Singapore’s known for being a garden city, and that’s partly because we have large trees almost everywhere.
They help to shelter us from the sun and rain, and break up the concrete jungle with some greenery.
But sometimes, the trees themselves break up, and end up causing havoc below. Take this tree that used to cover a Toa Payoh open-air carpark.
It suddenly collapsed directly on top of several parked vehicles, causing damage to 6 cars and 6 motorcycles.
The usual peace and quiet of a Sunday (13 Dec) morning was shattered by the incident, which according to 8World News, took place at the carpark in front of Block 68, Toa Payoh Lorong 5.
While 6 cars and 6 motorcycles were crushed, it’s fortunate that no one was injured.
However, the owners of the affected vehicles probably won’t feel so fortunate.
Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan posted on Facebook about the incident soon after it occurred, saying it happened near his residence.
While Dr Chee has contested in Bukit Batok in 2 elections, he actually lives with his family in a flat in Toa Payoh.
He said one unfortunate car was completely covered by the falling branches.
Speculating that the tree must have been old and rotten inside, he added that a couple of similar incidents had occurred in the estate.
Another resident, Mr Mohd Norman, knows all too well about that.
His motorcycle was wrecked in Sunday’s incident, 6 months after his car’s windscreen was smashed by a falling branch.
He posted on Facebook about his woes shortly after the latest episode.
He said it happened at 7am plus, just as he was about to leave for work.
Since his vehicles have been damaged twice by trees, he questioned whether he should have to pay for the damages out of his own pocket, since it’s not his responsibility to take care of trees in his estate.
Mr Mohd Norman told 8 World that in the first incident on 29 Jun, he found his car’s rear windscreen broken by a tree branch.
The 39-year-old firefighter said at that time, his car was the only vehicle to suffer damages, which he paid $100 to repair after claiming part of the cost from his insurance.
On Sunday (13 Dec), at least he now had company in his misery.
As far as he knows, the weather was fine before both incidents, with no heavy rain or strong wind detected.
Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council told 8 World that they’ve consulted an arboriculturist, i.e. a tree expert, over the matter.
A report is being awaited, so we should be looking forward to an update.
However, Mr Mohd Norman wasn’t too satisfied with the Town Council’s reply to him after the first incident, he told 8 World.
According to him, they rejected his claim of compensation, blaming a lack of manpower due to the Covid-19 pandemic for a lapse in tree maintenance work.
This time round, he’s written to the Town Council again over the damage to his motorcycle.
From what he’s observed, there’s damage to the body, handlebars and headlights.
After he sends the bike for repairs on Monday (14 Dec), he’ll know whether the engine is also damaged.
According to photos posted by the SG Road Vigilante Facebook group, a black car was damaged so badly that its roof and windshield had completely caved in.
Also, the front bonnet was smashed, and even its licence plate had gone askew.
It’s uncertain whether such widespread damage can be repaired, and if so, how much it would cost.
We shudder to think what would’ve happened if somebody was in the tree’s path as it collapsed, like the poor woman who was killed by a falling tree at the Botanic Gardens in 2017.
We sympathise with the owners of the vehicles affected, as it’s simply not their fault.
Hopefully, our manpower situation improves soon, so the trees across Singapore can be better maintained and such incidents don’t happen again.
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Featured images adapted from Facebook and Facebook.
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