SINGAPORE - Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said the police "did the right thing" and handled Sunday's incident near the Shangri-La Hotel effectively.
The police were vigilant to the fact that the incident, which later turned out to be drug-related, could have been a terrorist plot, he said.
"The incident was an isolated one and drug-related, but the police did the right thing, ever vigilant to the fact that this could have been a terrorist plot," he wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday.
The Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security conference being held at the hotel, went on smoothly despite the incident which involved three men who ignored police warnings to stop their car for a boot check.
Police fired at the vehicle which crashed through barricades and shot dead the 34-year-old Singaporean driver.
Two male passengers in the car, both Singaporeans, were arrested. Substances believed to be drugs were recovered from the car. The driver and one of the passengers were wanted by the police for various offences.
"The hundreds of delegates who attended the Shangri-La Dialogue might not have even known of the drug-related incident that happened near to them this morning, where the driver of the car was shot dead and two others apprehended," Dr Ng wrote.
"The Singapore Police Force had handled it so smoothly."
The three-day security summit, which wrapped up on Sunday afternoon, was attended by defence chiefs from 26 nations, security analysts, academics and media from around the world.
Dr Ng said his breakfast meeting with another defence chief at the hotel continued as usual.
"I was on my way to a breakfast meeting with another defence minister at the hotel, but the area was cordoned off until the SAF CBRE Team searched the car thoroughly," he disclosed.
"No explosives or weapons were found, and we were allowed to proceed and the meeting continued as usual."
Dr Ng added in his post: "I felt extremely proud of our officers and men involved, who do their job with great professionalism and the highest standards. Because of their good efforts, we can continue with our lives as per normal each day. Thank you for keeping us safe - Salute!"
