SMRT takes full responsibility for breach
SMRT said on Monday that it will take full responsibility for the security breach at its Bishan depot last week.
Last Wednesday morning, a northbound SMRT train carriage was found sprayed with graffiti. Investigations revealed a breach in the fence at Bishan Depot. It is the second such occurrence.
SMRT chief executive Saw Phaik Haw said in a press briefing that the company's top priority is to ensure all security gaps are immediately addressed, reported Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
It will set up a committee to review SMRT's security measures and the management of the company.
Chaired by Saw, the committee will consist of independent security experts. "The management of the current security will not be involved in this review so that it is truly independent," she was quoted as saying.
SMRT staff will now also inspect every train thoroughly before they leave the depots and check that the perimeter is not breached, reported The Straits Times.
The transport operator is in talks with the Land Transport Authority to expedite works to put up a sturdier BRC welded fence, Fence Intrusion Detection System, lights and cameras at Bishan Depot.
The security measures will be installed in Changi Depot next month and in Ulu Pandan by the end of October.
Stressing there will be "no cover up" or "cutting of corners", Saw said, "The incident happened in our depot, on our trains. As as a company, SMRT has to be ultimately responsible for what has happened, so there should not be finger-pointing because it is our commitment to ensure the safety of our trains."
SMRT is assisting in the investigations to apprehend the culprits.
Last May, two vandals cut through the fence at SMRT's Changi Depot and spray-painted graffiti on one side of a train.
Swiss national Oliver Fricker, 32, was jailed seven months and given three strokes of the cane for trespassing and vandalising. He has since been released from prison. His alleged accomplice, 29-year-old Briton, Lloyd Dane Alexander, remains at large.
