Graffiti against PAP, police found at Toa Payoh block rooftop

SINGAPORE — Profanities against the People’s Action Party (PAP) and the police and the symbol for anarchy were found spray-painted in bright red along the rooftop of a Housing and Development Board (HDB) block in Toa Payoh yesterday.

The incident raises questions about how someone could have slipped through when access to HDB rooftops was supposed to have been tightened after a woman’s body was found in a rooftop water tank in 2011.

The police said they received a call requesting for help at Block 85A on Toa Payoh Lorong 4 at 6.47am yesterday. “Upon police’s arrival, it was established that a case of vandalism had occurred at the said location,” the police said. Investigations are ongoing.

By noon, workers could be seen whitewashing over the graffiti, but streaks of red were still visible. Residents TODAY spoke to were upset by the incident, with some wondering how someone managed to get onto the rooftop of the 23-storey block.

Said Mrs Lily Tan, 64, resident of block 60 just across the road: “We are very surprised that they were able to climb up to the rooftop. How did they even get up? It makes me feel very unsafe.” She added that there was another case of vandalism at her block about a month ago while the block was being re-painted.

Mr Muhamed Yassin, 19, a resident of block 85A, added: “It is inappropriate, unnecessary and shouldn’t have been done.”

Mr Shah Roslan, another resident from Block 60, on the other hand, was concerned about the reasons behind the graffiti. “People are now finding different ways to express their feelings and unhappiness,” he said.

Following the incident in 2011, which took place in Woodlands, the PAP town councils said they would spend almost S$10 million upgrading the locks on water tanks at HDB flats, and implemented new security measures, such as restricting owners of keys to water tank covers, roof access and the pump rooms.

Yesterday, Mr Lee Boon Leng, Executive Manager (Corporate Services) of Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council, said authorised personnel have to sign for the key that gives access to the rooftop, and be accompanied by an auxiliary police officer. “We can’t comment on what evidence (the police) have collected at the scene so far. We are co-operating closely with the police,” he said.

“We will await the outcome of the investigations and, thereafter, review all our processes and strengthen them where necessary.”