Seletar Hash House Harriers apologizes for causing alarm in Woodleigh MRT security scare

Photo: Singapore Police Force newsroom
Photo: Singapore Police Force newsroom

The antics carried out by members of a local chapter of the Hash House Harriers were hair-raising enough to cause a full-blown security incident at Woodleigh MRT station on Tuesday — and for that, they’re really, really sorry.

Seletar Hash House Harriers, a local offshoot of the international running social club, made the apology in a press release, acknowledging that they shouldn’t have caused public alarm by having three of their members mark their running route through the train station.

Accompanied by two fellow members of the offbeat running group, 69-year-old Tay Yong Kwang left a trail of baking flour at the concourse of Woodleigh MRT to mark out the route for other joggers. A cleaner found the white powder scattered across the premises and alerted the authorities to the ‘suspicious substance’.

The train station had to be shut down for three hours as the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force handled the security incident, sending in the HazMat team. One can only imagine their relief when the powder turned out to be simple baking flour.

Photo: Singapore Police Force newsroom

Ahead of Hash runs, scouts will first mark out a trail (typically with sawdust, flour, chalk, or toilet paper) for the runners. The group explained that the trio had been marking a trail for its Tuesday evening run, which was meant to have participants head towards Woodleigh Close from Bidadari via the MRT underpass.

“In retrospect, they should not have placed any markings in the station, and should have used directional signs instead outside of the station,” wrote the all-male club, which holds runs every Tuesday.

According to their statement, the three members responsible for the scare had stepped forward immediately to the authorities after they found out about the hullaballoo. Tay was arrested on the same day, but has since been released on police bail while investigations continue.

“They are sorry that their actions caused public alarm and inconvenience,” wrote the running club, which pledged to be “more mindful” when planning future runs.

Seletar hash house harriers
The Seletar HHH lads running around. Photo: Seletar Hash House Harriers / Facebook


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