No harmful substances in ‘suspicious envelope’ sent to Straits Times office: SCDF
No harmful substances were detected on a suspicious envelope mailed to The Straits Times (ST) newsroom at 1000 Toa Payoh North on Friday (11 November) afternoon, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
Upon SCDF’s arrival, the affected area was cordoned off and the envelope was secured within a sealed container.
Several tests were then conducted on the envelope by SCDF’s HazMat specialists, added the SCDF in a Facebook post at 7.26pm. The office and nearby areas where it was opened were decontaminated as a “precautionary measure”.
Three staff members who had opened the envelope were assessed by SCDF paramedics and were found to be well. Yahoo News Singapore understands that they had reported feeling unwell after coming in contact with the envelope.
The trio was instructed to shower and change their clothing as a precautionary measure, said the SCDF.
The article, which was reported by ST to appear to have been sent from abroad with postage stamps from the United Kingdom, has been handed over to the police.
According to the same ST article, the incident was first reported by security officers of the building to the police, who later alerted the SCDF.
In it, ST editor Warren Fernandez said that a suspicious package was delivered to the ST newsroom.
It was addressed to “The Straights Times” and contained several pages of “incoherent” content, added the article.
Yahoo News Singapore understands that police and SCDF officers were still in the building at 6.25pm, almost two hours after the former was alerted to the case at 4.20pm.
Yahoo News Singapore also understands that ST staff members are continuing with work as per normal.
The police have classified this case as intentionally causing alarm and are looking into the matter.
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