SINGAPORE: Residents and store owners in the north of Singapore said that Tuesday evening’s (Jan 30) storm caught them by surprise, as they took stock of the damage caused by heavy rain, strong wind and falling trees and branches. 

In Chong Pang, a large tree branch fell on one of the tents housing a pasar malam, or night market.

“It happened very suddenly and we had no time to keep or stow away our things,” said a stall owner who wanted to be identified as Mr Ker.

“A huge tree branch fell on the tent and damaged the metal parts. My workers were so scared they ran into the HDB blocks to hide,” he added. “The pasar malam management said they’d come and replace the tent but I’m not sure when.”

Mr Ker added that the wind blew away the boards they used for displaying Chinese New Year decorations. 

“FIRST TIME I’VE SEEN SUCH BIG RAIN”

Yishun resident Mr Kennady said the storm caused lights at a coffeeshop there to go out. 

He told Channel NewsAsia it had been “very hot” prior to the storm and there had been no indication it would rain. “Then the rain started and people around me were looking at the weather (sic) because it was so sudden,” he said.

“There was also very heavy thunder and lightning all the lights at the coffee shop went out.”

“There were a lot of people, including students, working people, and they were looking for places to wait. They couldn’t sit in the coffeeshop because rain was spraying,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve seen such big rain.”

The storm also uprooted a tree near Yishun Secondary School.

“Look at the tree,” Mr Kennady said. 

“The roots don’t look like they’re enough to hold the tree. Luckily nobody parked here. Usually it’s full.”

A general household items store in Yishun was shuttered after rain and strong winds caused its retractable awning to give way and display racks to topple over. 

The shopkeeper, who wanted to be identified only as Mrs Teo, told Channel NewsAsia that she was arranging products on the display at R & S Budget House at about 5pm when she saw flashes of lightning, followed by a loud crash. 

When Channel NewsAsia visited the scene at 8pm, Mrs Teo and her employers were still cleaning up debris and disposing of damaged goods. 

Repairs and damages to the inventory could set the shop back by S$4,000 to S$6,000, said Mrs Teo. 

There were no injuries, she said, adding that the shop would likely be closed until Wednesday. 

The storm felled several trees, including one on Tampines Expressway, and also caused a flash flood that briefly closed off a road in Seletar. 

Hailstones were also reported in Ang Mo Kio and Seletar.

Additional reporting by Hazlina Abdul Halim.

SINGAPORE: Four men have been arrested after they were caught dealing with more than 4,500 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Tuesday (Jan 30). 

The men, three of whom were Indian nationals and the other a Malaysian, were arrested on Sunday during a follow-up operation by Singapore Customs, said ICA in a news release. 

At about 3.45am on Sunday, ICA officers directed a bowser truck, driven by the Malaysian suspect, for inspection at the Woodlands Checkpoint. 

An ICA officer noticed anomalies in the scanned image of the Malaysian-registered truck and subsequently alerted Singapore Customs. 

During a follow-up search by customs officials, two Singapore-registered trucks were spotted next to the bowser truck at Tuas View Cresecent.  

Three men were then seen alighting from one of the trucks and transferring goods from the bowser to the other truck, according to the release. 

Customs officers found a total of 4,567 cartons and 80 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes inside. 

The three men, all Indian nationals, were arrested while the Malaysian driver was later arrested at the Tuas Checkpoint. 

The cigarettes, along with the bowser truck and the other two trucks were seized. 

The amount of total duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded was about S$355,020 and S$26,310 respectively.  

Investigations are still ongoing.