False alarm: Penang Lane closed after grenade-shaped item found
A stretch of Penang Lane, just a stone’s throw from the Istana, was temporarily closed on Friday afternoon (3 November) after a suspicious grenade-shaped item was reported in the vicinity.
Police said that the item was actually a toy resembling a hand grenade. Yahoo News Singapore understands that the item in question was found on a patch of grass along Penang Road.
Authorities were alerted to the item by a member of the public at about 2pm. Police sent out an alert via social media at around 4pm, advising members of the public to avoid the area and not to speculate on the matter.
When Yahoo News Singapore arrived on the scene at 5.10pm, at least 10 police officers and five police vehicles were present. Personnel from the Chemical Biological Radiological and Explosive Defence Group (CBRE) from the Singapore Armed Forces were also spotted.
An area about half the size of a football field had been cordoned off. It was unclear the time that the cordon started. The police lifted the cordon at about 5.17pm.
