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17-06-2008, 02:16 AM
PEEPING TOMS RISK LIFE TO WATCH COUPLES MAKE OUT
A VIEW TO DIE FOR?
THE silhouette of the man was hard to spot against the rocky slope at Bukit Gombak's Little Guilin.
By Zaihan Mohamed Yusof
16 June 2008
[email protected]
THE silhouette of the man was hard to spot against the rocky slope at Bukit Gombak's Little Guilin.
Yet his movements gave him away.
Sitting precariously near the edge of a hill as high as the fifth storey of a Housing Board (HDB) block of flats, the man was risking life and limb.
One wrong move, and he could have plunged into the jagged rocks below or drowned in the deep waters.
But what could possibly be worth taking such a risk?
Well, even in the dark corners of the park, the answer was clear.
Little Guilin, a former quarry flanked by small hills, is a lovers' haunt at night. And this is a draw for peeping toms.
Just this week alone, The New Paper on Sunday spotted three men at various hidden locations of the park quietly watching what the couples do.
On Monday night, we saw a figure at the highest point of the hill.
The figure had appeared to be looking down at a couple kissing.
Three days later, we saw a man sitting on a lower part of the hill, concealed in vegetation.
It was impossible to determine whether this was the same man we saw earlier in the week because he left before we could speak to him.
The man, who appeared to be in his 30s, was watching a couple near a boulder.
He sat 5m away and was unaware he was being watched by us.
When we took a photograph of him, he was startled and left in a hurry.
We saw him again two minutes later when he approached another man, presumably his friend, seated near the water's edge.
Both men disappeared into the shadows.
About 10 minutes later, the first man returned and sat quietly in a bush behind another couple.
At the base of the slope, a sign warns visitors of the dangers when going beyond the wooden fences.
The third time we went, we ventured up the hill to find it littered with tissue, trash and opened condom wrappers.
There was also graffiti on the rocks.
At the spot where the man appeared to have been sitting are jagged rocks. To park yourself there, you have to squeeze between the rocks, a space barely big enough for an adult body.
The people who were being watched were, naturally, quite upset.
One of them, who wanted to be known only as Mr Zakaria,29, lives nearby at Bukit Batok Street 52.
He said he was startled by a man in January when he was up in the hill enjoying the view with his fiancee.
Mr Zakaria said: 'We immediately left the spot when we noticed him sitting there. We wanted our privacy.'
From the top of the hill, one can get a panoramic view of Little Guilin.
But to look at others below, you will have to move dangerously close to the edge.
Mr Li Guo Min, 23, who was one of those upset with the intrusion, said anyone 'must really be desperate' to sit in a dangerous spot just to peep at others.
'I have been up the slope before and after it rains, the ground becomes very slippery.'
Mr Li, a part-time student, said he heard sounds of movements coming from the slope, but had never bothered to investigate.
Mr Li said: 'My girlfriend thought I was being paranoid. She didn't believe me when I had told her that there was movement at one part of the rock on the slope. I suspected somebody was there watching us. She said I was just seeing things.'
Nevertheless, one visitor to the park said couples who hang out in the dark will surely attract attention, more so if they were 'groping' each other.
Ms Jacintha Seah, 35, said: 'If couples want privacy, why not just stay at home or check into a hotel?'
She pointed out that if couples behaved decently while in public, they should have nothing to fear.
'What I'm more concerned is that nobody gets robbed or molested by somebody jumping out of the bushes,' she said.
It is not a crime to be watching people from a distance.
But lawyer S Balamurugan said that if the peeping tom engages in an indecent act or gesture, then the person may have broken the law by insulting the modesty of the victim.
For the authorities, safety is a concern when visitors go to Little Guilin.
The danger sign is clearly displayed at the base of the slope there.
A National Parks Board spokesman said: 'For the sake of safety, we will take enforcement against anyone caught not observing such a sign.
'While on their routine patrol, our rangers will look out for anyone who is behaving suspiciously or indecently. Members of the public who come across such persons are also advised to call the police.'
A VIEW TO DIE FOR?
THE silhouette of the man was hard to spot against the rocky slope at Bukit Gombak's Little Guilin.
By Zaihan Mohamed Yusof
16 June 2008
[email protected]
THE silhouette of the man was hard to spot against the rocky slope at Bukit Gombak's Little Guilin.
Yet his movements gave him away.
Sitting precariously near the edge of a hill as high as the fifth storey of a Housing Board (HDB) block of flats, the man was risking life and limb.
One wrong move, and he could have plunged into the jagged rocks below or drowned in the deep waters.
But what could possibly be worth taking such a risk?
Well, even in the dark corners of the park, the answer was clear.
Little Guilin, a former quarry flanked by small hills, is a lovers' haunt at night. And this is a draw for peeping toms.
Just this week alone, The New Paper on Sunday spotted three men at various hidden locations of the park quietly watching what the couples do.
On Monday night, we saw a figure at the highest point of the hill.
The figure had appeared to be looking down at a couple kissing.
Three days later, we saw a man sitting on a lower part of the hill, concealed in vegetation.
It was impossible to determine whether this was the same man we saw earlier in the week because he left before we could speak to him.
The man, who appeared to be in his 30s, was watching a couple near a boulder.
He sat 5m away and was unaware he was being watched by us.
When we took a photograph of him, he was startled and left in a hurry.
We saw him again two minutes later when he approached another man, presumably his friend, seated near the water's edge.
Both men disappeared into the shadows.
About 10 minutes later, the first man returned and sat quietly in a bush behind another couple.
At the base of the slope, a sign warns visitors of the dangers when going beyond the wooden fences.
The third time we went, we ventured up the hill to find it littered with tissue, trash and opened condom wrappers.
There was also graffiti on the rocks.
At the spot where the man appeared to have been sitting are jagged rocks. To park yourself there, you have to squeeze between the rocks, a space barely big enough for an adult body.
The people who were being watched were, naturally, quite upset.
One of them, who wanted to be known only as Mr Zakaria,29, lives nearby at Bukit Batok Street 52.
He said he was startled by a man in January when he was up in the hill enjoying the view with his fiancee.
Mr Zakaria said: 'We immediately left the spot when we noticed him sitting there. We wanted our privacy.'
From the top of the hill, one can get a panoramic view of Little Guilin.
But to look at others below, you will have to move dangerously close to the edge.
Mr Li Guo Min, 23, who was one of those upset with the intrusion, said anyone 'must really be desperate' to sit in a dangerous spot just to peep at others.
'I have been up the slope before and after it rains, the ground becomes very slippery.'
Mr Li, a part-time student, said he heard sounds of movements coming from the slope, but had never bothered to investigate.
Mr Li said: 'My girlfriend thought I was being paranoid. She didn't believe me when I had told her that there was movement at one part of the rock on the slope. I suspected somebody was there watching us. She said I was just seeing things.'
Nevertheless, one visitor to the park said couples who hang out in the dark will surely attract attention, more so if they were 'groping' each other.
Ms Jacintha Seah, 35, said: 'If couples want privacy, why not just stay at home or check into a hotel?'
She pointed out that if couples behaved decently while in public, they should have nothing to fear.
'What I'm more concerned is that nobody gets robbed or molested by somebody jumping out of the bushes,' she said.
It is not a crime to be watching people from a distance.
But lawyer S Balamurugan said that if the peeping tom engages in an indecent act or gesture, then the person may have broken the law by insulting the modesty of the victim.
For the authorities, safety is a concern when visitors go to Little Guilin.
The danger sign is clearly displayed at the base of the slope there.
A National Parks Board spokesman said: 'For the sake of safety, we will take enforcement against anyone caught not observing such a sign.
'While on their routine patrol, our rangers will look out for anyone who is behaving suspiciously or indecently. Members of the public who come across such persons are also advised to call the police.'