SINGAPORE - Singapore has stepped up its security patrols and surveillance in relevant areas in light of the Paris shooting on Wednesday, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.

In a Facebook post on Thursday morning, DPM Teo, who is also Minister for Home Affairs, said Singaporeans can help by reporting any suspicious activities to the authorities.

The gun attack that killed at least 12 journalists, cartoonists and policemen in Paris is an example of how extremism can lead to violence and bloodshed, DPM Teo said.

He added: "We must treasure and strengthen the ties that bind our communities together in Singapore. But no country is immune."

He also expressed his deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones in the Paris shooting on Wednesday.

The attack on the Paris office of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo was an apparent militant Islamist attack.

Second Minister for Home Affairs and and Trade & Industry, Mr S Iswaran, also said on Thursday that such incidents are a reminder that threats to Singaporeans' safety and security are ever-present.

"We need to continue to emphasise a few key points to ourselves as a community in Singapore.

"One obviously is our inter-racial, multiracial character and the strings that bind us together as a community, as a people. Because it is very easy (for these) to fray, and these are the sort of things we must guard against as a community," he said, speaking to the media after an awards ceremony by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Mr Iswaran, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, added that government agencies and people need to be vigilant to help minimise the risk of such incidents occurring, and resilient, "so that if something unfortunate were to occur, we have the capacity and the strength to recover and get back to normal life".