SINGAPORE: If there’s something strange in your neighbourhood, who you going to call? We’re not sure how helpful the Ghostbusters will be here in Singapore, but there’s no denying the recent spate of strange occurrences happening all over our island-city.
With streaming platform Netflix releasing the highly anticipated season two of their hit sci-fi horror series Stranger Things on Friday (Oct 27), we thought there was no better time to look at the “stranger things” that have been happening in our own backyard. Who knows, they might very well serve as inspiration for the show.
TAMPINES NAKED UNCLE
Just last month, the Internet was ablaze with photos of a man roaming around Tampines wearing nothing but boots, spectacles and a lanyard, plus a very essential mobile phone in hand.
The unidentified uncle was walking near Block 523C Tampines Avenue 9 and Block 728 Tampines Street 71. He was also seen standing on board a public bus, which Channel NewsAsia understands to be bus service 168.
We’re surprised that the residents of Tampines didn’t give the man a dressing down. Perhaps they were still in shock and horror at witnessing the events of that fateful Sep 14 morning. Or maybe they just simply couldn’t bare it.
The unidentified man was spotted in Tampines Avenue 9, Tampines Street 71 and on bus 168. (Photos: Yew Kwang Lim, Huang Jiaxing/Facebook)
WOMAN ON THE ROOF OF A MOVING CAR
In the wee hours of Jan 16, a woman was spotted perched on the roof of a moving car along Eu Tong Sen Road. According to reports, the woman, who was wearing white, waved back at a taxi driver who waved at her at a traffic light stop.
Dashboard camera footage of the incident provided by the taxi driver showed the woman – reportedly in her 20s – lounging on top of the moving car, leaning back on her hands.
Under the Road Traffic Act, motorists convicted of dangerous driving may be fined up to S$3,000 and jailed for up to a year. Repeat offenders may be fined up to S$5,000 and jailed for up to two years.
Pulling perilously strange and stupid stunts such like this, we reckon the title to this young woman’s movie should be Driving Miss Crazy.
DANCING LADY IN BEDOK TOWN CENTRE
On Sep 10, a 39-year-old Vietnamese woman bizarrely began to boogie at Bedok Town Center along New Upper Changi Road. This happened at around 7am.
According to a local Chinese daily, she danced alone for eight hours until 3pm, refusing to stop even in a bout of heavy rain. She also systematically shed her clothes as the day wore on.
Initially, no one paid any attention to her, netizens said, until her dancing became increasingly erratic and maniac.
A Vietnamese woman was spotted stripping down to her underwear and dancing in the rain at Bedok New Town. (Photo: RedWire Times Singapore)
A resident eventually called the police when she was stripped down to her undergarments and her dancing became progressively racy and suggestive. This strange antic landed her in the custody of police and in the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric assessment. Talk about literally dancing up a storm.
MYSTERIOUS “GHOST CAR” CAUSING A COLLISION
Everyone who has seen the video posted online is understandably divided. The dashcam video shows a “ghost car” that seemingly appears out of nowhere to cause a collision. The footage has had everyone scratching their heads trying to figure out whether the camera angle hid a blind spot or was this just one massive inexplicable optical illusion.
While many were ready to decree paranormal influences, some eagle-eyed netizens claim to be able to see the car, pointing out sensible reasons to plausibly debunk the “ghost car” theory. Whichever side of the fence you sit, one thing is for sure – this was a mystery that got the rest of the world speculating. The baffling video has been picked up by international media including the New York Post, Yahoo Australia and the Daily Mail.
EVERY OTHER THING IN YISHUN
From a woman found with 39 pet cats caged in her HDB flat and huge monitor lizards appearing outside lifts, to buses catching fire and freaky car accidents happening 15 minutes apart, poor Yishun has unfortunately cemented its reputation as Singapore’s epicentre for truly mind-boggling occurrences.
But buried beneath the barrage of reports about murder cases, animal abuse, drug busts, traffic accidents and fireworks being set off illegally is a neighbourhood ready for a positive image re-brand.
Three men were arrested for allegedly setting off fireworks at Yishun. (Screengrab: Facebook / Kevin Tan Jia Liang)
That said, embracing all these strange things in good humour isn’t such a bad idea either. After all, the northern suburb became a viral Internet sensation (and cult spectacle) when Netflix used it as a backdrop for their Stranger Things marketing campaign for the first season.
Now, they’ve posted a new teaser on their Facebook page on Thursday (Oct 26). This time, a photo of Eleven and her friends at our iconic Singapore dragon playground was shared. We’re guessing there must be another Yishun-inspired video in the works. As the saying goes: Everything must go wrong, before it goes right.
