For many Singaporeans, temples are places to pray, pay respects to ancestors, and seek a moment of peace.
However, one family left a temple feeling disappointed and upset after their prayer session was allegedly disrupted by another group speaking loudly nearby.
In an email tip-off to MS News, a woman who wished to be known as Mrs Tan shared her experience at Nam Ann Siang Theon Temple on Tuesday (11 Aug), where her family had gathered to observe the second death anniversary of her late mother.
Source: Google Maps, for illustration purposes only
According to Mrs Tan, her family had booked a chanting session at Nam Ann Siang Theon Temple for 10.30am.
She was accompanied by her father, who uses a wheelchair, his helper, her two sisters, and her nephew.
They arrived early to prepare offerings of fruits, food, and joss paper before their chanting session began.
Source: Ng Yi-Sheng on Facebook, for illustration purposes only
When they reached the temple, however, a large family was still using the second and third rows of tables for their own prayers, with the master in the middle of chanting for them.
Mrs Tan said the group appeared to span three generations, and she believed they were there to observe a grandfather’s death anniversary.
Out of respect, she and her family waited quietly for their chanting to end before setting up their own offerings at the first row.
When it was Mrs Tan’s family’s turn to pray, members of the earlier group remained gathered behind them.
Mrs Tan said that once the master began chanting, the group continued talking loudly, laughing, and eating while catching up with one another in clusters.
Source: Ng Yi-Sheng on Facebook, for illustration purposes only
The group was spread across more than half of the hall, she added, and their voices became so loud that her family could barely hear their own prayers.
According to Mrs Tan, the master turned around a couple of times to look towards the group. Both of her sisters also turned around in response to the noise.
Her nephew, meanwhile, remained kneeling and focused on the chanting.
Disturbed by the noise, Mrs Tan said she approached members of the group twice during the session.
Shortly after the chanting began, she walked a few steps away and tapped a woman to politely ask the group to lower their voices.
She said the noise quietened only briefly before picking up again.
Source: Google Maps, for illustration purposes only
Later, while going to place incense as instructed by the master, Mrs Tan approached a man whom she described as being in his late 40s or early 50s and appearing “more professional”.
She hoped he might be able to get the rest of the group to keep their voices down.
However, Mrs Tan said the situation did not meaningfully improve.
The group remained in the hall for most of her family’s prayer session and left only as the service was nearing its end.
Speaking to MS News, Mrs Tan said she and her family left the temple “feeling deeply disappointed and hurt”.
She added that she was still angry about the incident, as the noise had made it difficult for her to focus on the prayers and feel connected to her late mother.
“We had come to honour my mother, yet we could barely hear our own prayers,” she said.
It pains me that even in a place of worship, and during a solemn occasion to remember the departed, basic consideration and respect seem so lacking.
With the seventh lunar month beginning, Mrs Tan urged others to be mindful of those praying nearby, particularly by keeping their voices down in sacred spaces.
She said people visit temples to remember loved ones, seek peace, and pay respects to the departed.
“Please let us not rob others of that quiet moment with their departed family members,” she added. “Respect our ancestors, respect the dead, and respect those who come to pray.”
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps, for illustration purposes only.