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| Biting the bullet |
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When big shots come to town, Assistant Superintendent
of Police (ASP) Chan Kok Leong gets really busy.
This Operations Officer from the Singapore Police
Force (SPF) Headquarters plans and manages the security
coverage of major events that typically involve
heads of state, ministers, royalty, celebrities
and other VIPs.
The 117th Session of the International Olympics
Committee held in July was one such event. Singapore
rolled out the red carpet for dignitaries such as
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President
Jacques Chirac, Queen Sophia from Spain and Russian
Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, as well as sporting
greats like Muhammad Ali, David Beckham and Raul
Gonzalez.
Ensuring the safety and security of over 3,500 delegates
from IOC and representatives from bid cities throughout
the four-day event held at the Raffles City Convention
Centre was a mammoth task that ASP Chan took in
his stride.
Planning started as early as last July. As Organising
Secretariat, ASP Chan’s wide-ranging work
scope included managing the budget, manpower, timeline
and resources, and drafting the operating procedures.
He had to review the intelligence assessment of
the threats associated with the event, recommend
the security level and scale of security deployment,
and ensure that the plans were executed accordingly.
ASP Chan said his greatest challenge was convincing
the IOC from Switzerland that stringent security
measures were necessary. While the committee wanted
to minimise inconvenience to the delegates, SPF
could not afford to leave anything to chance.
“The IOC felt that Singapore is really safe,
which was why they chose Singapore as the location
for the event. We had to make them understand that
although Singapore is very safe, there’s still
a need for tight security measures. The safety and
security provided by the SPF is part of the Singapore
brand name,” he said.
Nothing was left to chance; a slew of security measures
were taken. They included conducting a bomb sweep
of the building, erecting concrete barriers around
the entire building, installing mobile barriers
to prevent unauthorised vehicular access, setting
up many walk-through metal detectors and X-ray scanners,
and deploying uniformed officers and undercover
intelligence officers at strategic locations.
Over 2,000 security personnel were deployed on site.
They comprised officers from SPF and other related
agencies. They provided 24-hour protection for the
whole building throughout the event. This was critical
as many of the delegates were staying in the two
Raffles City hotels located in the building.
Said ASP Chan: “These officers were ready
to react to any contingency be it a chemical attack,
terrorist hostage situation, bomb threat, mass casualty
scenario, or even a public order threat.”
Many preventive measures were also adopted off-site.
SPF worked closely with the Republic of Singapore
Armed Forces and the Republic of Singapore Navy
to ensure that there were no suspicious aircraft
or vessels entering our airspace and waters.
ASP Chan was pleased that everything went smoothly.
So were the delegates who were “pretty happy
with the measures we put in place and that we were
receptive to their feedback and made some adjustments
on the ground”.
Besides the recent IOC event in July, ASP Chan was
also responsible for the security coverage of the
fourth International Institute of Strategic Studies
Asia Security Conference 2005 in June, and the National
Day Parade and Prime Minister’s National Day
Rally in August. One of the major events in the
upcoming months is the Asian Aerospace.
“Planning for the security coverage of major
events is fast-paced and intensive. Because the
events cannot be postponed, we ‘die-die’
must finish whatever planning we have on schedule,”
said ASP Chan who handles an average of three major
events and VVIP visits per month.
Summing up what he likes about his job, he said:
“It’s taxing but rewarding to see that
the events are successfully run and nothing happens.
“I would be most satisfied when organisers
do not have any complaints but only praises for
the tight security measures we have in place.” |
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