Emergency hotlines operated by the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were among public service hotlines that were disrupted on Tuesday (Oct 8) due to an issue with Singtel’s landline phone service that affected thousands of users.
Other public hotlines were also disrupted, including those operated by KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Changi General Hospital and SimplyGo.
There were more than 2,500 reports as at 3.10pm on service outage website Downdetector.
About 80 per cent of the reports cited issues with landline phones.
Several netizens commented in Singtel’s latest Facebook post that their office landlines were down.
The SCDF and police are aware that the public are experiencing difficulties calling 995 and 999, said a statement by the defence force on its Facebook page at 4:22pm.
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“The safety and well-being of the public is our top priority. We will provide updates as soon as more information becomes available,” said the force.
“Members of the public who are experiencing difficulties reaching us at 995 or 999 can SMS SCDF at 70995 or SPF at 70999 instead.”
The KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital also said on Facebook that its phone lines are currently down, and advised patients to contact it via e-mail.
“We apologise for any inconvenience,” said the hospital.
Changi General Hospital said its telephone lines are experiencing “technical issues”.
Those trying to reach CGH are advised to use the HealthBuddy app, or e-mail the hospital for assistance with appointment or medication orders.
“For other emergency queries, please call 8121-1429/9788-8033/9651-4253,” said the hospital.
SimplyGo said its hotline is currently unavailable due to Singtel’s service outage, and advised customers to submit any queries via its feedback form.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, a Singtel spokesperson said the company is aware that some customers are experiencing “intermittent fixed voice service issues”.
Some public service hotlines are affected, but mobile services are not, added the spokesperson.
“Our engineers are working urgently to resolve the matter. We apologise for the inconvenience caused, and thank you for your patience,” the spokesperson added. THE STRAITS TIMES
