From jungle brothels to NS-fuelled asylum, here’s what made us go WTF this week.
A Star is Born
There’s nothing like a bit of free advertising and Jetstar enjoyed just that when a woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy at the end of a flight from Singapore to Yangon. To show her gratitude for the airline’s assistance during the delivery, she named her son Saw Jet Star. Jokes about his fortune for not being born aboard a Virgin flight and his future lack of punctuality soon followed.
Hanky Panky in Punggol
There are plenty of reasons to go to Punggol these days – cool F&B spots, a new SAFRA facility, awesome parks – but apparently there’s another attraction going under the radar.
The Straits Times reported the discovery of
makeshift “jungle brothels” close to Punggol Waterway Park this week, an investigation turning up a number of tarpaulin-covered clearings littered with evidence of the goings on in the area. Popular with foreign workers – the girls are said to charge $20 per half-hour shift – locals have been getting in on the action too, parking their vehicles along the road before sneaking into the undergrowth.
Misplaced Pride
Siglap condominium Mandarin Gardens had its AGM recently, a fact that would normally interest exactly zero non-residents. However, the story took a twist when
The Independent and
All Singapore Stuff reported the story as a case of Singaporeans taking back control of the property’s Management Council from Indian expats. They quoted a post from
Sam’s Alfresco Heaven citing how these expats had become “power crazy” and “lawless” with “misdeeds” including “proposed to have a cricket pitch for Indian kids” and “organised Deepavali celebrations from condo fund to let Indians enjoy”. In the words of the original poster, “The Indians were taught a humbling lesson. The Singaporeans reclaimed Mandarin Gardens for Singapore.” Right. Slow applause.
The National Pastime
After all that’s happened, we really shouldn’t be surprised by a crazy queue over a twee food trend in Singapore. And yet, this story about a two-hour wait for the newly opened Bake Cheese Tarts from Hokkaido at ION Orchard on Friday, Apr 29 had us scratching our heads. Yes, it’s hard to to defend yourself against the allure of pastry filled with cream cheese, but guys, it’ll still be there in a couple of weeks, when everyone has moved on to something else.
