AssMRT train vandalised

[soIsee]

The best punishment for this Swiss is not to fine him or cane him but to let him be creative with his time at Changi resorts for a few months where he can 'creatively decorated' the bare walls of Changi resorts!

Hell, with graffiti painting skills like his, he'll soon turn the Changi resort to some tourist attraction feature ..a must visit for tourists that land at Changi airport!

Win ..win suituation.

He get to express himself freely with free food, free paint all thrown in and the Pappies get to have a first class artist to decorated their Changi walls for free!

 

[Ramseth]

Your suggestion reminds me of the Pudu Prison in KL.

 

[Yukimura Sanada]

Staff thought it was artwork


Jun 8, 2010

MRT VANDALISM CASE
Staff thought it was artwork

<!-- by line --> By Maria Almenoar & Teh Joo Lin
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The reason: Staff who spotted the graffiti thought it was an advertisement or artwork, and brushed it off. It was only when the train was called in for routine maintenance on May 19 that the alarm was raised, it said. -- PHOTO: YOUTUBE

AFTER almost a week of silence, train operator SMRT on Tuesday revealed the scale of the security breach at its Changi train depot. For close to two whole days from May 17, it said in a statement on Tuesday, the company had no idea of the gaping hole in the perimeter fence at the depot, which consequently went unrepaired. And during this time, no staff member raised an alarm that a train had been vandalised.

The reason: Staff who spotted the graffiti thought it was an advertisement or artwork, and brushed it off. It was only when the train was called in for routine maintenance on May 19 that the alarm was raised, it said. Police had earlier said that two men allegedly broke into the depot late on May 16 or in the early hours of May 17. One, Swiss national Oliver Fricker, 32, was charged with vandalism and trespassing. He is out on bail. His employer, Swiss company Comit AG, has also suspended him.

The other, believed to be Briton Lloyd Dane Alexander, is still at large. A warrant for his arrest has been issued. In its statement on Tuesday, SMRT said its staff noticed the graffiti on the two train carriages on May 17, but thought nothing of it.

Read the full report in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.

 

[Yukimura Sanada]

SMRT says staff mistook graffiti on train for advert


SMRT says staff mistook graffiti on train for advert
By Imelda Saad | Posted: 08 June 2010 1844 hrs
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SINGAPORE: SMRT has explained why there was a lapse of two days before a police report was made about the train that was vandalised with graffiti. The company said its staff noticed the graffiti on the train on 17 May but did not sound the alarm as it was done artistically and they mistook it for an advertisement.

SMRT's deputy director for security and emergency planning, Choy Kin Chong, said: "They (staff) thought it was a commercial wrap, likewise several members of the public also spotted the graffiti but we did not receive any report." The alarm was raised two days later on 19 May at 4pm by maintenance staff when the train was recalled to the workshop for scheduled maintenance.

A police report was made then and investigations led to a discovery of the security breach at Changi Depot. SMRT said it immediately reviewed security measures in all its depots. The number of security personnel and patrols at each depot has increased, and security personnel instructed to step up their vigilance.

The number of security cameras will also be more than doubled, and there will be additional cameras installed at areas where the trains are launched daily at the depot. SMRT's Mr Choy said: "We intend to mount cameras and lighting system at the reception track so that for all the trains that depart the depot for service, we will be able to monitor the exterior part of the train."

Police have said that 33-year-old Swiss national, Oliver Fricker, and his accomplice, Briton Lloyd Dane Alexander, had broken into the Changi Depot and spray-painted two train carriages between 17 and 18 May. Fricker was arrested on 25 May. The vandals had broken through a 3-km perimeter fence and cut through the wires to enter the depot. Once inside, they spray-painted graffiti on one side of a train.

There are trees in the background, which act as camouflage for the trespassers, and flood lights at the back which are said to have given the vandals ample lighting as they went about doing their work. Hence, going forward the perimeter fence will be strengthened with coiled barbed wires at the base.

SMRT's Mr Choy said: "The coiled wire will be able to strengthen the base of the fence, because of its construction, and it comes with razor-shaped blades...it will be very difficult for a potential attacker to cut the wire and even if they were to crawl in, they will probably incur some injury." SMRT is also considering the use of hi-tech detection and warning systems around its perimeter.

"At the moment the fence is not equipped with those surveillance and intrusion detection systems. With the incorporation of such systems we would be able to detect, perhaps even prevent a possible incursion in all our depots," said Mr Choy. SMRT also says that any intruder who attempts to sabotage the trains runs the risk of being electrocuted as the tracks which power the trains give out 750 volts of direct current.

When asked why it took about three weeks before news of the security breach was made public, Mr Choy said: "During the period the case was under police investigation and we could not reveal too much about the incident." Separately, the Swiss Embassy in Singapore told MediaCorp it is providing consular care to the accused, Oliver Fricker. This includes helping the business consultant find a lawyer and possibly observe court hearings.

It added that Fricker has to be considered innocent unless proven guilty. It said that Swiss nationals living or holidaying in Singapore are expected to obey the country's laws. "Nonetheless, certain punishments such as corporal punishment are foreign to Swiss legal conception," said Peter Zimmerli, counsellor and deputy head of mission at the Swiss Embassy.

Fricker is now out on a $100,000 bail. His employer, Comit AG, an IT consultancy firm, said Fricker is suspended, pending the outcome of investigations. A check on Fricker's Facebook page shows his profile has been taken off. The news has attracted international attention and is widely reported in the Swiss media.

The blogosphere has also been abuzz with comments, with many taking aim at the security lapse. One netizen said: "A normal guy like him can get into a restricted area, I wonder what a team of well-trained terrorists can do." Another netizen called it a "breach of security" and a "serious matter". A third netizen said, albeit tongue in cheek, "it is a beautiful spray-painting. But if he is going to paint it on my car, it would be courteous of him to ask for my permission first".

Meanwhile the hunt is still on for Fricker's accomplice, Briton Lloyd Dane Alexander, who left Singapore before the incident was reported. He is believed to be in Hong Kong. If arrested, he can be brought back, as Singapore and Hong Kong have an extradition treaty. Police say they have also alerted all Interpol member countries to look out for Lloyd Dane Alexander and to give any information to Singapore, should he be found in their jurisdiction.


- CNA/ir

 

[Cestbon]

Re: 2nd suspect may be in HK

What is security guard doing?
There must be SOP to check the fence at least once a day right!
If there is a hole there for two day who know maybe the kids will sneak thru also.

 

[johnny333]

Re: 2nd suspect may be in HK

What is security guard doing?
There must be SOP to check the fence at least once a day right!
If there is a hole there for two day who know maybe the kids will sneak thru also.

Obviously the gate keepers are happy to sleep on the job or playing golf in one of Spores world class golf courses

I'm really not surprised if WKS can sleep on the job, there must be others I suspect they are just the tip of the iceberg. A culture of laziness has set in among the PAP

 

[Guile]

Update: S'pore launches manhunt for alleged British vandal

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</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="content_subtitle" align="left"> Wed, Jun 09, 2010
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Update: S'pore launches manhunt for alleged British vandal

S'pore Police Force has alerted all Interpol member countries to look out for the accomplice. -AFP
<!-- TITLE : end--> </td></tr> <tr><td colspan="3" height="15">

</td> </tr> <tr><td colspan="3" class="bodytext_10pt"> <!-- CONTENT : start --> SINGAPORE - Singapore on Tuesday launched a global manhunt for a Briton suspected of involvement in a train vandalism case that raised doubts about the security of key installations in the city state.

A warrant of arrest was issued against Lloyd Dane Alexander, a British citizen accused of being the accomplice of a Swiss business consultant, 32-year-old Oliver Fricker, who is now on bail in Singapore.

Both men could face jail, fines and caning for allegedly breaking into a protected subway depot and spray-painting elaborate graffiti on a parked train in May. The prank is regarded as a serious breach of security in Singapore, which says its transport system is a potential terrorist target.

"Police have also alerted all the Interpol member countries to look out for the said accomplice and to render us information should he be found in their jurisdiction," a police spokesman said Tuesday after the warrant was issued. The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) is based in Lyon, France and facilitates cross-border police cooperation, including hunting down fugitives from justice.

Sources familiar with international manhunts said the Singapore police will decide their next move only after receiving information about Alexander's whereabouts. Any extradition proceedings will have to be launched at the diplomatic level, they said.

The Swiss suspect, Fricker, posted 100,000 Singapore dollars (71,000 US) bail on Monday but his passport has been impounded to prevent him leaving Singapore during his trial. Police officials said Alexander left Singapore before the incident was reported to the authorities.

They declined to comment on local media reports that the British national may have flown to Hong Kong. Singapore's Straits Times has suggested that Fricker and Alexander could be part of a group of underground graffiti artists targeting metro trains around the world.

Vandalism is punishable by up to three years' jail or a maximum fine of 2,000 Singapore dollars, plus three to eight strokes of a wooden cane - a practice dating back to British colonial rule in Singapore.

In addition to the vandalism charge, Fricker faces two years' jail or a fine of 1,000 dollars, or both, for trespassing into a protected area. The train has been scrubbed clean but the clip taken by a commuter can still be viewed.

Singapore's vandalism laws became global news in 1994 when an American teenager, Michael Fay, was caned for damaging cars and public property despite appeals for clemency from the US government.


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[Guile]

​

​

Swiss national Oliver Fricker, 32 hiding his face with a bag upon released from Changi Prison on June 7, 2010.
Now police in the famously-strict city say they think he may not have acted alone.
​

​

​

​

"The identity of the accomplice has been established to be one Lloyd Dane Alexander...
Police have applied for a warrant of arrest which the... court has granted," the spokeswoman said.
​

 

[Guile]

Police said Alexander left Singapore before the incident was reported to authorities on May 19 and they declined
to comment on local media reports that the British national may have flown to Hong Kong.
​

​

Singapore's Straits Times has suggested that Fricker could be part of a group of underground graffiti artists targeting metro trains around the world.​

​

Vandalism is punishable by up to three years' jail or a maximum fine of 2,000 Singapore dollars,
plus three to eight strokes of a wooden cane, a punishment dating from British colonial rule.​

​

In addition to the vandalism charge, Fricker faces two years' jail or a fine of 1,000 dollars, or both, for trespassing into a protected area.
Singapore's vandalism laws became global news in 1994 when an American teenager, Michael Fay, was caned for damaging cars
and public property despite appeals for clemency from the US government.​

 

[Cestbon]

He should leave the country if he the one who spray the MRT. Really stupid or idiot. Have at least a week for him to leaving the red dot.
If want to be famous why cover the face.

 

[Kwame]

He should have left the country to Romania, where there is no extradition treaty, so he can enjoy chit-chatting with Dracula Ionescu about how both of them managed to escape the short hand of PAP law.

 

[Sakon Shima]

Jun 9, 2010
Depot security beefed up

<!-- by line --> By Maria Almenoar and Sujin Thomas & Bryan Toh
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The Changi depot is ringed by 3km of fencing - which prior to the breach, was already topped with three lines of barbed wire. -- PHOTO: AFP

<!-- story content : start --> THAT perimeter fence surrounding SMRT's train depot in Changi is being reinforced. On Wednesday, workers were seen laying coils of barbed wire around the base of the fence, to make it more difficult for intruders to trespass into the restricted area. The installation of concertina wire is one of several measures SMRT has said it would take following a break-in last month that shocked the public.

Vandals cut a hole in the fence and spray-painted graffiti on two carriages of a train. The breach was not discovered till at least two days later. Police believe that two foreigners - Swiss national Oliver Fricker and Briton Lloyd Dane Alexander - are responsible. The Changi depot is ringed by 3km of fencing - which prior to the breach, was already topped with three lines of barbed wire.

SMRT did not say where the hole was cut but a section of the fence facing Xilin Avenue had clearly been patched up. Among other things, the train operator said it will add more closed-circuit televisions and increase the frequency of guard patrols at its depots. SMRT's other depots in Bishan and Ulu Pandan have similar perimeter security, a Straits Times check discovered.

Read the full report in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.

 

[Sakon Shima]

As for the graffiti incident, SMRT had said they'd mistaken it for an advertisement.

"If no one told me it's graffiti, I would have thought it's part of an advertisement. I'm also surprised it took them two days to find out that a hole was cut in the fence," said one Singapore resident.

"More like advertisement. He done it quite well," said another.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1062111/1/.html

 

[johnsgp1]

He should have left the country to Romania, where there is no extradition treaty, so he can enjoy chit-chatting with Dracula Ionescu about how both of them managed to escape the short hand of PAP law.

haha...well said...funny why a Swiss wants to do that? Maybe SG is too boring..haha

 

[johnsgp1]

Re: 2nd suspect may be in HK

What is security guard doing?
There must be SOP to check the fence at least once a day right!
If there is a hole there for two day who know maybe the kids will sneak thru also.

maybe the management wants the guards to wash and polish all the trains..no time to do rounds..

 

[Ramseth]

He should leave the country if he the one who spray the MRT. Really stupid or idiot. Have at least a week for him to leaving the red dot.
If want to be famous why cover the face.

This Swiss guy is pure dumb. His Brit friend is far smarter.

 

[kingrant]

Poor chap. He made the PAP govt lose face and that they cannot accept. It will be his backside vs their face.

 

[ScarFace]

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[Yue Ying]

Swiss in court over MRT graffiti


Jun 21, 2010
Swiss in court over MRT graffiti

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Oliver Fricker, a business consultant, who allegedly spray- painted two MRT trains at Changi depot last month made a brief appearance in court on Monday. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

A SWISS national who allegedly spray- painted two MRT trains at Changi depot last month made a brief appearance in court on Monday. Oliver Fricker, 32, a business consultant, is represented by Mr Derek Kang, who told the court that he would be making further representations. The lawyer was briefed more than a week ago. Fricker, who is out on $100,000 bail, appeared emotionless when he stood in the dock.

After the mention, defence and the prosecution led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Sharon Lim went before a pre-triai conference judge in chambers. The case will be mentioned in a district court on June 24. Fricker has been accused, together with Dane Alexander Lloyd, of vandalism by cutting the fence of the Changi depot between May 16 and 17. He is also said to have entered a protected place as well as sprayed paint on the two carriages of Singapore MRT, together with Lloyd also.

Lloyd, a Briton, has since left the country. If convicted, Fricker faces a fine of up to $2,000 and/or a jail sentence of up to three years and caning of not less than three strokes on each vandalism charge. For entering a protected place, the maximum penalty is a fine of up to $1,000 and/or a jail term of up to two years.

 

[chobolan]

Fricker gets 5 months jail & 3 strokes of cane over vandalism charges


Fricker gets 5 months jail & 3 strokes of cane over vandalism charges
By Sona Remesh | Posted: 25 June 2010 1843 hrs
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SINGAPORE : Swiss national Oliver Fricker has been sentenced to five months jail and three strokes of the cane.

The 32-year-old business consultant pleaded guilty to trespassing into the SMRT Changi Depot and spray-painting two train carriages.

A third vandalism charge for cutting the depot's fence was stood down.

Fricker committed the offences between May 16 and 17 with an alleged accomplice, identified as Dane Alexander Lloyd, a Briton who has since left Singapore.

The court was told Lloyd allegedly masterminded the plan, and had corresponded with a spray paint supplier before his arrival in Singapore on May 15.

The next day, the pair looked for a dimly-lit area of fence surrounding the depot and cut a hole in it. They then painted the two carriages nearest to the fence.

The case saw hours of mitigation and repeated delays in court.

Fricker's lawyer said his client had made a one-off mistake, while under the influence of alcohol.

He added the graffiti had not incited hatred, and left no lasting damage.

But the prosecution said Fricker's sentence should act as a general deterrent for the public.

Fricker's lawyer said his client had shown genuine remorse by cooperating fully with police. - CNA /ls