SINGAPORE: Staff and students of Punggol Secondary have been reminded to be vigilant and watchful of their surroundings after a woman was injured by a boar outside the school, said its principal Benedict Keh on Wednesday (Aug 29).
He confirmed that the woman injured on Tuesday was an administrative employee at the school, adding that she remains in hospital.
“We will render her continued assistance, including giving her the time to recover from her wounds,” said Mr Keh in response to Channel NewsAsia’s queries.
“We have reminded our staff and students to be vigilant and watchful of their surroundings,” he added.
“As an added precaution, we are working with the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of our staff and students.”
A photo circulating online purportedly shows a woman who was injured by a wild boar in Punggol on Aug 28, 2018.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it responded to a call for medical assistance at about 5.15pm on Tuesday, along 51 Edgefield Plains.
After the incident, the boar ran into a nearby executive condominium’s rubbish collection point, according to a report by Channel 8 News.
The animal was stranded there and was eventually sedated and moved from the area, said The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES).
Authorities said last year that they were working on managing wild boar issues in Singapore after reports of more sightings near residential areas.
READ: Government working with stakeholders to ‘manage wild boar issues’, says MND
Last November, police fired tasers at a boar at Punggol West Flyover after it charged towards officers and members of the public.
In October 2017, a man was injured after he was attacked by a wild boar near a bus stop at Hillview Road.
Channel NewsAsia has contacted the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority for comment on the latest incident in Punggol.
ACRES said on Tuesday that the wild boar likely come from Lorong Halus.
“Development works in that area could have caused this individual to venture out and subsequently finding itself lost in the urban area,” said ACRES deputy chief executive Kalai Vanan.
“Feeding by people may have had a part to play as well to cause the animal to venture out as well.”
