At the exercise and warm-up corner, children, often at the encouragement of their parents, try to use adult equipment. Parents are oblivious to the damage this can do to their children's fragile frames. The chin-up bar and monkey-swing area become a playground as children challenge one another.

At the sit-up benches, families gather and use the area to chat. Some use the benches to rest. Along the long jump and triple jump track, children with beach sets can be seen, helped by a maid or parent, building sandcastles in the sand pit.

While jogging along the track, it is not uncommon to be blocked by a maid or parent pushing a baby pram. Occasionally in the evening, joggers may even be blocked while the pram stops half-way along the track as the child is fed. Parents can also be seen using the jogging track to urge their toddlers to walk.

After a soccer match, the grandstand area is full of empty bottles, plastic bags and foam cups, even though there are waste bins nearby. The toilet floor is soiled and wet, and the washbasins choked. This is despite the fact that there is a washing point near the soccer pitch.

In short, the stadium has been turned into a playground and picnic area. I don't believe the Singapore Sports Council intended this to happen and hope it will act to ensure the stadium is used as intended.

Christopher Teo Kian Lam