Kembangan-Chai Chee fireworks display cut short on Jan 1 after stray projectile hit HDB block
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A projectile from a fireworks display hitting the facade of a HDB block at Ubi Avenue 1 during the New Year celebrations.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM DIN BOROK/FACEBOOK
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE - The fireworks display in Kembangan-Chai Chee on New Year's Day was cut short abruptly after a stray projectile hit the outer facade wall of a Housing Board block.
No injuries were reported, according to a Facebook post on the Kembangan-Chai Chee community page on Saturday (Jan 1).
Kembangan-Chai Chee was one of 10 heartland locations where members of the public were able to watch firework displays to ring in the new year.
On Saturday morning, Mr Saifudin Sahat, 49, uploaded a video on Facebook showing crowds gathering in Ubi Avenue 1 to watch the fireworks.
Mid-way through the video, a lone projectile can be seen hitting a top-floor unit of a HDB block.
Mr Saifudin, an Ubi resident, said: “There were no shouts of panic, everyone was cheering.”
The taxi driver added: “But I was worried, because if the window was open, the fireball would have gone inside the house. There would have been a fire.”
The Kembangan-Chai Chee page said that immediately after the incident, its officers instructed the fireworks display to be stopped.
It added: "We also visited the unit where the projectile had landed nearby, to make sure that the family was safe.
"The family assured us that no one was hurt nor was there any damage to their home, as the projectile had only hit the outer facade wall near a window."
Thanking the family for their understanding and residents for their concern, the Kembangan-Chai Chee page said: "We are working closely with our vendor to ascertain what happened and how we can prevent this in future."
Mr Saifudin said: “I hope the authorities will conduct more checks in the future before they select locations, to see what landmarks are nearby and how spaced out they are.”
When contacted, the Singapore Police Force, which is the approving authority for fireworks, said that it was alerted to the incident where a projectile "had purportedly hit" the external facade wall of the HDB block.
"Police investigations are ongoing," said a police spokesman.
The People’s Association, which organised the fireworks display, also said it is investigating the incident.
