<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Condo residents say guards went AWOL
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Huang Huifen
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The guards were on their last day at work at Pearlbank. -- TNP FILE PHOTO
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->The 'bank' was apparently left unguarded last Friday.
Mr Sng Jin Chye, chairman of Pearlbank Apartments' management committee, said three security guards were believed to have gone missing from 3am to 6.40am that day.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Not true
'It is impossible for the guards to leave their posts because there will be no one to man the premises, and allow those residents without an access pass to enter.'
A SPOKESMAN FOR SAINT SECURITY, denying that its guards had gone missing
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>They were employed by Saint Security Consultants, whose contract with the condo ended with the night duty last Thursday.
Mr Sng said he was alerted at around 6.20am when the cleaners reporting for work were unable to enter the premises through a back entrance. They said there were no guards to open the door.
Mr Sng, 61, a businessman, said he informed the estate manager and the police before rushing down to the condominium. He was at a nearby market at the time.
He told The Sunday Times that according to the cleaners, all the guards returned at 6.40am.
One guard manning the guardpost at the carpark seemed drunk. Another guard told the police - who were called - she had been resting somewhere for three hours.
Mr Sng said both refused to tell the police where they had been.
The third guard, a security supervisor, told the police that he had left at around 5am for only 15 minutes to get breakfast. He said there was no one at the main guardpost when he returned.
However, one resident, Madam Irene Lim, 73, told The Sunday Times that she did not see any guards from 3am to around 6am.
She said she takes a walk on the grounds at around 3am whenever she cannot sleep. She was alarmed to see that there were no guards at the lobby and carpark guardposts and that the main door to the lobby - accessible only by a pass - was open.
'I shouted the names of the guards but there was no one,' said the resident of over 20 years. She was so worried she decided to sit down at the lobby till around 6am.
Mr Sng said Saint Security was given a month's notice in March that its services were no longer needed. The company had provided security for Pearlbank for two years.
'The council felt the guards had many shortcomings,' said Mr Sng, adding that there were more than 10 complaints by the residents. He added that the guards had punctuality and conduct issues.
When contacted by The Sunday Times, a spokesman for Saint Security denied that the guards had gone missing. He said he received a call at 6am. He contacted the guards individually and they told him they were at their respective posts. 'It is impossible for the guards to leave their posts because there will be no one to man the premises, and allow those residents without an access pass to enter,' he said.
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Huang Huifen
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
The guards were on their last day at work at Pearlbank. -- TNP FILE PHOTO
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->The 'bank' was apparently left unguarded last Friday.
Mr Sng Jin Chye, chairman of Pearlbank Apartments' management committee, said three security guards were believed to have gone missing from 3am to 6.40am that day.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Not true
'It is impossible for the guards to leave their posts because there will be no one to man the premises, and allow those residents without an access pass to enter.'
A SPOKESMAN FOR SAINT SECURITY, denying that its guards had gone missing
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>They were employed by Saint Security Consultants, whose contract with the condo ended with the night duty last Thursday.
Mr Sng said he was alerted at around 6.20am when the cleaners reporting for work were unable to enter the premises through a back entrance. They said there were no guards to open the door.
Mr Sng, 61, a businessman, said he informed the estate manager and the police before rushing down to the condominium. He was at a nearby market at the time.
He told The Sunday Times that according to the cleaners, all the guards returned at 6.40am.
One guard manning the guardpost at the carpark seemed drunk. Another guard told the police - who were called - she had been resting somewhere for three hours.
Mr Sng said both refused to tell the police where they had been.
The third guard, a security supervisor, told the police that he had left at around 5am for only 15 minutes to get breakfast. He said there was no one at the main guardpost when he returned.
However, one resident, Madam Irene Lim, 73, told The Sunday Times that she did not see any guards from 3am to around 6am.
She said she takes a walk on the grounds at around 3am whenever she cannot sleep. She was alarmed to see that there were no guards at the lobby and carpark guardposts and that the main door to the lobby - accessible only by a pass - was open.
'I shouted the names of the guards but there was no one,' said the resident of over 20 years. She was so worried she decided to sit down at the lobby till around 6am.
Mr Sng said Saint Security was given a month's notice in March that its services were no longer needed. The company had provided security for Pearlbank for two years.
'The council felt the guards had many shortcomings,' said Mr Sng, adding that there were more than 10 complaints by the residents. He added that the guards had punctuality and conduct issues.
When contacted by The Sunday Times, a spokesman for Saint Security denied that the guards had gone missing. He said he received a call at 6am. He contacted the guards individually and they told him they were at their respective posts. 'It is impossible for the guards to leave their posts because there will be no one to man the premises, and allow those residents without an access pass to enter,' he said.
