SINGAPORE — The running group behind the “suspicious white substance” that triggered a shutdown of Woodleigh MRT station on Tuesday (April 18) has apologised for the alarm and inconvenience caused.
Three members from the Seletar Hash House Harriers used baking flour to mark out three to four points within Woodleigh station premises, the Seletar Hash House Harriers acknowledged in a statement on Wednesday.
A 69-year-old man was arrested by the police after he stepped forward “immediately” and identified himself, while two other men, aged 53 and 70, are helping the police with investigations.
“(The members) chose to use the MRT underpass for our members to go from Bidadari towards Woodleigh Close as this provided the safest route to cross Upper Serangoon Road,” read a statement issued by the 37-year-old registered society.
“In retrospect, they should not have placed any markings in the station, and should have used directional signs instead outside of the station.”
The three members later identified themselves to authorities after learning of the security incident.
“They are sorry that their actions caused public alarm and inconvenience,” said the Seletar Hash House Harriers.
“The incident has emphasised to our group the seriousness of the security threat in Singapore and we pledge to be more mindful when planning future runs. We will be reminding all our members to be more careful in future.”
There are as many as nine Hash chapters in Singapore. As registered societies, Hash chapters regularly engage with authorities to demarcate their running trails, the Seletar Hash House Harriers noted.
The Seletar chapter currently has 100 male members who participate in cross country trail running.
The group added: “Paper, chalk and flour have been used traditionally by Hash chapters to mark out the trail for runners.
“Flour and chalk are organic, non-pollutive and can be washed away easily; and paper, if used, can be – and is – cleared by the organisers within 24 hours.”
On Tuesday, a 58-year-old cleaner at the Woodleigh station had discovered what looked like suspicious white substance. She informed the station manager about it because she did not recall seeing the substance when sweeping the floor at about 7am.
The police said they were alerted to the incident at around 1pm and the station was shut at 1.25pm.
Several police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) vehicles were deployed to the station to investigate and, after several hours, Hazardous Materials (HazMat) officers from the SCDF established the substance to be baking flour.
The station resumed operations at 4.20pm.
