All traces of Siang Lim Park gone forever!

This post is a continuation of the previous post on the new Siang Lim Park.

I walked to the end of Lorong 40 joining a T junction with Guillemard Road.

Direction of camera - facing directly south in this photo. Opposite Lorong 40, across Guillemard Road is the Versailles Mansions (condos). If you look at my map Ref#24, I indicated that this was where my very good friend the late Charlie Tan Boon Seng used to live in...a row of single storey terrace houses. Further back was just nothing but open bushland where we could go hunting for tasty birds like the "burung ayam ayam" among others. Many of us were adept at using homemade catapults for hunting...accuracy pretty deadly. We made a small fire and had our own backwoods cooking right there. To us and for us, it was like Red Indian country at the bushland.

This corner of the Waterina used to be the home of my friend " Mat Tikus" Ref# 23 on my map.

I was facing east.

There were no road barriers in the middle rof the road and no traffic lights here in the past. Traffic was very light in the early days.

At the end of the Versailles condos is Hemmant Road...which used to have a row of very old dilapidated houses occupied by squatters. In one of these dwellings lived an old couple and an only son. He was the most famous rojak seller in our kampong. Using a tricycle as his pushcart stall, he stationed himself permanently at the Lorong 40 bridge. I never knew his real name as everyone respectfully called him "Apek rojak". He operated daily from the late afternoon till the night. His devoted and loving wife or son will bring dinner for him. Tragedy struck one day when a huge fire engulfed the small colony at Hemmant Road burning it to the ground. Many of us kampong folks, including myself, rushed there hoping to pitch in some help. We only managed to help them carry away some miserable household and personal belongings. The fire had spread too quickly, aided by strong winds. They were devastated and so were we.

In one swoop, all the squatters were gone. That place was never reoccupied by squatters again. It later became the Police logistics Depot.


As I turned to the west, this is the scene. The Sunny Spring is to the right of photo. Further down the road, on the left is the Singapore Badminton Hall.

This is the Sunny Spring Condo. Just where you see a lady walking on the pavement was once the home of another family friend, Agnes. See Ref# 11 on my map. Their front door faced Guillemard Road.

This is the present entrance to the Condos. A friend of mine used to live here at the corner house. And it was from here that we watched the gunfight at Siang Lim Park across the other side ( the Waterina ), back in August 1965.

I did not have access inside this estate. However by eyeballing, if you walk straight ahead through the entrance, keeping slightly to the left...that would be where the 2nd ancient keramat used to be. Map Ref# 10 on my map.

Adrian Lim the Cult Murderer...part 2.

What kind of people go to a court of
law?
Well it depends....on your purpose of going there in the first place. Some are obviously working there within the judicial system.
Some are compelled to be there by the law as accused persons or defendents or witnesses.
The majority of those who turned up for the Adrian Lim trial were members of the public who came in large numbers. There were long queues for the limited seats in the public gallery of the court. People started queueing hours before the court convened each day...and still more came.
One reason for this other than the mere curiosity factor was the chief accused himself...Adrian Lim. As the trial proceeded, he was "enjoying" playing to the gallery more and more. Unafraid to describe in gruesome details the debauchery and the slaughter, he kept the courtroom engrossed and captivated with the very lively descriptions and answers to questions that were put to him.
The media and press coverage provided explicit reports of the day to day happening in the courtroom.
This kind of story is every newspaper's dream...it sells!
Just look at the photo with the large crowd of onlookers outside the courthouse. Every nearby road was filled with people and more people. Unbelievable!
Where you normally buy only one, many bought 2 or 3 different dailies to get more info and pictures or a different slant to the side stories.

Both these newsclips are dated 26 November 1988, Straits Times, page 21.
More to come...unk Dicko.

Adrian Lim the cult murderer...trial and execution.

[Above: Scanned image of ST 26 -11-1988 unk Dicko's private news archives. ]

The execution of condemned criminals is never announced to the public in Singapore beforehand. Except for those directly responsible for carrying out the final order of the court, no one has a clue when that date with the hangman will be. It was only when I saw the front page of the Straits Times on 26 November 1988 that I realised all 3 were hanged at dawn the previous day. Thus ended one of the most gripping story of murder in local history and the 2nd longest trial in Singapore...41 days. The record is held by the 62 days Pulau Senang trial in 1963.

The whole nation had followed the case of cult murderer Adrian Lim, together with his wife and mistress, charged with the brutal ritual killing of 2 young Primary school kids in 1981, at Adrian's Toa Payoh flat in Lorong 7.

When the hearing started in the High Court of Singapore under our 2 judges system in April and May 1983, it shocked an entire nation with its gruesome details of human sacrifice, black magic, sex and violence. Many people were horrified by the unspeakable acts that were committed by the "unholy trinity" ( it was a term coined for them ) involving bizarre practices such as drinking human blood ( 2 doctors got into some trouble later ), sexual perversions, spirit possession, indiscriminate cruelty and finally ritualistic murder.

When the killings were first discovered in January 1981, my family and I were also residing in Toa Payoh. Parents with young children everywhere but especially in my township, were frightened to no end. I recall that many forbade their kids from going to the neighbourhood playground...knowing full well what had happened to little Agnes ( 9 ) and Ghazali (10). As for me and D2 we always accompanied our 2 kids. Better to be safe than eternally sorry.

This case drew large crowds when the hearing started.

The 2 judges were Justice T S Sinnathuray and Justice F A Chua. Prosecution was led by DPP Glenn Knight. Adrian Lim was defended by H E Cashin while Nathan Isaac defended Hoe.

The late JB Jeyaretnam ( former Worker's Party leader ) defended Tan.

More original newsclip of the case in next post.

Don't MISS this tonight...Leonids Meteor Shower!!!

This will be a very short and brief post to alert all my blog visitors.

Sometime tonight, past midnight of 18 November ( Wednesday ), there will be an expected fireworks of meteors in the night sky. This is brought about by the appearance of the Leonids Meteor passing close to earth and vice-versa.

The 2 best places in the world to catch the viewing this time is North America and Asia.

Those of us in Singapore can prepare to see these fiery meteor fireworks from approximately midnight onwards upto 5am. The peak is between 3- 5 am.

For better viewing, go to a dark area free of urban built up lighting....the dark corners of a beach,

hilltop, Japanese Garden, Science Centre....etc.

Binoculars... if you know how to use them fast and properly, may add to viewing pleasure.

Otherwise, it can be a hindrance.

Unk Dicko would be an Owl tonight!

Can unk Dicko locate his old kampong home?

This is a bird's eye view of the Geylang River and Aston Mansions which is opposite to the Waterina condos. The river flows to the east towards Guillemard/ Geylang Road junction. My camera is facing NE. At the top right of the picture is a tall yellow striped block and, before it, is CITY PLAZA. In the old days, People's Emporium was located there and it was popular because the goods, mainly from China, were affordable. The area where the Aston Mansion is now located was previously a very old Muslim cemetery, behind the former Queens Cinema.

From Tim's cosy apartment, I now made my way down to have a walk around, past the swimming pool area, the children's playground and finally ended up near the Guardhouse again. I turned around and took this picture (below)looking inwards at the Waterina site. From what I gathered on the web, the Waterina and Sunny Spring presently have the most number of condo apartments at one site in Singapore...about 398 units each.
It is well-maintained and has two basement levels for car parking. Everything there looks pretty new and modern as can be expected. Ditto for the Sunny Spring too...although I did not get to go in. I managed to see it from the outside although I would have loved to have taken a walk inside.

If anyone reading this post can help me out with access, I'll be most grateful. As a reward, we can then have coffee at the Lorong 4o coffee shops and I'll mesmerise you with more anecdotes and tales from Siang Lim Park.
At the Security guardhouse, I told the 2 uniformed guards on duty that I was going out for a while, leaving my car still at the basement carpark. They had a quizical look on their face..must be wondering what this uncle was up to! So to pacify their curiosity I asked them, " Are you wondering who I am?"

They answered affirmatively. I then asked them if they were aware what was here before the condos were built. " No", was their answer. From my folder, I pulled out the old photos of our old home, Lorong 40 and S L Park...and showed to them. They were engrossed suddenly!

From the guardhouse of Waterina, facing north, I captured this scene of the present Lorong 40.
At the top of the picture is Geylang Road. On the right is the boundary wall of the Waterina. Where the cyclist is...that used to be the corner house of the " bapoks" Ref# 25 on my map. And more or less where the lamp post ( left of picture, near road sign "AHEAD") now stands....was the humble home where we Yippies once lived for more than half a century.


I swiveled round to face southwards. This is the present view of Lorong 40 adjacent to Guillemard Road. Sunny Spring is on the right of picture while Waterina is on the left.

The King And I...& original newsclip

The 1956 Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II movie musical...The KING and I proved hugely popular when it was first released. It garnered 9 Academy Award nominations and eventually won 5 Oscars including the 'Best Actor' ( Yul Brynner ) and also 'Best Music" ( Rodgers and Oscar ). I remember seeing the movie when I was still schooling and again with my wifey, years later.
The movie is based on the real life story of a British widow, Anna Leonowens who in 1862 ,was appointed to tutor the many children and wives of King Mongkut ( Rama IV). Among those that she tutored was the young Prince Chulalongkorn (Rama V) who inherited the throne later when his father died.
Those of us who have seen the movie long ago may forget many of the details in the musical. But who can ever forget Yul Brynner's uttering the single suffix " HAH!" and that famous ending line to most everything he said...."et cetera, et cetera, et cetera".
I love the songs, the music and the lyrics. Getting to know you, Shall we dance?, Hello young lovers, I whistle a happy tune, Happy talking....etc, etc, etc, ( did you notice?...I have not forgotten what I learnt from the King and I, Hah! ).

About this newsclip of 10 December 1996 from the Straits Times.
It gives an interesting background about the Chakri Dynasty of Thai kings. The article was captioned most appropriately as the "Musical Dynasty".
From King Chakri (Rama I ) who ruled from 1782 to 1809 right to the present day king, King Bhumibol Adulyadej ( Rama IX )..this line of kings was very supportive of arts, music and culture and musically talented in their own rights.

Siang Lim Park...the new!

Photo:
This is the Condo block in the Waterina which faces the north. It was from there that I took some snapshots from Tim's open window to the west, north and east. Right below the block is the Geylang River.
















Photo:
I was facing about north-west.















Photo:
Facing directly north.
This row of double-storey pre-war shophouses has retained its old facade especially the rooftop. You can see the existing backlane at the rear of the houses. The backlane of our Yippie home was similar. It was quite broad and allowed us to put up a string or a tattered badminton net tied across the sides of the fences for our regular kampong pastime.



Photo:
Similar to above picture. To the right of the photo is the private Aston Mansions.







Photo:
Facing north-west. Part of the Lorong 40 field or playground can be seen on the left. It is so different from the past where it was basically one big field with only a few swings etc at the edge.
The single storey houses are part of Lorong 38. They are quite different from those in our old Siang Lim Park which all had a common, empty space beneath our floor called "bawah rumah" ( under the house ).


Photo:
Facing north-west.
An overview of the Lorong 40 playground today. Looking at it, one could not have imagined that 2 teams of any number of players were slogging it out in a game called football ...played regularly there. No bookings were required. First come, first served basis....kampong style.





Photo:
Facing approximately west. This part of the river will continue towards the sea. In the early days, the river had no enbankments. Wild vegetation grew on the river banks...lallang, bushes, trees. Many hens,chickens and ducks roamed freely. Eggs could be found among the bushes, riverbanks and "bawah rumah".
I took a walk on that bridge later. In days of old, we could sit on the parapet [ Map Ref # 40, see SL Park map ]. Today it can't be done...just a railing, cement parapet has disappeared.









Photo:
Facing west. That gate, footpath and boundary wall are part of the Sunny Spring today
If you look closely at the picture and follow that footpath from the gate, you come to a white rectangular patch ( top left of pic).
That's the approximate location of the old ancient keramat which I had earlier described in previous posts with Ref# 4 on the Map.

As I walked right to the river's edge, I did not detect any objectionable odour or smell. Except for the inevitable litter, flotsam and some other rubbish...the river today is infinitely cleaner than it was in my days.
Walking around, I did not see a single fruit tree of note.