March 3, 2023
SINGAPORE – A police report has been lodged by train operator SMRT after a 12-year-old boy allegedly caused a train delay by deliberately preventing a platform screen door from closing.
SMRT President Lam Sheau Kai said: “On Feb 28 at around 5pm, a commuter on the east-bound station platform at Jurong East MRT station deliberately prevented a platform screen door from closing… We have reported this matter to the police.”
Mr Lam added that SMRT takes a serious view of such behaviour as “not only is it dangerous for the person involved, but the irresponsible act could also cause delays to train service, affecting many commuters”.
He said that for the safety of commuters, train and platform screen doors should not be obstructed while they are closing.
In a video uploaded onto YouTube, which has since been deleted, a boy can be heard saying “watch this, I’m going to force the PSDs (platform screen doors)”, while slotting what seems to be a metal flask in between the doors to prevent them from closing fully.
The two-minute video shows the affected door later staying closed as the ones beside it open to allow commuters to enter.
The video pans to another train on the same track approaching the station. The boy is heard saying that he thinks the service has been disrupted.
An SMRT staff member can be seen running towards a control panel to fix the issue, before the affected train moves off.