S'pore Chief District Judge To Head COI On Mrt Service Distruption

SINGAPORE, Dec 30 (Bernama) -- Singapore's Chief District Judge of the Subordinate Courts, Tan Siong Thye will head the Commitee of Inquiry (COI) to look into the cause of recent Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) service distruptions in the republic. Local television, Channel NewsAsia reported that the Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew had called for the COI. It said the other members of the committee were Professor Lim Mong King from the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at Nanyang Technological University and Mr Soh Wai Wah, the Director of Prisons. As chairman of the committee, Tan said: "The two MRT service disruption incidents of Dec 15 and 17 are quite unprecedented. They caused significant disruption and inconvenience to hundreds of thousands of commuters." He said such incidents could also potentially pose a public safety issue if not well managed. Tan added that his immediate priority in the next few weeks would be on fact-finding and speaking to the relevant experts. -- BERNAMA