Security upped for National Day

Security upped for National Day

SINGAPORE: Singapore will clamp tight security on the city- state's annual National Day Parade (NDP) on Saturday, expected to attract 60,000 people led by President S.R. Nathan and the entire cabinet to a stadium, organizers said.

The strict security measures were being taken amid continuing terrorist threats, highlighted by Tuesday's massive car-bomb blast at a hotel in neighboring Indonesia believed carried out by Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) militants.

Brig. Gen. Chua Chwee Koh, chairman of the parade's executive committee, said that specialist units from the police, the civil defense force and the armed forces will be deployed around the stadium.

Bags and vehicles will be thoroughly checked and spectators to Singapore's celebration of its 38 years of independence will have to go through metal detectors. Only authorized vehicles will be allowed into the stadium's car parks. --AFP