SINGAPORE — In a rare incident, the police opened fire and killed a Singaporean man yesterday after he tried to flee checks by ramming his car through barricades set up near Shangri-La Hotel, where a high-level security conference was being held.

Two passengers in the car, both Singaporeans, were also arrested in the pre-dawn shooting. One of them sustained unspecified injuries and was conscious when he was sent to hospital. 

Preliminary investigations indicate this was an isolated incident from the security summit, said the police, who subsequently found substances believed to be illegal drugs on one of the men. “The driver and one of the passengers are wanted by the authorities for various offences,” added the police, without elaborating.

The high drama led to a lockdown lasting for several hours around the hotel, where security was already heightened for the annual three-day Shangri-La Dialogue, which ended yesterday. While the chilling din shook some residents of nearby condominiums from their slumber, most of them were going about their daily business by 10am, saying they were reassured by the way the police handled the incident.

The police said the shooting happened at around 4.36am, after the driver put officers’ lives in danger by crashing through police barricades.

When officers stopped the car at a vehicular checkpoint set up along Ardmore Park and asked for the boot to be opened for checks, the driver, identified as Mohamed Taufik Bin Zahar, 34, suddenly accelerated the Singapore-registered red Subaru Impreza towards Anderson Road.

“Despite repeated warnings to stop, the vehicle continued to drive dangerously across the security checkpoint and headed towards the secured venue. Officers fired at the vehicle to stop it from causing harm to others and from proceeding further,” the police said in a news release.

Citing ongoing investigations, the police declined to comment on what warnings were given to the driver, the number of shots fired, or its standard operating procedure for handling those who run police checks.

The car came to a stop at the junction of Orange Grove Road and Anderson Road, about 200m away from the checkpoint. The route it took was a narrow two-lane stretch with several police barricades and has been heavily guarded by police personnel, including elite Gurkha officers, for the past few days. Mohamed Taufik was pronounced dead at the scene while his passengers, Muhammad Syahid bin Mohamed Yasin and Mohamed bin Ismail, aged 26 and 31 respectively, were arrested.

According to a police statement at 2am today, the decease was wanted for failing to attend court for an offence of criminal intimidation and has drug related antecedents as well as other criminal records. Mohamed bin Ismail was also wanted for drug related offences and for failing to stop at a roadblock. Both he and Muhammad Syahid bin Mohamed Yasin have drug related antecedents and criminal records. Investigations were still ongoing.

After the shooting, the police closed Orange Grove Road, Anderson Road and Ardmore Park for several hours to facilitate operations. They also advised members of public to stay away from the area.

A makeshift screen was raised to block the car from public view. At 10.45am, a police van took the body of the driver away.

A search of the vehicle by the police and officers from the Singapore Armed Forces’ Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosives Defence Group found no explosives, arms or weapons. But a bag containing a white powdery substance, believed to be illegal drugs, was recovered.

“Mohamed bin Ismail sustained injuries during the incident and was conveyed to hospital conscious... Substances believed to be controlled drugs and an item, believed to be a drug-taking utensil, were found on the two men arrested,” said the police. Later, when the car was towed away around noon, a bullet hole could be seen on the windscreen while the bonnet was badly dented. Barricades were removed progressively in the afternoon after the Shangri-La Dialogue ended.

Commenting on the incident on the sidelines of the summit, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean said: “The investigations so far indicate that the situation is related to drugs. The police will deal firmly according to the law with anyone who breaks the law, to make sure they maintain public safety and security.”

In a Facebook post, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said the officers “did all the right things”.

Praising the Home Team for handling the incident “so smoothly” and thanking them for keeping the country safe, he wrote: “While many were still sleeping, our Home Team kept us safe and did all the right things ... The incident was an isolated one and drug-related, but the police did the right thing, ever vigilant to the fact that this could have been a terrorist plot.

“I felt extremely proud of our officers and men involved, who do their job with great professionalism and the highest standards.”

Also posting on Facebook yesterday was Second Minister for Home Affairs Masagos Zulkifli who said it was “a good thing” that the security forces were alert. “Happens, this time, to be drug runners who took a wrong turn. But it sends a message the security forces make no excuses to detain, stop or shoot those who defy their orders in secured or protected areas,” he added.