77-year-old man to face charges for smashing a crow trap in Toa Payoh

SINGAPORE: A 77-year-old man will be charged in court after sabotaging a crow trap made by the authorities. In a statement, the police said the elderly man was suspected of cutting the cable tie used to secure the birdcage, hence damaging the trap set by the Parks Board to catch crows located in Toa Payoh. 

This caused the animals to fly away. The authorities have identified the man through further investigation and reviewing CCTV footage. 

The man will be charged with an offence under the Penal Code section 427, stating that anyone who causes trouble by disrupting any essential service or the government’s duties, functions, or powers, will face up to 10 years imprisonment, and/or a fine. 

Authorities view vandalism as a serious offence and will not hesitate to take firm action against anyone who damages public property, thereby disrupting the operation of government equipment.

Dealing with crows has been a challenge in Singapore in the past years. In recent reports, crows have been stealing food from a food centre, smartly lifting paper towels that were covering the food and then pecking on leftovers. 

Food vendors also admitted that these birds would scatter food scraps and would even throw them in their stalls. The cleaners will then do their best to clean the dishes in the dish return area as fast as they can. 

Due to such incidents, the members of the public raised hygiene and safety concerns, especially when they are eating outdoors. 

Such issues have been reported to relevant authorities, and they have been implementing preventive measures to resolve the problem. However, some of these measures, such as CDs, fake birds, nets, and needles installed in the cooked food centre, were ineffective. 

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