Man scares residents by digging near Ang Mo Kio carpark, turns out he was burying dead turtle

Man seen digging at Ang Mo Kio carpark, alarmed residents call police

On 2 Sept at about 7pm, several police cars were spotted near Block 609, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4, after residents reported a man behaving unusually at the open-air car park.

He was seen digging up soil, and wielding what residents thought was an axe.

One resident, Mr Xu, said that he was resting at home when he suddenly heard commotion outside, Shin Min Daily News (SMDN) reported.

Source: Google Maps

“I didn’t know exactly what was happening. Later, my neighbour said he saw a man carrying an axe downstairs. It looked serious,” he said.

Witness: ‘He was digging a hole very seriously, it was square-shaped’

Another male resident recalled seeing the man digging at around 6pm, before the police arrived.

“He was acting strangely, using a hoe to dig a hole in the grass, very seriously,” said the man, who added that he did not probe further because it was the Hungry Ghost Festival.

He also thought the man was performing some kind of ritual.

By the time the resident returned home after 8pm, police officers were already present and the man had left.

Photos of the incident showed officers inspecting an area close to some joss sticks.

Source: Shin Min Daily News

Although the patch of grass has since been filled in, signs of freshly covered soil were still visible.

Man was burying a turtle

It later emerged that the man had been burying a turtle by the car park.

The man was also not using an axe like residents assumed, but a hoe.

Source: Maica on Canva. Image for illustrative purposes only.

Another resident, who watched from his block corridor, said he noticed a turtle shell at the grass patch and believed the man had dug the hole for the animal.

“The turtle’s shell had very distinctive patterns, not like the common species we usually see here. That’s why it left an impression,” they said.

Mr Xu clarified that according to his understanding, the joss sticks at the scene were unrelated to the man.

They had been placed earlier by a woman making offerings for the Hungry Ghost Festival.

Also read: Man in Taiwan attacks drinking buddy with axe, allegedly forgets incident after sobering up

Man in Taiwan attacks drinking buddy with axe, allegedly forgets incident after sobering up