SINGAPORE: At the Home Team Tactical Centre in Mandai, roughly 40 men stood at attention under the blazing midday sun. Decked out from head to toe in protective gear capable of shrugging off impact and flames, they advanced on command, with tactical shields to the fore and a bellow on every fourth step – a disciplined yet intimidating front to any violent rioter standing in their way.
Among their number are full-time police national servicemen (PNSFs), trained to tackle public order incidents such as riots. They currently serve alongside their career counterparts of the police’s Special Operations Command (SOC), but will go on to form Singapore’s first Police National Servicemen (PNSmen) Public Order (PO) Troop, come September 2018.
The formation of such troops was first announced by Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam at this year’s Police Workplan Seminar, with plans for full implementation by 2023.
It is part of efforts to bolster police numbers on the ground during national emergencies and major security events. Apart from taking on more defensive, public-order roles compared to their more assault-based regular counterparts, police say they will share similar capabilities with police regulars – from the equipment they carry to the training they undergo.
PO Troopers carry out a fire confidence drill. (Photo: Loke Kok Fai)
The company commander of the police’s tactical unit under the SOC, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Jarrod Nair said the initial selection process for these national servicemen is handled by the Ministry of Defence.
“The fitter ones will be sent here, and they’ll be put through this course. And if they make it through, they’ll be put with regular forces,” said DSP Nair. “Not everybody will go through this course and pass, because they might fall out along the way because of the physical requirements.”
‘IT’S ABOUT MINDSET AND ENDURANCE’
Among the first troopers to have seen deployment are Special Constable Sergeants (SC/SGT) Wilson Ng, 21, and Muhammad Khairul Shafeeq, 20. The PSNFs underwent PO training with the SOC in September last year. Since then, they have been deployed for events such as New Year’s Eve and Chingay celebrations.
“The gruelling part of public order training is that you are fully equipped. You have to endure the hot sun, and also the heat in your body as everything is just black, and you are fully covered. It’s easy to get dehydration and heat exhaustion,” said SC/SGT Khairul.
The three-month training includes dodging Molotov cocktails, water and fire confidence training, as well as handling firearms such as the MP5 submachine gun along with other less lethal weapons.
Unlike typical police officers, troopers are trained in the use of the MP5 submachine gun. (Photo: Loke Kok Fai)
“It’s more about the mindset and endurance,” said SC/SGT Ng. “Despite the weather, we have to wear the PO gear to continue training to keep ourselves fit because we wouldn’t know when there will be emergencies. It can’t be that when the weather is so hot, we don’t go. So we have to prepare for it.”
Both officers also said they were confident, should they be called on to the forefront of incidents like the 2013 Little India riot – Singapore’s last major public order incident in over 40 years – or a possible terrorist attack.
SC/SGTs Muhammad Khairul Shafeeq (L) and Wilson Ng. (Photo: Loke Kok Fai)
“Knowing that we (might) get the call from the ops room that we will be deployed for a riot, I think most of us are fully prepared and ready to be on the ground to manage the situation,” said SC/SGT Khairul.
“(Our) own safety is a concern, but this is our job and this is what we need to do,” said SC/SGT Ng. “And if we’re not the ones (handling the situation) and there are terrorists, who will be the ones going to do it?”
