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Surely these young punks have better things to do than to draw on a car with markers? A recent video posted by Sgfollowsall has netizens wondering if this was simply an act of vandalism or if there was more than meets the eye. The video opens with what sounds like a few teenagers talking loudly and using markers to draw vulgarities on a grey Volkswagen Touran. The location appears to be an open carpark along East Coast Park. The person filming walks around the vehicle to show the various doodles made by his friends. He then proceeds to pick up a marker to make his mark on the car with an offensive comment to LTA. The clip ends with a picture of the finished product – the SGD $197,900 vehicle completely covered in doodles. Is this vandalism? At first glance, one would assume that these punks were vandalising a stranger’s car with malicious intent. However, several comments under the post highlighted the possibility of these boys playing a prank on a friend. A commenter also added that the vehicle owner had intended to respray his car and encouraged his friends to draw on it before doing so. While we are unsure of the actual scenario, let’s discuss the possible consequences of vandalism and what constitutes vandalism in Singapore. According to the Vandalism Act, writing, drawing, painting, marking or inscribing on any public property or private property any word, slogan, caricature, drawing, mark, or symbol without the written consent of the owner counts as vandalism. Offenders found guilty will be fined up to $2,000 and an imprisonment term of up to 3 years. Additionally, they will be given up to 8 strokes of the cane. Netizens’ reactions It is important for everyone to note that acts of vandalism are not taken lightly in Singapore. Even if this incident was done as a prank or with the owner's consent, it definitely hurts my heart to see these kids doodle on such an expensive canvas. -------- Witnessed an accident? See something interesting on the roads? Submit your image/video/news via MyCarForum's WhatsApp. We'll pay you $10 per post!

Marine Cove reopens end-June: 5 things about the recreational enclave at East Coast Park The McDonald's outlet at Marine Cove features a new look: loft-like space, sleek metallic counter, yellow flooring and gigantic food decals. Photo: The Straits Times SINGAPORE - Marine Cove at East Coast Park reopens from this week, after being in development for two years. The National Parks Board (NParks) promises facilities that are family-friendly, great views of the sea and a 3,500 sqm playground with a marine theme. Here's more about the revamped park recreation area. 1. MEGA PLAY AREA FOR THE KIDS The highlight of the playground is a 8m tower modelled after a lighthouse. It comes with many play elements that include three slides, a rope bridge and climbing net courses. There are also inclusive play equipment to encourage children of different abilities to play together. They are designed to let children spin, rock and swing to improve muscle control. 2. MACS IS BACK Those hankering for the return of a 30-year-old icon can look forward to gourmet food options alongside the usual fast-food fare when McDonald's reopens on July 2. The beach-style 8,439 sq ft outlet will act as a test kitchen to incubate new products, and feature a salad bar, a dessert bar and a trio of premium burgers like the Spicy Chicken with Apple Slaw. 3. MORE DIVERSE FOOD OPTIONS While the children play, parents can chill at the new F&B outlets opening progressively from Tuesday (June 28). Family restaurant Babalicious will serve Peranakan dishes together with Hainanese chicken rice, while visitors can tuck into kopi and steamed kaya butter bread at Hill Street Coffee Shop. There is also halal-certified My Briyani House and a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf outlet. More details on their opening promotions here. 4. NO MORE PARKING WOES? Located at East Coast Park Area C, Marine Cove is accessible via East Coast Park Service Road. Its two carparks have been reconfigured to increase the number of parking lots. Carparks C2 and C3 will have a total of around 430 car parking lots - up from about 300 previously. 5. REMEMBER MARINE COVE'S PREVIOUS INCARNATION? Singaporeans who grew up in the 1980s will remember Marine Cove's former life as the East Coast Recreation Centre. It was developed by Mr George Wuu in 1980 and had replicas of nostalgic landmarks like the old Lido Theatre and Odeon cinemas. Marine Cove was then sold to Rock Productions, the business arm of New Creation Church which also manages The Rock Auditorium and The Star Vista, a shopping mall in Buona Vista. It bought the recreation and restaurant cluster from George Wuu in 2002 for about $10 million and renamed it Marine Cove. The land, managed by the Singapore Land Authority, was handed back to NParks in 2011 and the area closed in 2012 for redevelopment. http://news.asiaone.com/news/lifestyle/marine-cove-reopens-end-june-5-things-about-recreational-enclave-east-coast-park

[extract] I believe most readers who stay in the East would be able to recognize the location of the above image. Yes, it is taken at Big Splash in East Coast Park, Singapore

Its like a grandma walking up a flight of stairs in a 'liftless and escalatorless' office building during rush hour. She doesn't take up the entire space, but her walking stick does and no one can get past from the side. People are held up, late for work and no one's happy. This is the same for the motoring community when it comes to cyclists here. The roads are far too narrow to accommodate cyclists especially at peak hours and if there is a bunch of them, chances are the whole left lane will be clogged up with traffic. And if you want them to go on the footpath, that's illegal. Its the Singaporean law against us all over again... However, there is hope. Tampines town has announced that they are going to be Singapore's 'First Cycling Town'. And no, they won't be cycling on the road, but on expanded footpaths so that they can terrorize pedestrians instead! Some people will be shouting that its just like East Coast Park where its cycling, rollerblading, 'skate skootering', and jogging chaos. There's hardly any order. I was there just a few days ago and cyclists were invading the footpath that we two legged souls called man are allowed to walk on but the 2 wheeled folks decided to spoil my day. But, cyclists will complain about the drivers in Singapore as being one of the worst. At least 15 of them lose their lives each year to drivers who think that they are Michael Schumacher. So where do cyclists belong? The road or the footpath? Well that answer can be found in Denmark, in the town of Drachten to be precise. The authorities removed traffic lights, road markings, a few pedestrian crossings and most of the stuff you'd find on a normal road that separates the street from the pavement. So there are no speed limit signs, lane markings, or signs that show who has the right of way. The result? Traffic is smooth, drivers slow down to anticipate the intentions of cyclists and everyone makes eye contact to confirm their intentions. Its brilliant! To explain this phenomenon, traffic engineer Hans Monderman (the guy behind the fantastic idea in Drachten) revealed the secret to the change in the way roads were used. With the ambiguous space provided and no clear demarcations of the dimensions of the road, drivers tend to be more aware of their surroundings, and thus become more cautious. Clear demarcations give motorists a false sense of security that they have the right of way and that no other form of transport should obstruct them, which explains why ignorant motorists tend to mow down cyclists. Even if footpaths meant that pedestrians are meant to walk on them and a cycling lane is meant for cyclists, where would all the other modes of transport go? Like skateboards, rollerblades (this is in the context of a conventional traffic light laden road in Singapore), or those skate-scooters? With numerous modes of transport these days, Singapore has to accommodate them in one way or another. However, there wouldn't be a need for cycling lanes if Singaporean motorists are careful enough to negotiate within the given road space, just like how there wouldn't be a need for bus lanes if motorists gave way to buses. Just look at the traffic conditions in countries like Vietnam or Indonesia and you'll see the perfect example of Mr Monderman's experiment in Denmark. So, the answer to encourage an orderly and safe journey on the roads for both the motorists and cyclists would be, organized chaos.