About 200 honest & vigilant staff & 71 hotels recognised with awards

Hotel staff returned nearly a million dollars in cash and valuables in the past year from July 2011 to June 2012.

Some even acted as the eyes and ears of their hotels and sounded the alarm whenever they sensed something was amiss.

They were among about 200 staff recognised at the annual Hotel Security Awards this afternoon.

Seventy-one hotels were also commended for their high security standards.

The Hotel Security Award is presented by the Singapore Police Force, the National Crime Prevention Council, and the Singapore Hotel Association.

This means that they have continually invested in training security personnel and reviewed their security policies and even made sure non-security staff stay vigilant.

Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Masagos Zulkifli, who presented the awards, urged the industry to press on with efforts to ensure their guests are safe and maintain the public's confidence.

Mr Masagos highlighted the vigilance of some security staff in potential security issues.

For example, Events Manager Faith Cheong, who works at Shangri-La Hotel, spotted someone taking photographs of the hotel and its premises, which included the ballroom and serviced apartment.

As there was an important high-security event coming up, she monitored the person and took a photograph of her with her mobile phone.

She then informed her manager, who passed on the information to the police for investigation.

For that, Ms Cheong earned the Vigilance Award.