.
The latest incident on 8 November raises fresh questions about security at SMRT’s train depots.
Fences not breached in this year’s incidents
SMRT said that in the 2 incidents on 5 May and 8 November this year, its fences were not breached.
“We have noted that the original open design of Bishan depot poses a number of unique challenges because of its size and full visibility from adjacent buildings. It has a fencing perimeter of 6.5 km, and this has been reinforced with enhanced security features following the breach by vandals in 2011,” SMRT said.
“These fences were not found to have been breached in the two recent cases in 2014. Further security measures were, however, put in place within the depot perimeter following the May 2014 graffiti incident.”
Still, despite the extra security measures put in place after the May incident, the 2 Germans were able to get into the depot without apparently breaching the fences in the latest incident.
SMRT then blamed the breach on the network of canals and drains running underneath the depot.
SMRT said, “We have noted that the 30-hectare Bishan depot, built on a concrete platform deck over swampy land which is the flood plain for the Kallang River, has a network of canals and drains running underneath.”
It said that this presents vulnerabilities that are “unique to the Bishan depot”.
In response, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) said it has 3 outlet drains that run through Bishan Depot. While SMRT had claimed that the depot was built on a flood plain for Kallang River, PUB clarified that the depot was not built on a flood plain.
“The entrance and exit points of two covered drains are outside the depot. The third drain, which is open, is fenced out from the depot premises,” PUB added.
In any case, SMRT said it will develop, with national security agencies, an effective strategy that encompasses “deterrence, vigilance and swift response against the prevailing threats”.
“SMRT shares the public concern and anxiety over the recent security breaches in the MRT network,” it said.
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?195334-PUB-Bishan-depot-not-built-on-flood-plain-What-Excuse-Next-Paper-General&goto=newpost).