SINGAPORE: Three masked gunmen “stormed” family attraction KidZania on Sentosa, before being subdued by an emergency response team on Friday (Jan 26) morning.
This was part of a terrorism-response exercise, code-named Exercise Heartbeat, which is part of the national movement SGSecure, and aimed at helping Singaporeans prevent and prepare against terror attacks.
Such exercises test the coordination between Home Team agencies, community and business stakeholders.
The terror attack exercise conducted in Sentosa on Friday (Jan 26), code-named Exercise Heartbeat, is part of the national movement SGSecure. (Photo: Chan Luo Er)
“With around 19 million visitors annually and being home to more than 6,000 residents, it is of utmost importance that we stand ready to respond effectively to any emergencies, so that everyone in Sentosa has peace of mind.” said Mr Quek Swee Kuan, CEO of Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC).
The SDC oversees the development and management of the island.
Since 2010, the statutory board has consolidated efforts to conduct annual terror exercises and drills on Sentosa.
Regular workshops on how to deal with terror threats through the SGSecure movement are also conducted.
More than 70 per cent of tenants on Sentosa have registered their SGSecure representatives with the Manpower Ministry (MOM) at present.
The SDC has also reached out to all tenants on the importance of developing effective contingency plans to secure their workplace under MOM’s enhanced bizSAFE workplace health and safety programmes.
Exercise Heartbeat involved over 200 people, including staff from KidZania, officers from the Singapore Police Force and the Singapore Civil Defence Force. (Photo: Chan Luo Er)
One of the businesses involved in these programmes is KidZania Singapore, which started developing their business continuity plan in case of a terror attack from November last year.
All frontline staff at the attraction are also trained in first aid.
“While we have detailed contingency plans in place, this joint exercise allows us to put our emergency-preparedness measures to the test and work with various agencies to fine-tune them, so as to always ensure we maintain a safe learn-through-play environment at all times,” said Mr Leong Yue Weng, general manager of KidZania Singapore.
This edition of Exercise Heartbeat involved over 200 people, including staff from KidZania, officers from the Singapore Police Force and the Singapore Civil Defence Force.
