SINGAPORE: A suspicious object was found outside Boon Lay MRT station on Saturday afternoon (Jul 28), prompting the closure of exit C of the station near Jurong Point mall.

The police said they responded to a report of a suspicious object at about 4.30pm.



In an update on Facebook at about 6.10pm, the police said nothing incriminating was found after conducting checks on the object.

"Exit C of Boon Lay MRT Station is now reopen for public access. Members of the public are advised not to speculate on the incident. Investigations are ongoing," said the police.





The incident was sparked by a man who threatened to blow up a pawn shop outside the station, after a failed robbery attempt.

When an employee refused to hand over cash and jewellery, the suspect claimed he had an explosive device. He then threw an object on the counter and fled, said the police in an update at about 10.30pm.

"The police had established that the object only contained some electrical components," said the Singapore Police Force.

It is understood that the pawn shop was a ValueMax outlet. Officers were seen walking in and out of the shop to take photos.



Earlier, police were seen dragging a luggage bag to the middle of a pedestrian square outside Jurong Point and inspecting objects on the ground.

As armed police patrolled the area, a large crowd of onlookers were told to move along. The pedestrian square and several shops, including Mr Bean and ValueMax, were cordoned off.



Train operations were not affected, the police said.







Armed police seen near exit C of Boon Lay MRT station on Jul 28, 2018.

Pedestrian square in front of some shops near Boon Lay MRT station cordoned off.

Police were also seen near exit E of Boon Lay MRT station.

As police cordoned off exit C of the MRT station, some passers-by took to social media to find out more about what had happened.

They reported being told to move away from the area between Boon Lay MRT and Jurong Point.



What’s happening at Jurong Point? Police cordoned off the area between Boon Lay MRT and Jurong Point and diverted people away from the area. No one can enter nor exit from the access door near Innisfree. At one point, MRT staffs blocked us from entering the station. #jurongpoint — Hafiz Ma'il (@HafizMail_) July 28, 2018

@ChannelNewsAsia do y’all know what’s happening at Boon Lay MRT? pic.twitter.com/VQkursIQ7r — Noel Sebastian (@noelsebastian13) July 28, 2018

In appealing for information on the suspect, police said he was about 1.75m tall and was last seen wearing a pink turban, blue jacket and long brown trousers.

On Wednesday (Aug 1), police said in a statement that the man has been arrested.

