Shangri-La shooting: Gurkha officer says he was following procedure
‘I received orders from my commanders (that when) a vehicle crashes through the barrier, I have to stop it at all costs ... I have not overreacted,’ said the Gurkha officer who killed Taufik. TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — The driver ignored officers’ repeated verbal warnings for him to stop, and continued to drive on after his partner fired one round at him. Faced with such a scenario, as his mission was to stop any breaches “at all costs”, he had not overreacted by opening fire on Mohamed Taufik Zahar.
This was the testimony of the Gurkha officer, who killed Taufik, 34, in the Shangri-La shooting last May with a shot in the head with his fourth round. He was responding via video link on the second day of the Coroner’s Inquiry into Taufik’s death to questions from the lawyer of the dead man’s family. The officer cannot be named due to the sensitive nature of his work and so as to not compromise future security operations.
On Tuesday, the court heard that Taufik, who was driving Mohamed Ismail, 31, and Muhammad Syahid Mohamed Yasin, 26, had missed a turn and arrived at a security checkpoint along Ardmore Park at about 4.17am on May 31 last year. The police checks were in place for a high-level security summit going on at the hotel.
After passing various officers at the security check point, Taufik revved the car and crashed through the final line of concrete barriers. This prompted two Gurkha officers stationed at the intersection of Anderson Road to fire five shots at the car.
Speaking through a Nepali interpreter, the second officer, who has been with the Gurkha Contingent for eight years and is a marksman, said that after his partner fired one shot at Taufik, he found the car to be speeding up, based on the sound of the engine.
“I had to fire (the first) two rounds to stop the vehicle, to adhere to my duty and mission,” he said. The counsel engaged by Taufik’s family, Mr M Mahendran, had asked why he did not wait to see how the car reacted after the first shot fired by his colleague.
Over his two-and-a-half hours on the stand, the officer was asked a series of questions by Mr Mahendran, including whether he felt it was an overreaction on his part to kill the driver. In response, he said: “I received orders from my commanders (that when) a vehicle crashes through the barrier, I have to stop it at all costs ... I have not overreacted. We have orders and I carried out my orders.”
He also revealed that in situations where a car breaches the barrier, they are to first try and stop the vehicle verbally. “If the driver disobeys, we will shoot,” he added.
“At that point in time, I do not know what the intention of the driver was or whether the red vehicle carried any dangerous materials that could harm the safety of others at the vicinity. My duty was to neutralise any threats that breach the security measures.
Earlier in the day, Staff Sergeant Keith Wang, who was one of the officers manning the vehicle check station, also took the stand. He told the court his version of events that day, where after the trio sped off, he heard the air horn go off.
Health Sciences Authority (HSA) associate consultant forensics pathologist Lee Chin Thye also took the stand to elaborate on his findings. He noted that the gunshot wound to the back of Taufik’s head had no exit wound as the bullet had split upon impact. Brain matter was also disrupted, causing excessive brain injury that resulted in his death, added Dr Lee.
The hearing will continue on a date to be set.
