Balestier temple appeals to the culprit to return the statue or face legal action
A Tiger God statue has disappeared from a temple along Balestier Road, it said in a Facebook post on Sunday (7 Dec).
Rochore Tua Pek Kong Temple also shared a screenshot of CCTV footage showing a man loitering near the altar around midnight.
Source: Rochore Tua Pek Kong Temple on Facebook
Man loiters at Balestier temple for 27 mins
The temple said they found the statue displaced in the early hours of Saturday (6 Dec) morning.
The CCTV screenshot, which had a timestamp of 11.49pm on Friday (5 Dec) night, showed a white-haired man standing near the Tiger God altar with a bag in his left hand.
Source: Rochore Tua Pek Kong Temple on Facebook
It added that the man had been loitering there for about 27 minutes, from 11.48pm on 5 Dec to 12.15am on 6 Dec.
Balestier temple appeals for info on missing statue
The temple appealed to netizens to contact them directly if they knew the person in the footage.
Alternatively, they could also inform the man to return the statue to them.
Addressing the culprit, the temple advised him to return the statue in its original condition immediately, or they would “resort to legal action and press criminal charges”.
Urging people to “do the right thing”, the temple noted that the Tiger God is a “revered deity belonging to the community”; thus, buying or selling its statue is disrespectful to the deity and against the law.
Balestier temple established in 1847
People also know Rochore Tua Pek Kong Temple as Goh Chor Tua Pek Kong Temple.
Hokkien workers employed at a sugar cane estate established the temple in 1847, according to Roots.sg.
Source: Roots.sg
Those in charge of the temple named it after this area in the mid-1800s.
Builders renovated the temple in 1920 and 1928, and the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan now holds it in trusteeship.
Source: Google Maps
Statue has been at temple for at least 30 years
The temple told The Straits Times (ST) that the Tiger God statue had sat at the temple for at least 30 years and that they had displayed it outside for the longest time.
This was the first time someone had taken it, and the incident baffled temple staff.
After the incident, the temple will keep its remaining statues under lock and key at the end of the day.
The temple has also made a police report.
Also read: Thief Breaks Into Balestier Temple But Falls Asleep, Police Catch Him Later
Thief Breaks Into Balestier Temple But Falls Asleep, Police Catch Him Later
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Featured image adapted from Rochore Tua Pek Kong Temple on Facebook.
