A man who takes care of over 60 deity statues, plants, and other miscellaneous items at a Kallang Bahru HDB corridor says he owns only six of them.
The rest along the corridor were left by the neighbours, he claimed, and he has been taking care of them for the past 25 years.
The deities had come into the spotlight recently after Chinese outlet 8world News highlighted their existence and reported that some neighbours were concerned about the clutter along the corridor blocking wheelchair access.
The owner, a 62-year-old man named Raja, clarified with MS News that he is on friendly terms with his neighbours and hasn’t received complaints until recently.
Regardless, since he has received notices to clear the clutter at the corridor, he will do so progressively with the help of the town council, he added.
When MS News visited the corridor on Tuesday (6 Aug), the side of the corridor that’d previously housed various items and boxes had been cleared.
The statues and plants remain at the Block 64 Kallang Bahru corridor — for now.
Although there are several statues of various faiths there, Raja told MS News he only owns six of them, which he prays to every day.
He first started praying to them for good health, “not for 4D” as some might believe, he said.
The others were apparently left in the corridor over time, so he decided to clean and keep them in the corner.
He mentioned as well that over time, some statues had gone missing even as others appeared.
It was a similar story for the plants — neighbours had placed them along the corridor and he said he simply helped to take care of them.
Indeed, MS News has observed that the corridor looked well-maintained in general and did not appear neglected or cluttered.
Besides, other levels at the U-shaped block had plants and miscellaneous items such as bicycles lined along the corridor, too.
Raja said after the items got media attention, he was visited by town council staff based on complaints about clutter. He has also been asked to clear them out.
Previously, he told Shin Min Daily News that town council staff only asked that he keep the corridor clean.
He is in the midst of working with the town council to clear the items progressively and would comply as “they have their laws to follow”, he said.
“I think they also won’t force so fast take down,” he added. “Also, (neighbours) never say they got problem.”
Additionally, some people, including daughters of residents at the block, have reached out to him and offered to adopt some of the plants and statues.
Raja, who has lived there since at least the 1970s, noted that he hadn’t received any complaints in the 25 years that the statues have been in the corridor. Thus, he is unsure why complaints arose recently.
Responding to a comment in news reports about the apparent “eerie” vibe the statues give off, he added:
Nothing to be afraid of… If you scared, means got something you do wrong.
He also said that he gets along with his neighbours and MS News observed at least one of them exchanging greetings with the man.
That’s why Raja seemed genuinely baffled by the attention the deities are receiving.
“When the neighbours walk past the corridor, they also pray,” he pointed out.
In addition, he noted that at least one complaint — that some residents in wheelchairs have a hard time going through the corridor to get to the lift — appears unfounded.
This is because the lift landing closest to that corridor is only accessible by stairs and isn’t wheelchair-accessible, MS News observed. So it’s unlikely wheelchairs would head in that direction in the first place.
Further, the corridor still looks roomy, with ample space for people to move around, despite the location of the statues.
Raja acknowledged that actions now have to be taken after the complaints were made, as the relevant parties would need to do their job.
“But the (complainants) don’t know what love is. Everybody got some love — some love plants, others love this (gesticulates at statues and plants) — why do you disturb my love?”
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Featured image by MS News.
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