Last Wednesday night saw the sleepy suburb of Choa Chu Kang become shrouded in a grey fog.
This fog was not of natural causes. Rather, it was attributed to the burning of incense paper for the ongoing Hungry Ghost Festival.
(Incense was the cause of the smoke in Choa Chu Kang)
The Singapore Civil Defence Force received a call from a member of the public at 10.33pm Wednesday night, which reported that smoke was sighted at Choa Chu Kang Avenue 4. Officers were unable to locate the source, but ruled out fire as the cause.
The fog was reported to have slightly dispersed overnight, but was still present on Thursday morning. The National Environment Agency (NEA) stated that no smoke plumes were visible by satellite on Thursday, which suggests that the fog was not caused by haze.
Instead, NEA revealed that incense paper was being burned at a plot of land near Sungei Tengah Road on Wednesday at around 10pm. “This could have generated the smoke and smell detected by residents,” it suggest. Sungei Tengah Road is close to the Choa Chu Kang area.
NEA added that it is closely monitoring the area.
A similar incident has occurred at almost exactly the same period last year. A worker at Bethany Methodist Nursing Home, which is seeing smog for the second year in a row, observed that the smoke seemed to have wafted over from a nearby golf course. He added, “It was very thick and very smelly. We couldn’t even see the opposite blocks last night. It was like last year. A fire engine came in to check if there was a fire here bu there wasn’t.”
Choa Chu Kang Avenue 4 resident, housewife Chen Ya Zhen, claimed the smoke was as if someone was burning paper money at her block’s void deck. “But when I came out to check, no one nearby was burning paper money. I don’t know where the smoke came from,” she said.
Avenue 3 resident Soh Chow Fung, sensed a burning smell and thick smoke outside her windows that same night, which had become less dense the next day. The smell also disappeared overnight. The housewife added, “I’m a bit worried because my children have sensitive noses and I don’t want them to breathe in the smoke.”
Consultant respiratory physician at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, Professor Philip Eng, told The Straits Times, “Smog is basically air pollution from combustion. When it rises to a very high level, it can be hazardous to health because chemicals in the air irritate the skin, eyes, and respiratory systems.”
He explained, “If it’s persistent it can be a problem, but over a short period like Wednesday night to Thursday morning, I don’t think it’s dangerous, maybe just irritating.”
To those who are affected by the smog, the professor added that these people can protect themselves by staying indoors, turning on the air-conditioning or using home air filters.
MP for Choa Chu Kang GRC’s Keat Hong ward Zaqy Mohamad said that his residents have not filed any official complaints, but the town council had been alerted about the smog via informal feedback from its grassroots network. According to the MP, grassroots organisations and the town council have already been in touch with NEA, who will in turn alert them should the incident pose a health hazard.
The month-long Hungry Ghost Festival commenced this month. Believers traditionally burn hell bank notes, incense and joss paper items such as cars and houses for their deceased ancestors.
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