SINGAPORE: Car owners have reported that suspected pranksters have damaged at least three cars at the Choa Chu Kang car park over the past two months.
At the multi-storey car park at Block 462A, Chai Chu Kang Avenue 4, cars were seen with scratches and dents. Recently, people have reported that suspicious strangers have been entering and leaving the area.
On catching the culprit
Reporters visiting the area found the car park has five floors, with a grocery on the first floor and some HDB flats and a pickleball court nearby. The majority of the floors were full of cars, which were constantly coming in and out.
One car owner told the reporters that he usually parked on the second floor, and he noticed last month two or three scratches on his car’s body. “I usually leave early and come back late, but I don’t use the car frequently, and yet these scratches appeared one after another,” the car owner said.
Another car owner told Lianhe Zaobao that he had been living in the area for 28 years, and he had parked his car on the second floor of the car park without any problems until lately. However, he discovered last month scratches on his car’s body and a dent next to the windshield. He declared that he had his car serviced regularly, so he noticed the damage right away.
“I suspected someone was deliberately doing it as a prank, but I couldn’t find the perpetrator. I subsequently spent about $80 to repair the dent near the windshield,” the man remarked.
The man also shared that once, while washing his car, he noticed three strange men and women wandering around the parking lot suspiciously. In a video, one of the women was seen walking in the parking lot, and after learning that someone was inside a car, she hid behind a pillar and took out her phone to film. Their suspicious behaviour made the man conclude that they were not local residents.
He also revealed that another private-hire car owner had the same unfortunate experience, but the dashcam of the car did not capture the culprit.
According to the Singapore Penal Code, mischief is an act that harms or damages someone else’s property. If found guilty of general mischief (under section 426 of the Penal Code), one can be jailed for up to two years.
