Terror threats in Brisbane... Can Singapore cope?

Brisbane's transport halted for two hours yesterday due to terrorist threats suspected to be made by a teen in his twenties. Apparently, someone made 3 phone calls claiming that there will be a planted bomb on one of the buses. So, the whole of brisbane's public transport came to a halt in the afternoon and once during the peak period between 4pm to 5pm.

One of my friend was on the bus when it happened, on his way to school for his last paper haha. According to him, the buses have some kind of communication device that's being linked to a control centre. And that is how they managed to get all buses to stop at the nearest bus stop and to evacuate 100m away from the bus stop. Trains and ferry services were stopped as well.

Its amazing what prank calls can lead to huh. :) And the person who made that prank call is such an insensitive bas****, making use of the already tense situation in australia to fulfil some kind of sick satisfaction. In rhetoric terms, its called kairos... (the timeliness of an argument to convince your audience or simply timely) heh i've learnt something here in aus! mai siao siao (meaning dun play play or dont play a fool - for the sake of people who doesnt understand singlish which i think the only person would be pam lol right pam? if you r reading this heh)

Anyway, I was thinking what if this happens in Singapore? Would we be able to evacuate everyone on the buses and trains? Trains maybe but buses? Do we have such a communication network? I dont think so right? Correct me if I'm wrong. Shouldn't we do something about this?

Anyway, I went to watch elizabeth town today. :) I'm so bored that I went to watch that movie lol. haiz... well I cant be playing everyday right? LOL


Read the news

Threat freezes city
Renee Viellaris and Rosemary Odgers
15nov05

AN unprecedented shutdown of southeast Queensland's public transport network was yesterday sparked by threats that a small package would explode on a bus or train.

Queensland Rail and Brisbane City Council buses ground to a halt at midday and again during peak hour yesterday afternoon after emergency services received three separate threats.

Police set up a major incident room and were last night hunting for those responsible but had not declared it to be a hoax.

Forensic officers, specialising in fingerprint analysis, swooped on public phone boxes at Carina and Enoggera which were believed to have been used to make the threatening calls.

A special hotline set up yesterday received numerous tipoffs about the threats, which included concerns about suspicious parcels and people.

Late yesterday, the bomb squad evacuated some residents and cordoned off Pinelands St at Sunnybank Hills for about two hours after a bus driver alerted police to a suspicious package just before 5pm.

Thousands of passengers on more than 700 buses and trains were evacuated, throwing peak-hour travelling into chaos as trains and buses came to a standstill between 4.45pm and 5.15pm.

Train and bus stations in Brisbane's central business district were also evacuated but occupants of surrounding buildings, including the Myer Centre, remained inside. It is understood that government security experts advised that an explosion from a smaller package or backpack would have been contained to the bus or train carriage, eliminating the need to evacuate nearby buildings.

Premier Peter Beattie defended the disruption to commuters, saying authorities had no choice but to act on the threats.

"There's no perfect science here. We responded to the information we were given," he said.

He warned hoaxers they faced up to seven years in jail if caught and said "we would throw the book at them".

Just after 11am police received the first threat that eight bombs – four on Queensland Rail trains and four on council buses – would detonate at midday.

Another call warned emergency services of an explosion on buses and trains at 5pm. Police were concerned about the caller's persistence, prompting them to take the threats seriously in the wake of last week's terror raids in Sydney and Melbourne.

A meeting of State Cabinet was interrupted to inform ministers of the threats.

Mr Beattie then met with Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson and senior ministers, who decided to shut down the transport network. Major hospitals and the Queensland Ambulance Service were placed on heightened alert.

Thousands of workers were advised to leave the city earlier or take public transport well after 5.15pm to prevent massive public transport backlogs and taxi companies were asked to help move people out of the city.

However, communication problems hampered the early response, with some bus drivers unaware of the possible danger.

Mr Atkinson said police inquiries were focusing on the source of the phone calls. "It is true that we regularly receive anonymous phone calls that allege bomb threats but in the general climate that exists . . . we're treating this more seriously," he said.

Some commuters, including Brendan Sanewski, 42, a public servant, from Redcliffe, were cynical about Mr Atkinson, Mr Beattie and Police Minister Judy Spence visiting Central Station during the stoppage.

"I fail to see how 30 minutes of blocking the trains could stop a bomb," Mr Sanewski said.

"This is just an inconvenience and if there was a terror attack there would be no warning."

Metal worker Andrew Barker was on his way home to Durack when his train abruptly pulled up at Milton Station and everyone was forced to leave.

"It's (terrorism) not something that we think about much here in Brisbane, but when something like this happens it does make you feel unsafe," Mr Barker said.