Police officers and SCDF personnel attend to rubbish truck in Yishun
On 23 Oct, a netizen complained about nine police officers and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel.
He claimed that the officers attended to a rubbish truck that was “stuck” on a grass verge in Yishun and called it a “waste of manpower”.
The post, shared in the Complaint Singapore Facebook group, quickly drew criticism towards the original poster (OP).
However, SCDF has since clarified that it was alerted to a fire involving the truck’s rear compartment.
Source: Complaint Singapore on Facebook
Facebook user questions use of manpower
In his post, the OP shared a photo of a rubbish truck reversed onto a grass verge, with trash scattered across the ground.
Multiple police officers and firefighters could also be seen at the scene.
The OP appeared to question why so many personnel had attended to the incident.
Additionally, he seemed to believe the issue was that the recycling truck was “stuck”.
He captioned the post, “5 policemen and 4 SCDF attend to rubbish truck stuck with All the rubbish all over the floor .. what a waste of manpower.”
Netizens slam original poster
However, several commenters pushed back against OP’s criticism.
They questioned whether he understood why the personnel were there.
One commenter accused him of being one of the people who complain when authorities don’t respond to incidents, but also when they do.
Source: Facebook
Another said it was “quite impressive” that the poster had counted every officer in the photograph but had not stopped to consider the circumstances.
Source: Facebook
Some commenters also pointed out that different agencies may have different responsibilities when responding to an incident.
One comment explained that SCDF handles firefighting and rescue operations.
Meanwhile, the police may assist with public security, traffic control and coordination with other authorities.
Source: Facebook
SCDF personnel attended to fire involving recycling truck
In response to MS News enquiries, SCDF said it was alerted to a fire at the carpark of Block 419 Yishun Avenue 11 on 23 Oct 2026, at about 8.50am.
The fire involved the contents of the rear compartment of a recycling truck.
SCDF extinguished the fire using water from a domestic source.
There were no injuries reported, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
MS News has also reached out to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for comment.
Also read: Fire engine gets stuck in Sengkang, leaves huge tyre tracks on grass patch after finally exiting
Fire engine gets stuck in Sengkang, leaves huge tyre tracks on grass patch after finally exiting
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Featured image adapted from Complaint Singapore (Anonymous) on Facebook and Google Maps.
