Fallen Trees

Recently, there has been a spate of fallen tree incidents in Singapore. Some of these incidents involve small trees that do not cause serious injuries or property damage. However, some fallen trees are large mature trees. If these falling heavy trees hit people or property, there are likely to be injuries or even death as well as severe damage to property.

ST Photo

On 20 Jul 2010 at around 2 pm, 32-year-old Chua Loong Wai was crushed to death by a fallen raintree. This incident happened along the junction of Thomson Hills Drive and Yio Chu Kang Road.

Undeniably, it is a tragic accident that is both sad and shocking. However, Loong Wai is not the first person in Singapore to die by a falling tree. You may recall that in May 2007, there were 2 separate fatal incidents caused by falling trees/branches that happened to a woman in Bukit Batok Nature Park and a Vietnamese man near the Tree Top Walk at MacRitchie Reservoir.

According to the authorities, the tree that killed Loong Wai was uprooted by a microburst which is a localised, powerful descending air draft column that produces damaging winds at high speed. Microbursts are known to knock down fully grown trees. National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said that were 240 incidents involving trees or branches which fell last month, largely due to bad weather. The figure is more than double that of the 90 incidents during the same month last year.

ST Photo

Just 2 days after this tragic accident, another similar incident occurred at about 7.45 am at a road junction near Block 226, Ang Mo Kio Street 22. This time, the 3 occupants of the blue Chevrolet were lucky to get away with only some scratches. However their car was badly damaged with both its front and back windscreens shattered.

Then just 2 days ago, a motorcyclist had a narrow escape when he tried to avoid a tree branch that had fallen across 2 out of 3 lanes of the Bukit Timah Expressway. He lost control of his scooter and fell. However, it was fortunate that he was not hurt.

Police Roadblock

Only this morning at about 9 am, when I was exiting CTE (southbound) and turning right into Jalan Bukit Merah, I encountered a police roadblock. Traffic was diverted back into CTE (northbound).

Fallen tree blocking off all 3 lanes of westbound Jalan Bukit Merah

The cause of the road diversion was a large fallen tree blocking all 3 lanes of the westbound carriageway of Jalan Bukit Merah.

A worker perched precariously on top of the fallen tree

Workers could be seen cutting the tree apart and a crane was at the scene to hoist the branches to the roadside.

Curious onlookers at the scene

Luckily, there appeared to be no casualties. It is fortunate that this incident happened early on a Sunday morning when traffic is light. As most motorists know, Jalan Bukit Merah is a major thoroughfare that has very heavy traffic during peak hours. I shudder to think of the dire consequences should a vehicle be hit in this case.

Part of the concrete walkway was prised out of the ground by the immense force.

Off-ground pavement

Even a lamp post with a Tanjong Pagar GRC poster tied to it had fallen over unceremoniously

Maybe the tree near the National Museum that mysteriously disappeared more than a century ago was also annihilated by a microburst? Whichever the case, you should always try to stay indoors in inclement weather - besides an increased likelihood of being struck by lightning, a falling tree is yet another very real and present danger which you are exposed to when you are outdoors in bad weather.

Uprooted

Further Reading:

17 trees uprooted early Sunday

Jack Neo Admits Affair With Model

I was shocked to read about Jack Neo having an extra-marital affair with a 22-year-old girl by the name of Wendy Chong - read articles here and here.

Jack made a name for himself as Singapore most successful film-maker with his first film Money No Enough in 1998. He even earned a mention by the then Prime Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong in his National Day Rally Speech on 18 August 2002:

Why not be like Jack Neo? He has applied his creative energy to produce three movies. Two of them were highly successful ? "Money No Enough" and "I Not Stupid". I watched "I Not Stupid". I can understand why it touched many parents' heart. My wife liked it so much that she watched it three times. She felt that Jack Neo deserved a National Day award. But I told her, "Two No Enough"!

Indeed, in 2004 he became the first local filmmaker to be honoured with a National Day Award. In the following year, he won the Cultural Medallion by the National Arts Council (NAC), the highest art and cultural award in the nation.

All these years, the public's impression of Jack is that he is a model husband who will not stray in marriage. In fact, Jack himself told The New Paper in a 1996 interview that it was too difficult to have a secret affair:

My philosophy on an affair: I have no time for it. If you want to look for a secret lover, you got to pay for it, not in terms of money but something more valuable - time. You got to make lovey-dovey phone calls, go pak-tor (dating), spend time making yourself look good for the woman. (Sigh) Too difficult for me, lah.

Now let me try to interprete the real meaning behind the sentences in the preceding paragraph:

Jack: I have no time for it.
Meaning: You will find time if you take her along on overseas working trips.

Jack: You got to make lovey-dovey phone calls
Meaning: SMS also can

Jack: Go pak-tor
Meaning: See movie Lucky Star also same same

Jack: Spend time making yourself look good for the woman.
Meaning: Actually, I look quite good already. With or without the clothes. Maybe better without.

I remember the dialogue in one of Jack Neo's movie (can't remember which one) said something like this:

偷吃要记得擦嘴巴

Translated, it means "when you steal a bite (=stray), remember to wipe your mouth clean (=remove all incriminating evidence)". Tsk, tsk, tsk, talk about dishing out advice which you don't follow yourself. Seems like Jack forgot to follow that golden rule.

They say that marriages go through the seven year itch. Wah, Jack is 20 years late - he is married for 27 years already. Maybe it is because his name Liang Zhi Qiang 梁智强 has the same hanyu pinyin as 两支枪 which means "have 2 guns". No wonder for him "that one no enough".

And I am not withholding any admonition for the woman in the story either. No, not Madam Irene Kng (Jack's wife) who is the real victim but Wendy Chong. The latter said that she just wanted people to know that "(Jack Neo) may say that he loves me, but the next moment, he lies to me".

Hello young woman, is lying more severe a crime than being a third party to a marriage? I certainly don't think so. And whoever invited reporters and photographers to come along for the meeting in Crowne Plaza hotel definitely had an ulterior motive.

Why not be like Jack Neo? Do be careful where you apply your creative energy though.

But alas, Jack seems to be playing Tiger Woods too. Aw come on, that girl is young enough to be your daughter, okay? What do you have to say? That you are human too and are prone to making mistakes just like all of us? Sigh, I just hope that this whole episode didn't actually happen but is only a publicity stunt for your current movie, aptly titled Being Human. But then, it is too early for an April Fool's joke, isn't it? Aiyah never mind lah, you can always make good use of this third-party first-hand experience to make your next "social issue" movie.

Who knows? You could even earn another mention in this year's National Day Rally Speech. If this happens, I hope it is for the right reason. I wish you well.