Religious statues can be found in many places of worship across the country.
It’s a way for devotees to give form to the religious figures they worship.
Worshippers show their veneration in different ways, however.
Some simply pray to them, some touch them for blessings, while others stick marbles in their eyes.
The last one sounds a little odd, but that’s exactly what one man did in a Hougang church.
Man Arrested For Defacing Statue in Hougang Church
On 12 Nov, those at the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary noticed something different about their statue of Mary.
The statue had what appeared to be two marbles stuck to her eyes.
The church released a statement on Facebook and filed a police report.
A 37-year-old Singaporean man was later apprehended.
According to court documents, the church was actually closed to the public at the time of the offence, as renovation works were ongoing.
In spite of this, the alleged offender, Race Koh Jun Xian, trespassed into the church on 12 Nov by climbing over a fence at around 12.30am.
He then used blue tack to stick marbles to the eyes of the statue, reported ST.
Fortunately for the church, officers from the Ang Mo Kio Police Division managed to establish the identity of the alleged offender through ground investigations and CCTV footage.
Koh was then arrested on Wednesday (18 Nov).
The police said they do not condone any acts that “insult the religious harmony at the places of worship of any class in Singapore”.
“…perpetrators will be dealt with sternly in accordance with the law,” they said.
Wanted to “Beautify” Her
In court, when asked to explain his actions, Koh gave a rather puzzling answer.
“I did not do this intentionally,” he said.
“I was sincere in wanting to pray to Mother Mary. I wanted to beautify her, I did not know this was an offence.”
Koh will be remanded at the Institute of Mental Health and is due to return to court on 4 Dec.
The 37-year-old is facing two charges:
- one count of criminal trespass
- one count of defiling a place of worship with intent to insult a religion
If he’s convicted of criminal trespass, Koh could be jailed for up to three months and fined up to $1,500.
And for defiling a place of worship with intent to insult a religion, Koh faces a fine and up to five years in jail.
Statue Has Been Restored
The church, which was built in 1901, was presented with this statue by the Sultan Ibrahim of Johor over 70 years ago.
According to the church’s website, the statue in this form is called ‘The Immaculate Conception of Mary’.
The good news is that the desecrated statue has since been restored.
“Praise the Lord! We have restored our Lady’s statue! Many have heard about Our Lady’s statue, and we have received many well-wishes and enquiries. We would like to thank everyone for your prayers and considerations,” the church said in a post on Facebook.
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