Starfruits Stolen From Punggol Park Community Garden
A resident reported that her starfruits planted at a Punggol Park community garden were stolen overnight.
According to the person who planted the starfruits, 12 were stolen, leaving just three unripe ones.
She had planted the starfruits in March last year and spent much time and money cultivating them every day.
Starfruits planted in Punggol community garden had only matured at the start of April
The community garden in question is located between Hougang Ave 8 and 10, where there have allegedly been recent instances of theft.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News on 23 Apr, Ms Wang Meijuan (transliterated from Chinese) said the star fruits she planted last March had matured only at the beginning of the month.
However, 12 of the starfruits were stolen on 4 Apr.
“I had counted the number of starfruits the day before, and the next day 12 of them were stolen,” the 50-year-old, who works in sales, said.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Because there’s a history of thefts at the community garden, the residents had wrapped plastic bags to prevent others from spotting that the fruits had matured.
However, the bags were untied, and the fruits were stolen.
“Other than myself, another owner lost seven bitter gourds, and someone else’s celery was uprooted,” Ms Wang added.
Man allegedly seen picking from pots
Ms Wang also mentioned seeing someone picking fruits and bags with her own eyes.
When she tried to stop him, the person claimed he was the owner of the garden.
“I’m familiar with the owner of the community garden, and that person does not cultivate any plants there,” she said. “Furthermore, he told other people they can pick whatever they want.”
Everyone had put in lots of work to cultivate their fruits and vegetables and spent money to buy fertiliser and maintain them.
It was thus heartbreaking to see the fruits and vegetables get stolen.
“Although we have people watching out for thieves, and we help each other to keep a lookout, the garden is open, and if someone sneaks in while we’re away, we can’t do anything,” Ms Wang said.
It’s unclear if Ms Wang and the other owners have made a police report.
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Featured image adapted from Westend61/Getty Images via Encyclopedia Britannica and Shin Min Daily News.
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