Kallang River incident: How can local anglers stay safe while fishing in Singapore?

SINGAPORE – Fishing in non-designated areas can be dangerous due to the lack of appropriate infrastructure such as fishing decks, and the risk of strong currents, especially after a storm event.

Associate Professor Edward Park, a principal investigator at NTU’s Earth Observatory of Singapore, said that even if a river appears calm, there can still be underlying flow and localised currents, especially near bends or structures.

“As a general safety measure, members of the public should avoid entering rivers, especially during or after rainfall, as conditions can change more quickly than they appear,” he added.

Prof Park was among the experts, waterway users and residents living near the Kallang River who responded to The Straits Times’ queries on the factors influencing river currents, as well as on how people can enjoy the recreational use of Singapore’s waterways safely. 

On Feb 25, 13-year-old Muhammed Qayyim Daniel Putra Rosli was fishing with his friends at Kallang River near Upper Boon Keng Road when he fell into the river. His body was retrieved on the night of Feb 26, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The location where the incident occurred is not a designated fishing area, said national water agency PUB.

The agency said there was a wall separating the park connector from the river. There was a “No Fishing” sign in the area and railings were also installed to restrict public access, said a PUB spokeswoman. 

Mr Vinod Rai Sharma, 46, who owns a photography studio overlooking the river, said he has, since 2017, observed on a few occasions children scaling the railings to fish along the river bank. He has had to caution them against doing so, he added. “Kids are the most vulnerable; they don’t understand the danger,” said Mr Rai, who has an 11-year-old daughter.

PUB said Singapore’s drains and canals are designed to convey storm water to the nation’s reservoirs and the sea, and that members of the public are not advised to enter them for safety reasons.

This is especially during storm events, which can cause a surge in water levels and strong undercurrents, the PUB spokeswoman said. 

Under PUB’s Fishing Guidelines, people are discouraged from climbing into the canals even when the water levels in them are low, as heavy rain upstream could fill the canals downstream in minutes. 

Hydrology expert Simone Fatichi from the NUS Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering said: “Currents are highly dangerous because water does not need to be deep to sweep a person away. At speeds of just 1m to 2m per second, it becomes nearly impossible to swim against the flow.”

Prof Fatichi added that in Singapore, the main variable affecting the strength of a river current is the amount of water flowing through the channel. “The higher the discharge generated from rainfall, the higher the water levels and the faster the velocity,” he said. 

However, river currents do not change only at the exact time of rainfall, added NTU’s Prof Park.

“Some rainwater is temporarily stored on surfaces such as trees and within the ground before gradually draining into waterways,” he said. “As a result, river discharge and current speeds can remain elevated for several hours after rain has stopped, even under clear and sunny conditions.”

He also noted that in highly urbanised water catchments such as the Kallang River, rainwater is conveyed efficiently into drains and canals which can increase flow speed relatively quickly.

Channel width, bends, and structures such as bridges can also locally increase turbulence, he added.

One observable sign of strong currents is a visible increase in floating debris, such as branches and litter, which is washed down from the upstream drainage network into the Kallang Basin, said Mr Chia Yi Liang, general manager of the Singapore Dragon Boat Association (SDBA). 

“Frequent users of the waterway would recognise that this accumulation of debris often indicates significant upstream inflow,” he said. SDBA regularly trains in the area near the Kallang River.

Fishing is allowed at designated areas across 15 locations at selected reservoirs and waterways, including Marina Reservoir and Rochor Canal near the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority building.

These areas were chosen based on several considerations. For instance, they avoid places where water activities take place, and are also at an adequate distance from high-traffic footpaths, said PUB. 

“We also consider the safety of anglers as some areas could be unsafe, such as embankments that are steep or slippery, or subject to fast-rising water levels,” the agency spokeswoman said. 

Most designated fishing areas also have infrastructure that will allow anglers to fish safely, such as fishing decks and safety railings. 

Members of the local fishing community say it is not uncommon for people to fish outside of permitted fishing zones.

“As there tends to be more anglers at legal fishing grounds, fishing pressure at these areas is usually very high,” said Mr Lim Yi Xuan, 25, who has been fishing for 13 years and produces fishing content on social media. 

The high pressure might potentially lead to some anglers trying their luck outside of these grounds in hopes of a better catch, added the undergraduate. 

Another local angler, Mr Harry Sa, 40, said some legal fishing areas have infrastructure that are less conducive for the activity. 

The geopolitical risk analyst, who has been fishing almost daily in Singapore for six years, pointed to the fishing deck at Serangoon Reservoir, which is separated from the reservoir waters by a sloped embankment. He added that this makes it difficult for anglers to retrieve their catches and lures as these could get snagged.

Fishing safely in Singapore

Dangers of fishing outside designated spots

1. Floating debris can make it difficult to swim to safety and cause injury

2. River conditions can be unpredictable, especially after storms

3. Submerged objects, such as tree branches, may injure or trap people

4. Embankments may be slippery and uneven

5. Passers-by may be injured by stray hooks

Sources: PUB, Edward Park, Simone Fatichi