2 foreigners detained, questioned by police after taking photos of Bishan MRT depot

Two foreign men (seated) were apprehended when they were caught trying to enter SMRT Bishan depot without passes. ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW
One (in blue shirt) of the two men apprehended when they were caught trying to enter SMRT Bishan depot without passes. ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW
One (in white) of the two men apprehended when they were caught trying to enter SMRT Bishan depot without passes. ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW

SINGAPORE - Two foreign men were detained and questioned by police at the Bishan MRT depot when they were seen taking photographs of the secured facility on Wednesday (Oct 4) morning.

The Straits Times understands that the two had got on a shuttle bus which ferries personnel into the depot. But at the security gantry, they were found not to have authorised passes for entry.

They wanted to take photos of the place, and had started using their cameras at the gate.

An SMRT spokesman said: "The vigilance of security personnel at Bishan Depot resulted in them approaching two individuals who were seen taking pictures of the train depot.

"The depot is gazetted as a protected place. Our security personnel detained the two suspects and handed them over to the police."

When The Straits Times went to the scene, the two men were seen surrounded by up to 10 police and security personnel. Three patrol cars were at the scene. The two were questioned for about half an hour just before the security gate. Later, they were led into the security guardhouse.

As of 12.30pm, no arrests had been made.

The Bishan depot has been broken into by vandals in the past. There were two breaches there, out of four vandalism cases involving train depots since 2010.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.