Two recent incidents highlight the different ways in which Home Team officers contributed significantly to ensuring the peace and security in Singapore.
The historic meeting in June between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and the swift arrest of the seven suspects in a vicious slashing incident in Serangoon Road last week were cited as examples of the Home Team's contributions to Singapore by Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo yesterday.
She was speaking at the Home Team National Day Observance Ceremony at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) where 191 Home Team officers, volunteers, members of the public and teams were recognised for their contributions over the past year.
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean was also present at the event.
"In different ways, each Home Team department has played a significant part in making Singapore a home that we and our families feel secure in," said Mrs Teo, who also referred to how Central Narcotics Bureau officers arrested 114 suspected drug offenders in an 11-day island-wide operation from June 18 to 29.
She said: "We had very little time to prepare for the summit but we took it in our stride and the whole of Singapore came together to make the historic summit a success.
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191
Number of Home Team officers, volunteers, members of the public, and teams recognised for their contributions over the past year at the Home Team National Day Observance Ceremony at the Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday.
"The achievements of the Home Team are made possible only because of our people and officers' professionalism, drive for excellence and most importantly, commitment to Singapore," Mrs Teo, who is also Manpower Minister, added.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) team that fought the large blaze at an oil storage tank on Pulau Busing in March was among those honoured yesterday.
The operation involved 128 personnel and 31 firefighting and support vehicles from several fire stations across SCDF's four land divisions.
The fire was successfully extinguished within six hours of SCDF's activation.
The team's representative, Colonel Alan Chow, the former commander of SCDF's first division and currently the director of the Civil Defence Academy, said: "It was a daunting and challenging task because of the magnitude of the incident."
A total of 68 members of the public were also recognised yesterday for their public spiritedness.
One of them was Mr Hossain Mukter, an air-con technician, who sprang into action after spotting a fire in a shop unit at Grandlink Square in November last year.
Together with others in the area, he grabbed several fire extinguishers, entered the unit and fought the fire.
The 53-year-old Bangladeshi, who came to Singapore in 1995, said: "I did what I could do in that situation and I am very proud and happy to be receiving this award."
