Little-known Public Order Response Force at ASEAN Summit reappears

SINGAPORE: A little-known, elite police task force was stationed at the Suntec City Convention Center, where world leaders set for the 33rd ASEAN Summit, earlier this week.

The Public Order Response Force (PORF) is an elite arm of the Singapore Police Force, and is also active in major events, which also includes the Trump-Kim Summit in June.

The officers are handpicked from across the different bodies and incidents, such as riots and protests.

The team has been operating in all six land divisions since 2011.

PORF Commander, Deputy Assistant Commissioner (DAC) Dominic John Baptist, said their training regime includes both scenario-based exercises and classroom-based training.

"The PORF supplements the Special Operations Command in dealing with the public order incidents," he said.

"So, it's the first line of defense when we are dealing with the ASEAN Summit." My role as a PORF commander is to ensure that my officers are always ready to deal with public order incidents, if and when they arise. "

The officers work across different departments in the police force and train together to keep the team together.

Added Baptist DAC: "This tempo will actually increase as well as make it known to the ASEAN Summit.

"My team was involved in the Trump-Kim Summit earlier in the year, and we have had some experience in preparing for this deployment."

Within PORF is an all-female team, trained to handle public disorder situations involving women, children and the elderly.

From 23 members in its 2007 pioneer batch, the Women's Special Task Team now numbers over 100.

Apart from securing the ASEAN Summit, the police force also took action at the event.

These include vehicle checks, X-ray screening of baggage and the use of metal detectors, as Channel NewsAsia witnessed the Ritz Carlton during the Summit.

Commander of Tanglin Police Division, Assistant Deputy Commissioner Chong Zun Jie, said: "One of the challenges we face is the hotel remains open to the public and the hotel guests.

"Therefore, the security measures we put in place must minimize inconvenience to the public and hotel guests, without compromising the safety and security of the delegates.

"To do this, we have worked closely with the hotel's management over the past few months over the security arrangement."

A total of 5,000 police officers provided land and sea security during the Summit.