NEA investigating report of curry being poured into Tampines River

Channel NewsAsia 5 Feb 18;

SINGAPORE: Authorities are investigating an alleged incident of curry being poured into Tampines River.

On Sunday (Feb 4), Facebook user Shirley Lc Tan posted a photo of a reddish-brown substance in the river, writing that it was a wedding caterer at the void deck of Block 408 Pasir Ris that had dumped curry gravy into the river.

The post was shared more than 2,400 times as of Monday, but it has since been taken down.

Replying to Channel NewsAsia's queries, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Monday that both NEA and national water agency PUB received reports on Sunday of "a substance resembling curry" being disposed into the river.

NEA and PUB officers went down to the site immediately, and NEA is investigating the alleged incident, it added.


NEA investigating incident of 'curry dumping' into Tampines river
Lydia Lam Straits Times 5 Feb 18;

SINGAPORE - The National Environment Agency (NEA) is investigating an alleged incident of curry being dumped into a river.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, NEA said in a statement that it had received reports, along with water agency PUB, on Sunday (Feb 4) about "a substance resembling curry being disposed into Sungei Tampines".

"NEA and PUB officers went down to the site immediately, and NEA is investigating the alleged incident," said the statement.

Facebook user Shirley Lc Tan had posted a photo of the orange substance seeping into the river at 9.35pm on Sunday.

She alleged that the caterer of a wedding held at the void deck of Block 408, Pasir Ris Drive 6, had dumped their curry gravy into the river next to it.

"The river where there are plenty of monitor lizards and our beloved Pasir Ris family of otters," she wrote.

The post drew more than 2,400 shares and hundreds of likes and comments. It was made unavailable on Monday night.

Sungei Tampines flows through parts of Tampines and Pasir Ris before draining into the sea.

An otter watcher told ST that he saw the otters in Sungei Tampines on Saturday morning. They left the river and headed for Sungei Api Api, a river in Pasir Ris, said Mr Tan Yong Lin, a 28-year-old professional photographer.

Mr Tan, who has followed otters for about two years, said the otters were out of the water by the time the curry incident happened.

However, he added that another otter watcher went to look for the animals earlier on Monday, but she did not see them at Sungei Tampines.