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| Jan 4, 2008 |
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NOT-SO-HAPPY NEW YEAR
Better crowd control needed at Marina Bay
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I WAS at Marina Bay on New Year's Eve with more than 100,000 others.
After the countdown and fireworks, the crowd started to move towards the exit points. However, we were packed like sardines within the barricades. Also, the road was not even closed to traffic.
Since a big turnout was expected, I have a few questions on crowd control procedure:
We saw only Certis Cisco officers on crowd control duty and they apparently did not know exactly what to do. One sign said 'pedestrian crossing point' but it was closed to pedestrians. Some time later, the pedestrian crossing point was opened again and the crowd had to move back to it to get across to the Marina Square area.
Cisco officers should have used loud hailers to direct the crowd rather than raise their voices, which sounded rude.
Why was the road not closed when such a big turnout was expected?
We saw only Cisco officers. How come there were no police officers?
When I asked some Cisco officers why we were not allowed to cross the road, they acted in a hostile way as if I was trying to make trouble.
Last but not least, after the countdown at Marina Bay, I went to Clarke Quay where I saw many more police officers. Do the authorities think protecting a tourist attraction is more important than protecting thousands of people at Marina Bay?
Khor Teck Khim
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