<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>11471.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,198914,00.html?
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#000000 colSpan=2><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="100%" bgColor=#000000 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Mr Let Fly says...</TD></TR><TR><TD class=font12w>Don't just clean up, catch them </TD></TR><TR><TD>Choa Chu Kang resident says town council needs to get tough on serial vandals</TD></TR><TR><TD class=font12w><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=font12w>By Shree Ann Mathavan</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=font12w><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=font12w>April 15, 2009</TD><TD width=30>
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</TD></TR><TR><TD class=rightline vAlign=top><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=font12 vAlign=top align=left>IT'S the same frustrating story at this Choa Chu Kang block, one that is repeated almost every other week.
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</TD></TR><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-2]FED UP: Disgruntled resident Ben Cai (above) feels the town council needs to be more pro-active about vandals. <!--<COPYRIGHT>-->PICTURES: JONATHAN CHOO, BEN CAI<!--</COPYRIGHT>-->[/SIZE][/FONT]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Vandals would spray graffiti on the walls and pillars, and the town council would send cleaners to clean up the mess.
What's not new, too, is that the culprits appear to get away with their stunt every time.
Some residents of Block 307, Choa Chu Kang Avenue 4, say the vandalism has been going on for as long as nine years.
The Hong Kah Town Council said it receives about 15 complaints of vandalism in the constituency a month. (See other report.)
Reader Ben Cai, a resident of nine years, is sick and tired of seeing his home fall prey to vandals.
Last October, The New Paper reported on a vandalism incident at the block.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Five months later, nothing has changed, claimed Mr Cai.
The 20-year-old polytechnic student pointed out that even the closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) installed at the void deck has not stopped vandals from 'decorating' the block.
The security camera has been installed since March last year.
Last Thursday, vandals struck twice again.
There were fluorescent pink scrawls on the walls of 11th floor, where Mr Cai lives, and on the floor of the void deck.
The graffiti, scrawled on at least three different walls, did not appear to make much sense.
On the 11th floor, the word 'HAYAT' (life in Malay) was written on one wall, while a strange logo was scribbled on another.
On yet another wall was the typical loanshark message, 'O$P$', accompanied by a sketch showing a vulgar sign.
Just one week earlier, a pink waxy substance was poured over the stone table at the void deck, while the walls had oily marks.
The town council, which said it informed the police about both incidents, has since cleaned up the mess and repainted the vandalised walls.
Shocked
Mr Cai wants the culprits to be dealt with harshly.
Shaking his head, he said: 'I'm sick of it, I'm really shocked these people can do it over and over again and not get caught.
'If Michael Fay can get caned for vandalism, we should do the same (to these vandals). Maybe that will stop them once and for all.'
In 1994, American Michael Fay was caned for vandalising a car in Singapore with spray paint.
The recent incidents upset Mr Cai so much that he snapped photographs and e-mailed them to the town council.
While he noted that the town council was swift in cleaning up the mess, he feels that it needs to do more.
'It's very reactive - you wait for the person to vandalise first, then you clean up,' he said.
Besides, Mr Cai noted, isn't it less costly to concentrate their efforts on catching the culprits than to simply repaint the walls over and over again?
He suggested that the town council should take a leaf from the National Environment Agency's book.
Just like how the agency sends its enforcement officers out to littering hotspots to nab litterbugs, the town council could adopt a similar pro-active tack when it comes to vandals.
Mr Cai also wanted a second CCTV installed at the void deck, as the current one focuses only on one section of the void deck.
The area with the stone table and seats is blocked off by a wall and remains out of sight of the camera, he said.
Another resident of 14 years, Mr Markus Koh, a 23-year-old NSman, said he is resigned to the vandalism incidents.
'I'm tired of seeing these acts. But what to do, you clean up and they do it again,' he added, shrugging his shoulders.
But he agreed with Mr Cai that harsh penalties - at least a $500 fine - are the only way to stop such acts.
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#000000 colSpan=2><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="100%" bgColor=#000000 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Mr Let Fly says...</TD></TR><TR><TD class=font12w>Don't just clean up, catch them </TD></TR><TR><TD>Choa Chu Kang resident says town council needs to get tough on serial vandals</TD></TR><TR><TD class=font12w><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=font12w>By Shree Ann Mathavan</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=font12w><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=font12w>April 15, 2009</TD><TD width=30>
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width=150 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
What's not new, too, is that the culprits appear to get away with their stunt every time.
Some residents of Block 307, Choa Chu Kang Avenue 4, say the vandalism has been going on for as long as nine years.
The Hong Kah Town Council said it receives about 15 complaints of vandalism in the constituency a month. (See other report.)
Reader Ben Cai, a resident of nine years, is sick and tired of seeing his home fall prey to vandals.
Last October, The New Paper reported on a vandalism incident at the block.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width=150 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
The 20-year-old polytechnic student pointed out that even the closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) installed at the void deck has not stopped vandals from 'decorating' the block.
The security camera has been installed since March last year.
Last Thursday, vandals struck twice again.
There were fluorescent pink scrawls on the walls of 11th floor, where Mr Cai lives, and on the floor of the void deck.
The graffiti, scrawled on at least three different walls, did not appear to make much sense.
On the 11th floor, the word 'HAYAT' (life in Malay) was written on one wall, while a strange logo was scribbled on another.
On yet another wall was the typical loanshark message, 'O$P$', accompanied by a sketch showing a vulgar sign.
Just one week earlier, a pink waxy substance was poured over the stone table at the void deck, while the walls had oily marks.
The town council, which said it informed the police about both incidents, has since cleaned up the mess and repainted the vandalised walls.
Shocked
Mr Cai wants the culprits to be dealt with harshly.
Shaking his head, he said: 'I'm sick of it, I'm really shocked these people can do it over and over again and not get caught.
'If Michael Fay can get caned for vandalism, we should do the same (to these vandals). Maybe that will stop them once and for all.'
In 1994, American Michael Fay was caned for vandalising a car in Singapore with spray paint.
The recent incidents upset Mr Cai so much that he snapped photographs and e-mailed them to the town council.
While he noted that the town council was swift in cleaning up the mess, he feels that it needs to do more.
'It's very reactive - you wait for the person to vandalise first, then you clean up,' he said.
Besides, Mr Cai noted, isn't it less costly to concentrate their efforts on catching the culprits than to simply repaint the walls over and over again?
He suggested that the town council should take a leaf from the National Environment Agency's book.
Just like how the agency sends its enforcement officers out to littering hotspots to nab litterbugs, the town council could adopt a similar pro-active tack when it comes to vandals.
Mr Cai also wanted a second CCTV installed at the void deck, as the current one focuses only on one section of the void deck.
The area with the stone table and seats is blocked off by a wall and remains out of sight of the camera, he said.
Another resident of 14 years, Mr Markus Koh, a 23-year-old NSman, said he is resigned to the vandalism incidents.
'I'm tired of seeing these acts. But what to do, you clean up and they do it again,' he added, shrugging his shoulders.
But he agreed with Mr Cai that harsh penalties - at least a $500 fine - are the only way to stop such acts.
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