Cenotaph at Esplanade Park vandalised again

SINGAPORE — The authorities are investigating a case of vandalism at the Cenotaph at Esplanade Park along Connaught Drive that was discovered yesterday — the second incident in four months, which was also more extensive than the first.

In December last year, the back of the war memorial was vandalised, but the National Heritage Board (NHB) did not make a police report as it was “not of such a large extent and (NHB) quickly cleaned it up”. Yesterday’s vandalism, however, was “really extensive”, the board said.

The Cenotaph, one of Singapore’s 64 national monuments, had been spray-painted with the word “democracy” in red, and the dates 1914 to 1918 had also been crossed out. At around noon yesterday, two cleaners were seen scrubbing the graffiti off, leaving faint red stains across the monument.

The Cenotaph honours those who died in World Wars I and II.

“Spraying and defacing a war memorial is a disrespectful and despicable act,” said Commander of Central Police Division, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Daniel Tan. “The police will spare no resources to bring the perpetrators to justice.”

The NHB said the Preservation of Monuments Board (PMB) received a call at 9am yesterday about the vandalism, and an officer was despatched to check. The National Parks Board (NParks) was then notified and activated to conduct a clean-up. Work is expected to be completed in the next two days, the NHB said.

Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong said on his Facebook page yesterday: “This is a disrespectful and deplorable act...We hope the perpetrator(s) will be found and firmly dealt with soon.”