Singapore Police Kill Man Near Security Summit

[Maxim]

Singapore Police Kill Man Near Security Summit

Officers opened fire on the motorist as he tried to flee a checkpoint in Singapore, where shootings are extremely rare.

11:03, Sunday 31 May 2015

Police officers carry away a gun shot victim in a body bag behind a cordoned area near the Shangri-La hotel

An international security summit was put on lockdown in Singapore after police shot dead a man who crashed his car through the barriers at a checkpoint.

The 34-year-old, who had two passengers in the vehicle, was stopped at the police checkpoint near the Shangri-La Hotel, which was hosting the top-level conference, just after 4am (local time).

But when officers asked him to open the boot of his car, he sped off.

Police say the car crashed through police barricades and was "endangering the lives of the officers" before they "opened fire at the vehicle to stop further danger".

The driver was killed and one of his passengers was wounded and taken to hospital. All three men in the car were Singaporean.

Both passengers were arrested after police found what they believe to be controlled drugs and a "drug-making utensil" in the car.

"The driver and one of the passengers are wanted by authorities for various offences," police said in a statement, adding that no weapons or explosives were found in the vehicle.

The location of the incident meant that the Asia-Pacific security summit being held at the Shangri-La was briefly put on lockdown.

Roads and pathways leading up to the hotel in the leafy diplomatic quarter were shut off with barricade tape.

The annual three-day conference, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, was being attended by defence ministers and top military officials from around the world and was due to end at midday on Sunday (local time).

A local news photographer said a bullet hole could be seen on the front windscreen of the vehicle as it was towed away and a resident told the Straits Times newspaper that she had heard two gunshots just after 4am.

Singapore has among the world's toughest drug laws, with a possible death penalty for people convicted of trafficking large amount of heroin, for example.

Shootings are very rare in Singapore, which has one of the world's lowest crime rates.