Year 1991

Tag: Hijack

SQ 117 Hijacked

Tuesday, 26th March 1991

The Singapore Airlines flight SQ 117 took off from Subang Airport in Kuala Lumpur with 129 passengers and crew onboard at 1815 hrs. Four passengers who claimed to be Pakistanis took control of the plane when it was enroute to Singapore. The plane landed and parked at Changi Airport's Runway One at 2215 hrs. The hijackers claimed to be members of the Pakistan People's Party. They wanted the release of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's husband. The hijackers issued a five-minute deadline at 27 March 0645 hrs after which they threatened to kill one passenger every ten minutes if their demands were not acceded to. SAF Elite Commandos stormed the plane, killing four Pakistani hijackers and freeing all passengers and crew. The rescue of SQ 117 was over in just 30 seconds and ended at 0650 hrs.


The Laju Hijacking

Thursday, 31st January 1974

The Shell Oil Refinery located on Pulau Bukom Besar, (an island lying south of Singapore) was attacked by four terrorists who were armed with submachine guns and explosives. The group comprised two Japanese from the Japanese Red Army (JRA) or 'Sekigun' and two Arabs from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The bloop attack on the refinery forces them to hijack the "Laju", a Ferry Boat, with five crew members as hostages. The terrorists started their bargaining. The terrorists agreed to release the crew of the ‘Laju’ in exchange for a party of 'Guarantors' . The team was led by Mr S.R. Nathan, then MINDEF’s Director of Security & Intelligence (now President of Singapore). The 12-men-team was made up of four SAF Commandos and eight other government officials. On 7 Feb 1974, arrangements were made to transfer the terrorists by boat from "Laju" to the Marine Police Headquarters and then by minibus to the airport. On 8 February 1974 at 0125 hours, the four