If it's real, they won't be running so slowly

SOME were indifferent while others did not even give it a second glance.

NO ALARM: Madam Teng Yang Hui said she knew it was just an exercise at VivoCity. TNP PICTURES: GAVIN FOO

Despite the cordons and presence of police officers at VivoCity, hardly anyone batted an eyelid.

This was day two of Exercise Northstar VII, Singapore's largest anti-terror drill, at the shopping mall yesterday.

Student Catherine Lin, 18, was waiting for a friend near one of the cordoned-off areas when the action unfolded before her.

She told The New Paper she had no idea what was going on as police officers, including those from the Special Operations Command (SOC), ran past her.

Was there an emergency? Or was it an exercise?

A "hostage" being helped out.

It didn't matter to Catherine.

'There's nothing to be worried about,' she said. 'If there's anything, they (the building's security personnel) will evacuate everyone.'

This apathy extended to workers at the shopping mall.

For two promoters stationed at a sales fair just metres away from the cordoned area, it was business as usual.

One of them, who declined to be named, said: 'I just came in to work a while ago and saw the policemen in the area. But, no, we weren't told that anything was going on.'

Star team officers storming the area where the "hostages" were kept. TNP PICTURES: GAVIN FOO

Was she curious or concerned?

'No, I'm just doing my work,' she said, all the while looking at the boxes of kitchen appliances she was arranging.'

Exercise Northstar VII is modelled after last November's Mumbai terror attacks.

In the exercise, which takes place over three days, 15 terrorists hijack a marine vessel at sea and head towards Singapore.

They take over smaller boats along the way and eventually split into six teams, landing at different parts of the island.

VivoCity was one of the 10 locations they targeted.

'Terrorists' in speed boat

In the 'attack' that took place from 10am to noon yesterday, three 'terrorists' arrived in front of the Singapore Cruise Centre in a speed boat.

The gunmen then moved on to the Cable Car Tower and HarbourFront Centre.

At a bridge linking HarbourFront Centre to VivoCity, they fired random shots at the ceiling, startling shoppers, some of whom tried to run down a nearby fire escape staircase.

Ten shoppers were captured in the chaos and held hostage at a stairwell on the first level of the shopping mall.

People who heard gunfire called the police.

When the men in blue arrived, they split themselves into three groups and cordoned off different areas of the shopping mall.

Officers from the SOC also manned the inner cordon and conducted search and containment operations.

Minutes later, the Special Tactics and Rescue (Star) unit officers positioned themselves in the area where the hostages were held.

The elite team from the police crack unit then stormed the stairwell, shooting dead the three terrorists.

All the hostages were rescued. Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedics rendered first aid to the injured.

Two shoppers who witnessed part of the enactment said they were not aware that there was an exercise. But they were confident that it was not for real.

Said Madam Teng Yang Hui, 79, in Mandarin: 'If it was for real, they (the officers involved) wouldn't be running so slowly.'

Her daughter, housewife Madam Ang Ser Kiang, 52, chipped in: 'The hostages would have been crying too.'

So what would they do if there was a real attack?

'Run and hide,' said Madam Teng.

The first day of the exercise, on Monday, took place at Cafe del Mar on Sentosa's Siloso Beach.

In that attack, terrorists arriving by sea gunned down party-goers at the beachfront bar, leaving 10 'dead' and more than 20 others 'injured'.

Police officers, including those from the SOC, threw a cordon around the area and combed the island's shoreline for further threats.

The second test scenario was enacted at Raffles Place MRT station where two terrorists attacked commuters early yesterday morning.

Next Wednesday will see Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel storming Rasa Sentosa Hotel in a bid to rescue hostages held there.

Exercise Northstar VII involves more than 2,000 participants from 15 agencies including the Home Team, the SAF, the Land Transport Authority and SMRT.

Islandwide anti-terror drill to climax next Wed

"Gunmen" opened fire at Cafe del Mar "patrons" in Sentosa in yesterday's staged attack where 10 people "died". The forensic team was called in as seen in the picture. (PHOTO: JAMIE KOH)

Expect an islandwide mobilisation of 15 agencies in the country's biggest anti-terror drill this year.

Mock attacks simulate an assault on the city one evening. Involving six boatloads of 15 "terrorists", the following scenarios are being played out over three days:

YESTERDAY

Cafe del Mar in Sentosa, Shaw House and two hotels in town were attacked.

TODAY

Terrorists land at Marina South and Singapore Cruise Centre via rubber dinghy and proceed to attack Raffles Place MRT station, HarbourFront, VivoCity and the Cable Car Towers.

NEXT WEDNESDAY

The Singapore Police Force and the Singapore Armed Forces storm Rasa Sentosa to bring down the terrorist ringleader and rescue hostages.

Journalists got a piece of the action yesterday at Sentosa, after being briefed to cover the event "as if it were a real incident".

At 7am, three "gunmen" jumped off a rubber dinghy at Siloso Beach and fired automatic weapons at Cafe del Mar "patrons" marking the beginning of the exercise.

Similar mock attacks will be held today, before the showdown between the authorities and mock terrorists at Rasa Sentosa next Wednesday.

In the exercise yesterday, 10 people "died" and 20 had suspected "gunshot wounds", before the "gunmen" fled in the direction of Rasa Sentosa on bicycles.

Home Team Academy trainees played the "victims", while Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers combed the "crime scene" and bagged clues.

Vehicles from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and Special Operations Command rushed to the scene.

During peak seasons, an average number of 24,000 visitors throng Sentosa daily. There are 2,300 residents living in Sentosa Cove.

Ms Suzanne Ho, deputy director of communications, Sentosa Leisure Group, said: "In any situation, our rangers or island security will work very closely with state agencies to manage a crisis.

"And, while safety of our guests is our priority, in any situation we will continue to provide updates to our island partners, in order to ensure that the information flow is kept going."

Islandwide anti-terror drill to climax next Wed

"Gunmen" opened fire at Cafe del Mar "patrons" in Sentosa in yesterday's staged attack where 10 people "died". The forensic team was called in as seen in the picture. (PHOTO: JAMIE KOH)

Expect an islandwide mobilisation of 15 agencies in the country's biggest anti-terror drill this year.

Mock attacks simulate an assault on the city one evening. Involving six boatloads of 15 "terrorists", the following scenarios are being played out over three days:

YESTERDAY

Cafe del Mar in Sentosa, Shaw House and two hotels in town were attacked.

TODAY

Terrorists land at Marina South and Singapore Cruise Centre via rubber dinghy and proceed to attack Raffles Place MRT station, HarbourFront, VivoCity and the Cable Car Towers.

NEXT WEDNESDAY

The Singapore Police Force and the Singapore Armed Forces storm Rasa Sentosa to bring down the terrorist ringleader and rescue hostages.

Journalists got a piece of the action yesterday at Sentosa, after being briefed to cover the event "as if it were a real incident".

At 7am, three "gunmen" jumped off a rubber dinghy at Siloso Beach and fired automatic weapons at Cafe del Mar "patrons" marking the beginning of the exercise.

Similar mock attacks will be held today, before the showdown between the authorities and mock terrorists at Rasa Sentosa next Wednesday.

In the exercise yesterday, 10 people "died" and 20 had suspected "gunshot wounds", before the "gunmen" fled in the direction of Rasa Sentosa on bicycles.

Home Team Academy trainees played the "victims", while Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers combed the "crime scene" and bagged clues.

Vehicles from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and Special Operations Command rushed to the scene.

During peak seasons, an average number of 24,000 visitors throng Sentosa daily. There are 2,300 residents living in Sentosa Cove.

Ms Suzanne Ho, deputy director of communications, Sentosa Leisure Group, said: "In any situation, our rangers or island security will work very closely with state agencies to manage a crisis.

"And, while safety of our guests is our priority, in any situation we will continue to provide updates to our island partners, in order to ensure that the information flow is kept going."

'Naughty' journalists 'stress test' police

ONE OF the big lessons from the Mumbai terror attacks last November was that inept handling of media coverage could cripple response efforts. So kudos to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for the unprecedented move of roping in the media as role-players in one of the Exercise Northstar VII scenarios.

Our brief: To "stress test" the officers in the aftermath of the early-morning carnage wrought by three gunmen armed with automatic weapons at Siloso beach.

We were to stretch these officers' information management skills to the limits. We were free to fish for details by all means necessary: Assail them with questions, trying to sneak behind police cordons ... In short, police-media rules were thrown out the window.

How well did the SPF handle this news-gathering frenzy?

The aim of the exercise, according to assistant director of operations planning Superintendent Devrajan Bala, was to find out how to work with the media in managing similar future situations. So, in that spirit, here are some suggestions.



- Describe the crisis accurately. A police spokesperson told reporters that after their rampage, the gunmen had fled to nearby hotel Rasa Sentosa.

The situation, he added, was "under control" and hotel guests were not being evacuated as they were "not in imminent danger".

Considering that the three armed men at large had just left a trail of 10 dead and 20 injured, this statement was hard to swallow. Would you find it reassuring, if you were a guest wondering if you might end up as a terrorist's hostage?

If the police have reason to be confident of keeping the public out of harm's way, they could be more forthcoming with explanations without compromising operations. If the aim was to prevent panic, well, wouldn't this rate as a situation where knowing the danger is better than not knowing?



- Keep the public updated, ASAP. While the assault on Sentosa was taking place, other groups of terrorists were to have launched attacks in downtown areas.

In such a situation, it would seem best to disseminate as much information as possible in real time updates, so that the public has timelywarning.

A police spokesperson yesterday did not provide any other details beyond confirming that other locations were hit. There was no advisory for people to keep away from these areas - a critical precaution, one would think.



- Share details, tap the public. Sure, information such as where the terrorists could be hiding out cannot be made public for obvious security reasons. But details that will not thwart security agencies' operations - how the terrorists came into the country, the status of the injured, for example - are things the public would want to know.

It might even prompt eyewitnesses to come forward with crucial leads in the manhunt. Think of how the public was given details and pictures of Mas Selamat Kastari, ensuring more eyes and ears on the ground.



All this being said, the officers managing the incident site acted professionally throughout - even when we "naughty" journalists (as one officer later quipped) ignored all protocol - I slipped past the cordon into the attack site to speak to survivors. The officer who hustled me away was never rude.

It is also a mark of how vital media-police dynamics can be in such situations, that the SPF will hold a review after Exercise Northstar VII concludes on July 15, to get the media's feedback on yesterday's exercise.

Exercise Northstar VII: Carnage at Sentosa ...

Three armed gunmen land on Sentosa under the cloak of darkness and go on a shooting rampage, killing 10 revellers at beachfront bar Cafe del Mar and wounding 20 - even as simultaneous attacks in several downtown spots are reported.

Droves of "injured" people, some carried out on stretchers by Singapore Civil Defence Force emergency crew, stream out of the incident site, just as reporters arrive on the scene.

This was the first test scenario played out yesterday in this year's Northstar VII exercise. Adding to the chaos was the media - role-playing for the first time how a terror attack would be covered by the press - which breached police cordon lines.

A "casualty" slumped on the bar's ground told Today that minutes earlier, three men who appeared out of nowhere suddenly started firing indiscriminately at patrons. A police officer hustled this reporter away before descriptions of the men could be determined.

Meanwhile, Criminal Investigation Department officers scoured the scene of the carnage for clues that might lead to the identity of the perpetrators. Later, a police spokesperson told the media their identities were still unclear, but an islandwide manhunt had been launched.

Sentosa Leisure Group's deputy director for communications Suzanne Ho told reporters the group was working closely with the police, and that efforts to alert hotel guests about the terrorist attack had begun.

The plot for this year's exercise, to be held over several days, simulates a band of 15 terrorists who hijack a marine vessel. They split up into six "assault teams" and infiltrate Singapore's shores at different landing sites before launching concurrent large-scale attacks.

Three other test scenarios - portraying hits at Raffles Place MRT station, shopping mall VivoCity, and Rasa Sentosa Resort Hotel - will be carried out today and on July 15.

Premised on the Mumbai attacks last November, where 10 gunmen entered the city on a rubber dinghy and went on a 60-hour rampage killing 166, Northstar VII aims to "stress-test" how our agencies would coordinate and respond. The exercise is led by the Singapore Police Force and involves 15 agencies. TEO XUANWEI

Look out for a report on the "incident" at Raffles Place MRT station in our afternoon edition.

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