No indication Kusu Island fire was deliberately set: SCDF
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SCDF will continue working with the relevant authorities to determine the probable cause of the fire.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE - Preliminary investigations into the fire on Kusu Island on Sunday do not indicate that it was deliberately set, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on Tuesday (April 19).
In a Facebook post, the SCDF said that it will continue working with the authorities to determine the probable cause of the fire that ravaged three hilltop Malay shrines on Kusu Island.
Witnesses who saw the fire from nearby Lazarus Island said the blaze started at about 6.20pm.
SCDF responded to the fire at 6.30pm and, aided by a heavy downpour, put out the blaze in about an hour.
The shrines will have to be rebuilt.
According to the Singapore Land Authority's website, the shrines were built to commemorate a 19th century pious man, Syed Abdul Rahman, his mother Nenek Ghalib and sister Puteri Fatimah - who are considered Malay saints.
Many Taoist and Buddhist devotees who pay their respects at Kusu Island's Da Bo Gong (Tua Pek Kong) Temple near the pier during the ninth lunar month also climb 152 steps up a small hill to visit the three Malay shrines as part of an annual pilgrimage.
