2 Police Coast Guard officers killed in sea collision
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SINGAPORE: Two Police Coast Guard officers were killed in the line of duty on Friday night when their boat collided with a speed boat carrying illegal immigrants.
Police said two Coast Guard boats, each manned by four officers, were performing ambush duties off Tuas.
At about 9.30pm, a speed boat with six persons on board intruded into Singapore waters and the two police boats gave chase.
In the course of the pursuit, one of the boats collided with the vessel and both capsized.
The other police boat immediately called for assistance and carried out a search and rescue operation.
Two officers from the capsized boat were rescued, with minor injuries.
But the other two officers, Station Inspector Mohd Khalid Muhamad and Staff Sergeant Heah Khim Han were missing.
An intensive search was carried out and their bodies were found at 8.15am on Saturday morning.
One of the illegal immigrants also died in the incident, while three others were rescued.
41-year-old Station Inspector Mohd Khalid Muhamad was buried at the Choa Chu Kang Muslim cemetery on Saturday afternoon.
He had joined the Singapore Police Force in 1986.
29-year-old Staff Sergeant Heah was with the Police Force since 2001.
- CNA/so -
rest in peace.
*salutes -
Two Police Coast Guard (PCG) officers had been killed and an unknown number of illegal immigrants gone missing after the boats which the PCG officers and the illegal immigrants were in respectively collided at the sea off Tuas last night. The two PCG officers killed in the line of duty are Station Inspector Mohd Khalid Bin Muhamad and Staff Sergeant Heah Khim Han. Their bodies were retrieved this morning at about 8.15am after an intensive search and rescue operation involving the PCG, naval divers, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, as well as the Royal Malaysia Police (Marine Police) throughout the night. Two other fellow crew mates on board the same PCG boat had been rescued. Three illegal immigrants had also been rescued, together with the recovery of a body of a fourth illegal immigrant.
Two PCG boats, manned by four officers each, were performing ambush duties in Singapore Territorial Waters (STW) off Tuas on 13 Apr 07. At about 9.30 pm, a speed boat with about six persons on board illegally intruded into STW. The two PCG boats gave chase. In the course of the pursuit, there was a collision between one of the PCG boats and the intruding vessel. As a result, one of the PCG boats as well as the speed boat capsized. The remaining PCG boat immediately summoned for assistance and proceeded to conduct search and rescue.
Two of the PCG officers from the capsized PCG boat were rescued from the sea. They suffered minor injuries. The remaining two officers went missing. Their bodies were recovered this morning at about 8.15am. Three persons on the intruding vessel had also been rescued and the body of one of them was recovered.
The two PCG officers killed in the incident are Station Inspector (SI) Mohd Khalid Bin Muhamad and Staff Sergeant Heah Khim Han. SI Mohd Khalid Bin Muhamad joined the SPF in 1986 and S/Sgt Heah Khim Han joined the SPF in 2001.
Investigations are in progress and the search operation for the remaining missing persons is still ongoing.
The Commissioner of Police, Mr Khoo Boon Hui, is saddened by the death of the two officers, "I am deeply saddened by the loss of our two dedicated officers who had sacrificed their lives for the security of Singapore. My officers and I send our condolences to the families of our two heroes and we will do everything possible to assist them to overcome these very traumatic and difficult times."
PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
14 April 2007 @ 2.15pm
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These men died bravely while serving our nation.
They deserve the respect.
RIP.
salutes.
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RIP
Salutes -
The station inspector is a veteran.
It was his first n only job after a levels. and his wife is expecting their 3rd child.
The other is also a father.
Cheers for the malaysian counterparts for aiding in the search too. -
not wear life jacket one meh? sighz... RIP...
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Haiz, i think after so many sea collisions, i will not be surprised if PCG sent out a circular to limit their boats speeds at a certain level unless in emergency cases ...
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long time no see.Originally posted by gd4u:Haiz, i think after so many sea collisions, i will not be surprised if PCG sent out a circular to limit their boats speeds at a certain level unless in emergency cases ...
but this case warrants it as emergency i think.
Both are members of STS. -
From time to time we see cases of police boats colliding with the small sampans used by illegal immigrants/smugglers. Wonder if that's their tactic of stopping the fast and highly maneuverable smugglers' boats.. by ramming into them.
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RIP. *salutes*
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*salute*
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the sampan you are refering to is no ordinary one you see while canoeing, it's actually a speed boat.....and those illegals are not stupid either, they keep improving also, that is why they used the speed boat. The PCG know this and they also try to keep up by getting the PX and keep it's performance secret. police work are dangerous, being human criminal mind are unpredictable, one moment they smile at you the next moment they stab you at the back.
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to give chase on land n on sea is two different situations. During the night on the rocky straits of johor, speeding thru their patrol boat chasing against modified speedboat sampan is not a easy task. Try braking on a slippery road frm 50km to 0km is already hard, wad about on the sea? There also dun have lampost on de straits of johor to show u the ''road''.
PCG is nt a easy vocation.
Salute to the 2 officers for their courage and bravery in executing their duties -
Being a civil servant is never a easy job,especially call of duty..they defend the security of the nation and gave their all for Singapore.I pay my greatest respect to them and hope they rest in peace.
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*observe one min of silence*
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*RIP* to these heros..
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Salutes with respect...Originally posted by kwlee:rest in peace.
*salutes
Should lower our flag in the form on respect...
This men risk their life to keep our water safe... -
Those patrol boat got GPMG mounted in the front right?
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Nah, it was a Interceptor craft they used at that time ...Originally posted by Manager433:Those patrol boat got GPMG mounted in the front right? -
*SALUTE* died during course of duty.. worth the respect.
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the two men passed on keeping our waters safe from scum. a classic example of keeping our country safe, so that others get to sleep peacefully. thoughts are with their families.
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They are the reason why we sleep peacefully at night. Tiggerific, no night shift ah?
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Haha... not tonight.Originally posted by corebooster:They are the reason why we sleep peacefully at night. Tiggerific, no night shift ah?
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Thks bro for the article but I can not view the other two pic.