11 People Arrested for Trespassing into Protected Area in Mandai to Pick Durians

It’s durian season, and you know what that means!

Reader: Long queues, tasty durians, and even more long queues?

Sure, but there’s something else: durian theft.

Reader: Wait, that’s a thing?

11 People Arrested for Trespassing into Protected Area in Mandai to Pick Durians

11 people were arrested after they allegedly trespassed into a protected area along Mandai Road to pick durians.

The police said that they were alerted to a fight in the vicinity of Mandai Road on Sunday (27 Jun) at about 2:40am.

When officers from the Woodlands Division arrived, they found 11 people—10 men and one one woman—and arrested them for wilful trespass. They were aged between 25 and 59.

It turns out that the large group had entered the protected area along Mandai Road to… pick durians.

No specifics were given, but past media reports have identified the vicinity of Mandai Road as a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) training area.

I wonder who thought of this and how they convinced everyone else to steal durians.

Offender 1: Hey there’s a sign showing a man pointing a gun at a trespasser, I think we should leave. 

Offender 2: But there are free and tasty durians in there and it’s our only opportunity to—

Offender 1: You had me at free and tasty durians.

If they are convicted of wilful trespass, the 11 people may be fined up to S$1,000.

Investigations are ongoing.

“The police would like to remind the public that any person who, without satisfactory excuse, wilfully trespasses on any ground belonging to the Government, or appropriated to public purposes, shall be investigated accordingly,” it said.

Over 200 People Queued for $2 Durian at Sheng Siong

These 11 people must have headed to Mandai after seeing the long queue at Sheng Siong for $2.

It’s durian season, and Singaporeans love the creamy, stinky, king of fruits.

So it wasn’t exactly surprising that when Sheng Siong Supermarket in Bedok Town Centre started selling durians at the price of a plate of chicken rice in 2005, over 200 lined up for it last Wednesday (23 Jun).

Due to the expectedly insane response from their customers, the staff at Sheng Siong had to stop the sale at 2:00pm.

It resumed at 4:00pm and the durians were almost sold out by 7:00pm.

Supply of Durians Will Not Be Affected by COVID-19

We can deal with a delay in vaccine shipments, but a reduced supply of durians will be too much for our hearts to take.

Fortunately, COVID-19 will not affect the supply of durians coming into the country.

As reported by The Straits Times, local durian vendors have said that the lockdown in Malaysia is not slowing down durian deliveries across the Causeway.

This is because the remote Malaysian villages, where the plantations are, have not been as badly affected by the pandemic compared to major cities such as Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru.

So, while we may not be going out as much as usual, we can still sink our teeth into some heavenly durian while stuck at home.

Head here to learn more about this year’s durian season!

Feature Image: WIRACHAIPHOTO / Shutterstock.com