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Straits Times
14-07-2025
- Straits Times
Then and now: Days of being wild in Singapore
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Whether 1845 or 2025, some things in Singapore never change. Snippets on how we reported them then and now. Workers removing the body of Twiggy, a black panther, from an underground drain near the Singapore Turf Club. The animal had escaped from the Singapore Zoo in March 1973. In 2023, retail manager Durga Devi was walking back to her Bukit Panjang home when a wild boar charged at her. The animal attacked her four times, flinging her from side to side before tossing her onto the road, The Straits Times reported. A passing jogger rushed to help. She survived the attack but had to undergo multiple operations in what doctors described as one of the worst boar attacks they had seen. Animal encounters, whether wild or captive, have long fascinated the public. In March 1973, Twiggy the panther escaped from the Singapore Zoo. For 11 months, it roamed the island before it was found dead in an underground drain near the Singapore Turf Club. A policeman advising pupils from Sembawang Hills Estate School to stay away from the jungle, as a panther that escaped from the Singapore Zoo had been spotted nearby. Two troops of Reserve Unit officers on duty and three police dogs were ordered to the scene in March 1973. PHOTO: ST FILE Two years later, in 1975, the police were on the alert for yet another panther, this one prowling the Tampines area after it was brought into Singapore illegally by an animal trader and escaped. The female cat was eventually captured in Tanjong Rhu. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore HSA intensifies crackdown on vapes; young suspected Kpod peddlers nabbed in Bishan, Yishun Singapore Man charged over distributing nearly 3 tonnes of vapes in one day in Bishan, Ubi Avenue 3 Singapore Public healthcare institutions to record all Kpod cases, confiscate vapes: MOH, HSA Singapore Man allegedly attacks woman with knife at Kallang Wave Mall, to be charged with attempted murder Singapore Singapore boosts support for Timor-Leste as it prepares to join Asean Singapore UN aviation and maritime agencies pledge to collaborate to boost safety, tackle challenges Singapore High Court dismisses appeal of drink driver who killed one after treating Tampines road like racetrack Singapore 18 years' jail for woman who hacked adoptive father to death after tussle over Sengkang flat 'PANTHER CAPTURED', the headline screamed on the front page on July 4, 1975. '24-day reign of terror ends with three shots from tranquilliser gun'. The panther had been spotted in the fuel tank of a ship under construction in Tanjong Rhu. It was captured by zoo officials while shipyard workers stood by to gawp at the drama. From prowling panthers to rampaging boars, sightings of animals on the loose have long made headlines, underscoring the tension between urban development and natural habitats. A dive into The Straits Times' archives reveals a much wilder Singapore in the past, when tigers were a terror. By the mid-19th century, Singapore had gained a grim reputation for tiger attacks. Historian C.M. Turnbull wrote in A History Of Modern Singapore 1819-2005 that tigers were said to carry off a victim a day. A report on Dec 11, 1855, which chronicled the deaths of an agricultural labourer and a coolie, lamented: 'How often are we compelled to record such verdicts. It reflects the greatest shame upon the Supreme Government that effectual means are not employed to relieve our dense jungles of ferocious Tigers.' Tiger hunting became common, with rewards offered for kills. In 1864, a reader named Carnie wrote in, describing how he had shot a tigress during an expedition before 'she could make another spring'. The menace extended to islands such as Pulau Ubin where a tiger killed two men in 1874. Those who killed tigers would sometimes take the carcasses to police stations to claim rewards, as Changi residents Ali and Mahomed did in 1898, when they hauled a dead tiger to the Rochore Police Station. The last reported shooting of a wild tiger in Singapore was in Choa Chu Kang in October 1930. But even in 1951, a tiger hunt was mounted near the Causeway after a sighting. 'It is believed that recent heavy RAF (the British Royal Air Force) bombing in south Johor may have driven the tiger out of the jungle and over the Causeway,' The Straits Times reported. Today, as the city becomes more built-up, animal sightings are rising again, though they are not in the league of tigers and panthers. In March 2025, The Straits Times reported a 55 per cent increase in calls to the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society between 2019 and 2024. The hotline received 15,203 calls in 2024 – up from 9,800 in 2019 – and now deals with an average of 10 cases a day. Among the animals rescued: mynahs, pigeons, pythons, civets, monitor lizards and wild boars. A wild boar spotted in Lorong Halus on Jan 12, 2021. ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO Straits Times assistant news editor Audrey Tan, 34 , who oversees environmental coverage, says Singapore now has experts with deep knowledge about certain wildlife species. Studies have also been done on why some animals, such as critically endangered pangolins, venture into urban areas. All this has made coverage about wildlife more nuanced, she says. Nature provides many benefits to urban dwellers, from the cooling effect of trees to the rest offered by parks and nature reserves, and reporting has evolved to highlight these intangible aspects, she adds. Singapore is also slowly embracing nature in its land use plans – which is only a good thing. From corals to armoured pangolins, otters to once-extinct hornbills, the natural world is an inescapable part of Singapore's urban cityscape, down to people's own backyards.
New Straits Times
31-05-2025
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Retired racing journo saddened by PTC's end
KUALA LUMPUR: Retired horse- racing journalist Ram Derayan sighs when the topic of Penang Turf Club (PTC), which is set to close down after 160 years, comes up. "I always knew it could happen," said Ram, who wrote under the byline Go Ram. "Of course, it is very sad. I spent a lot of time there," said Ram, who is born and raised in Penang. The former New Straits Times and The Star correspondent spent countless hours at PTC in his 45 years covering the racing beat. "PTC is a great club that had many champion trainers there in the past. "There were easily more than 20 of them (trainers) and most of them were foreigners. "The highlight each year was the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Gold Cup. "The Gold Cup was the first Malaysian event to feature prize money of over RM1 million." s Ram said PTC, which hosted its final race yesterday, was a staple of the Malaysian Racing Association circuit alongside the Perak Turf Club, Selangor Turf Club and the Singapore Turf Club. "The horses would travel between Penang, Ipoh, Selangor, as well as Kranji in Singapore for races. "I would go with them to write about the races." Still, he said he was not surprised that PTC had reached its final lap, owing to the decline in the sport's popularity. In recent years, a number of turf clubs in Asia has either closed down or ceased to host races. The Singapore Turf Club held its final race on Oct 5, 2024. Ram, however, believes it is possible for horse racing to bounce back with the right support. "Clubs have to do their part and bring in or develop new trainers and promote the sport more."
New Paper
30-05-2025
- Sport
- New Paper
Ong's first and last stab at Penang races
Jason Ong will have his first runners in Penang on May 31, but they will also be his last. That new milestone for the two-time Singapore champion trainer begins and ends so quickly, simply because the Penang Turf Club will be staging its last meeting in 162 years of existence on that day. Low turnover and attendances have forced the second of the original four Malayan Racing Association clubs to close doors after the Singapore Turf Club on Oct 5. Ong, who has never set foot at the Batu Gantong track but did visit Penang as the typical Singaporean tourist in search of its famous street food, said he could not possibly let this last chance of saddling a runner there go begging. "I've been to Penang but not its races. It'll be nice to be there," said Ong. "There's nothing to celebrate, obviously, but I can now say I had a runner there before it closes." After relocating to Kuala Lumpur in November, the 37-year-old handler has not taken long to bring his Singapore dominance up north. With his powerful Kranji squad more or less moving wholesale, his haul of two to three winners a week have already become part of the Sungai Besi landscape. Ong is already well clear at the top on 41 wins, including two at his only Ipoh visit on March 30. Penang was always on his radar, but opportunities were rare, with only one meeting (March 8) held after so many cancellations. The end was nigh and, when the club announced it was curtains, Ong circled its final day in red. Of particular interest is the highlight, the RM250,000 (S$76,000) Penang Turf Club Farewell Trophy, which, unlike the Grand Singapore Gold Cup (2,000m) deliberately run as Singapore's very last race, is slated as the penultimate event on the seven-race programme. The 1,300m trip of the Special Rapid Stakes A made Ong wince, but he would still press on with his first choice - Pacific Vampire. Ironically, the noted speedster also ran in the Singapore Gold Cup but was a spent force 500m out before floundering to last place. While Ong would have preferred 1,200m, he is convinced the Impending five-year-old will not raise the white flag so early this time. "Vampire is the best horse in my barn. He was my logical choice for the race," he said. "The 1,300m is a question mark as all his wins (four in Kranji and two in Kuala Lumpur) have not been beyond 1,200m, but he has matured a lot here. "He needed two or three runs to get right, but we saw how he relaxed better in his last two wins. "I think he can see out the 1,300m, but of course, we don't know how he'll handle the travelling and the different track. "Penang doesn't look much different from KL. He'll be right." Pacific Vampire jumps from the inside alley with Jerlyn Seow up. If he and three stablemates come up short, Ong has one last bullet in the actual Penang swansong. Pacific Padrino, who is also first emergency in the Farewell Trophy, is in the last race, another Special Rapid Stakes A over 1,300m. manyan@
