Even when an electric vehicle is not on the move, it can be dangerous, as taxi driver Oon Bock Soon found out on Thursday.

The 49-year-old was at a coffee shop at Block 12, Telok Blangah Crescent, when an e-bike that was being charged there burst into flames.

Mr Oon said he believes it belonged to one of the stallholders. He took a video of the incident at about 11.20am and sent it to citizen journalism site Stomp.

Flames appear in spurts, and a man is seen putting them out with a bucket of water.

"I was beside it a minute before the battery exploded. Everyone was shocked," Mr Oon said.

A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) spokesman said two firebikes and a Red Rhino were sent to the scene.

He added: "The fire was extinguished prior to SCDF's arrival by members of the public. There were no reported injuries and the fire is under investigation."

This may not be the first time such an incident has happened.

In July, a fire, possibly caused by a charging electric bike battery, blackened a Pasir Ris flat's living room. Flat owner Andy Nini, an aircraft painter, had said the fire might have been caused by an e-bike he had left to charge.

Jalelah Abu Baker