Scanning Commuters and Their Belongings Before Entering MRT Stations

3 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry will consider scanning commuters and their belongings before they enter MRT stations as is being done in a number of other major cities.

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: A dedicated multi-agency body, the Public Transport Security Committee, constantly reviews the threat assessment by our security agencies and recalibrates as necessary the security measures for our public transport network.

We adopt a risk-based approach, so that the measures deployed can effectively mitigate the security threats but, at the same time, not overly and unnecessarily impair the smooth functioning of the public transport system.

Our approach comprises measures at various levels. The public transport operators engage Transit Security Officers (TSOs) to keep watch at MRT stations and bus interchanges. This is supplemented by police patrols and CCTV surveillance coverage. Commuters also play an important role, to look out for and report suspicious persons and unattended items.

We calibrate the security measures according to the prevailing threat situation. Currently, TSOs conduct checks on selected commuters and their belongings. Police officers on patrol also check on suspicious persons. If and when the security situation warrants, we will subject all commuters to security checks.