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Brunei Tightens Security As Royal Wedding Nears


Bandar Seri Begawan - Amidst the grand celebratory atmosphere here and festivities lined up for weeks to come, security operations have been stealthily put in place in view of the arrival of Heads of State for the Royal Wedding of HRH Crown Prince Pengiran Muda Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah and Dayangku Sarah binti Pengiran Salleh Ab Rahaman.

Security operations cleaning up the celebration areas include police personnel guarding strategic points as well as conducting of raids to weed out undesirable elements.

Heads of State and members of Royal families are expected to arrive for the Royal Wedding from far away as the Middle East as well as from the Southeast Asian neighbourhood.

Police personnel, including those from the Reserve Unit have already been deployed at several hotels and guest houses.

Seen in public view yesterday were personnel from the Royal Brunei Armed Forces and the dog unit of the Gurkha Rifles.

At the Empire Hotel and Country Club, police from the Reserve Unit were seen carrying out spot checks on vehicles entering the hotel at the entrance while two screening machines were placed at the lobby of the hotel.

The police said about 200 personnel are deployed at the hotel, including those looking after the building. "They have been deployed to guard this accommodation from August 27 to September 14," a senior police officer said yesterday.

Similar tight security was also seen at the Assarraa guest house in Jln Kumbang Pasang, Istana Edinburgh and hotels. Spokesperson from the police said over 1,000 personnel is deployed day and night for the Royal Wedding.

Meanwhile, enforcement officers have also beefed up efforts to ensure that the celebration is not compromised by any unwanted elements.

On Thursday night, the Immigration Enforcement Officers led by Senior Chief Immigration Officer, Awang Juma' at Hj Burut conducted a four-hour operation targeting eight areas in the capital and also in Jerudong and Lumapas area.

The operation codenamed "Buru 49" was conducted jointly between the Bandar and Kuala Belait Immigration Departments involving 43 officers from both branches.

Top priority of these officers was to probe immigration offenders overstaying with expired travel documents.

Starting off at 12.30am, the Immigration officers in eight teams divided in two groups first raided some of the rented house located in Kg Ayer 6. Foreign workers, including a female were detained after they failed to provide proper travel documents.

When probing if illegals were making the most of the celebrations by finding work at these stalls, some stall operators were found to have employed such workers. They had done so without considering the legal implications.

It is an offence under Chapter 55 (e) of the Immigration Act to employ or provide work to any immigration offender.

From Kg Ayer, the raid next moved on to Kg Sg Kebun, Lumapas and Jerudong respectively.

A total of 22 foreigners, including two women were detained during the early morning operation. One was later released while the rest are still being detained at the BSB police station for further screening today.

Ops "Buru 49" ended at around 4.30am yesterday. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin