Crowd surge caused by accidental removal of queue-pole belt, says Ci Yuan CC
Ci Yuan Community Club (CC) has apologised after an event offering S$1 items turned “chaotic”, vowing to review its crowd management procedures.
Videos of the scene, posted on Facebook on Thursday (17 April), showed hordes of mostly older residents swarming the lobby of the CC.
Source: Ben Cheng on Facebook
Crowd at Ci Yuan CC almost unable to move
The clips depicted people being almost unable to move and packed tightly on all sides by others.
A staff member was seen gesturing and shouting to the crowd to move back, to no avail.
Source: Ben Cheng on Facebook
Despite her exhortations, the uncles and aunties continued pushing, some with their arms outstretched, holding cash and phones.
Source: Ben Cheng on Facebook
Even the police were called, with an officer holding a megaphone in an apparent attempt to speak to the crowd.
Source: Ben Cheng on Facebook
A sign in one of the videos said the ticket timings for queue numbers 301 to 600 were from 11am to 12 noon.
Netizen claims some didn’t get queue numbers, some cut queue
The netizen who shared the videos described it as “the worst planning” he had encountered, with many in the crowd jostling for queue numbers.
However, others who had been there since 7 to 8am didn’t get queue numbers, he claimed.
He also alleged that people had cut the queue.
The police had to be called to break up the crowd, he added.
Ci Yuan CC says queue-pole belt was accidentally removed
In a Facebook post on Friday (18 April), Ci Yuan CC apologised to residents for the “unpleasant experience”.
It occurred during ticket sales for its Ang Mo Kio–Hougang $1 Marketplace event on 27 April, where residents can buy essential items at just S$1 each.
Unfortunately, the situation became “chaotic” when a queue-pole belt was accidentally removed. This led to the crowd surging forward, it said.
Ci Yuan CC to review crowd management procedures
Ci Yuan CC pledged to review its crowd management procedures to prevent such incidents from happening again, noting that the safety of residents is of “utmost importance”.
It also thanked the police for helping with crowd control.
All tickets for the events were sold out by 12 noon that day, it said, thanking residents for their cooperation and support.
The $1 Marketplace initiative was first launched on 29 March as part of the CC’s SG60 campaign to encourage active participation in local community events.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Ben Cheng on Facebook.
