35 digital display panels at HDB lobbies in Woodlands vandalised

Thirty-five digital display panels installed at Housing Board lift lobbies in the Woodgrove and Marsiling estates in Woodlands were found vandalised on Thursday.

A police report has been lodged and the authorities are investigating the matter, working closely with the display panels' operator Target Media and the Marsiling-Yew Tee Town Council, the area's MP Hany Soh said on Facebook.

"It is unfortunate that the digital display panels intended to provide useful information for our residents have been vandalised in such a manner," said Ms Soh. "I hope that we can all play our part in taking care of the facilities in our neighbourhoods for the benefit of everyone."

Photographs in Ms Soh's post on Thursday showed the panels lying on the ground, detached from their wall mounts.

The screens were cracked and broken glass from the displays could be seen on the floor.

Responding to questions from The Straits Times, a spokesman for Target Media said it received a call at 8am on Thursday from Mr Joe Tan, a senior property manager from the estate's town council.

"When the Target Media team arrived at the site, the digital display panels were found to be badly smashed and dislodged from their locations," the spokesman said.

"The wiring was also forcibly pulled out together with the panels, resulting in broken mounting plates and snapped wires."

The spokesman added that replacing each of the panels will cost around $650 and that work has begun to remove the damaged panels so that new ones can be installed. The installation will take a week.

There are about 18,100 digital display panels across various HDB estates, providing residents with community and lifestyle information by leveraging digital technologies, in line with Singapore's Smart Nation drive.

Target Media owns nearly 15,000 of the displays.

Its spokesman added: "It is unfortunate that the displays in these affected areas were so badly damaged and they have to be replaced.

"Target Media is working with the town council to accelerate the pace of replacing these display panels so that residents will be able to obtain their community news."

Correction note: An earlier version of this article said 41 digital display panels were vandalised, according to information from Target Media. The company has since clarified that it should be 35.