It's 1am on a Friday night when Police Life joined our officers on the ground for an enforcement operation in the heart of Orchard Road.
By: Leow Su Ling
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) conducted an island-wide multi-agency enforcement blitz from 16 June to 23 July 2023. The multi-agency effort also involved officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau, Singapore Civil Defence Force, Health Sciences Authority, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, Urban Redevelopment Authority and Singapore Customs.
Police Life joined SPF officers for one of the anti-crime operations targeted at public entertainment outlets. Here’s what we saw!
When the Lights Came On!
It was a bustling Friday night at Orchard Road. Inside the nightclub came a booming medley of Thai dance music. Together with their counterparts from other agencies, officers from Tanglin Police Division would be looking out for unlawful activities.
Once everything was in place, officers moved in swifty to gain control of the nightclub. The flashing lights and pulsating music stopped abruptly and all activities came to a standstill.
As we looked on, the officers carried out their duties with a determined air, threading through the crowd and systematically conducting checks for unlawful activities.
During this process, the patrons remained subdued and cooperative. No stone was left unturned as the officers carried out their duties in a professional and thorough manner.
Once the officers completed their checks, the operation against came to close. One man and nine women, aged between 25 and 32, were arrested for offences under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, the Societies Act and the Immigration Act.
Though this operation was concluded, the enforcement officers had more to do. That same night, two premises were found to be cluttered and with CO2 (carbon dioxide) cylinders that had been improperly stored and were advised on fire safety breaches.
Just One of Multiple Anti-Crime Operations
This crackdown was part of an island-wide multi-agency enforcement blitz over the course of five weeks. It also marked the largest enforcement operation conducted by the Police since the lifting of COVID-19 restriction. More than 1,900 officers from the Police Land Divisions were involved in over 300 operations. A total of 1,080 men and 608 women, aged between 16 and 82, are being investigated for various offences.
Director of SPF’s Operations Department, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police (SAC) Gregory Tan, expressed his appreciation to all the agencies involved in the blitz. “By working hand-in-hand with other law enforcement agencies,” he said, “we want to send a strong message to criminals that they will face the full extent of the law.”
SAC Tan also urged members of the public to remain vigilant and report any criminal or suspicious activities to the Police: “Singapore remains safe and secure because of the strong support and trust from the public, who act as our eyes and ears in the fight against crime.”
Learn more about this series of enforcement operations at this link.
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