News

Woman Sent to Hospital for Surgery After Wild Boar Attack at Bukit Panjang

2023-05-04 , 10:28 am

Last Updated on 2023-05-08 , 11:57 am

Even though life in Singapore can be pretty tame and boar-ing at times, all of that definitely goes out of the window once anyone sees a wild boar roaming about.

And it’s even worse when the wild boar starts to attack humans.

Unfortunately, a woman was attacked while waiting for the bus at a bus stop in Bukit Panjang on Monday (1 May) night.

Since then, NParks has also responded to the incident.

Woman Was Waiting at Bus Stop When Wild Boar Charged at Her Out of Nowhere

When speaking to Shin Min Daily News, her mother described how her daughter, 34-year-old Durga, was waiting at the bus stop near Block 270 Bangkit Road at around 11.50 pm that day.

According to her mother, 57-year-old Lakshmi, Durga works at Changi Airport and has to take three different buses in order to get home every day.

The bus stop along Bangkit Road was one of the bus stops that Durga had to switch buses at.

Lakshmi, who still expressed fear when talking about her daughter’s experience, described how Durga was just waiting at the bus stop when a wild boar suddenly sprang out of nowhere.

The wild boar also pounced on Durga’s right calf and refused to let go.

According to Durga’s recount, the wild boar threw her into the middle of the road after sinking its teeth into her right calf.

Afterwards, the wild boar attacked her bottom and threw her onto the ground once more.

As a result, Durga was left terrified on the spot, and she cried for help while trying to break free from the wild boar.

She also attempted to block the wild boar from attacking her further, but this caused injuries in her right palm and resulted in her belongings falling out of her bag.

A Runner Passed by Her and Helped Chase the Wild Boar Away

Although the bus stop was completely deserted when the wild boar started attacking Durga, a runner passed by the bus stop afterwards and saw what was happening.

Thankfully for Durga, the runner came forth to chase the wild boar away.

Durga also borrowed the runner’s phone to call her mother and inform her about what had happened.

When Lakshmi received the call and saw her daughter’s bloody wounds through video, she started crying on the spot.

Apart from that, Lakshmi’s other daughter also rushed to the scene after hearing of her older sister’s plight.

She brought Durga to the hospital while Lakshmi called the police.

Needed Surgery Immediately After Reaching the Hospital

During the attack, Durga was wearing jeans.

However, the wild boar bit right through the denim easily, leaving a deep gash on her right calf.

The wound, which had exposed the bone, was quickly sewn up by a doctor at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) after Durga was sent into emergency surgery.

According to Lakshmi, Durga will most likely need surgery on her right palm as well.

Lakshmi added that this was the first time anyone in her family had encountered a wild boar after 32 years of living in Bukit Panjang and three years of her daughter switching buses at that particular bus stop.

She also mentioned that Durga, who is still hospitalised at TTSH, is still in shock; she still cries and throws up constantly due to the shock.

NParks’ Response: Individuals Should Keep a Distance from Wild Boars

When responding to queries from Shin Min, NParks’ Group Director of Wildlife Management, Dr Adrian Loo, revealed that the wild boar that injured Durga was found to have collapsed by the side of the road after the attack.

A wild animal veterinarian later found that both of the wild boar’s hind legs had been fractured by the time NParks found it.

Thereafter, the wild boar was euthanised.

NParks also reminded members of the public to avoid feeding wild boars, to maintain a distance from them when seeing them in public and to refrain from provoking them.

This especially applies to wild boars that have their young with them, as they are typically more aggressive in protecting their young.

In particular, Dr Loo added that members of the public should remain calm and slowly retreat from the scene when seeing wild boars in public.

Individuals can also call the Animal Management Centre hotline at 1800-476-1600 for assistance.

Other Residents’ Reactions

After the incident, some residents commented that wild boars have been present in the area over the past few years.

However, they added that the wild boars in the area are generally tame and do not attack anyone, which led to some residents believing that the wild boar in the attack only got violent because it was injured.

Despite this, several residents still expressed their worry over how the wild boars might affect their lives.

A resident surnamed Xu (Hanyu pinyin) claimed to have heard a complaint from a cleaner at around 9.30 am on Wednesday (3 May) about the wild boars.

The cleaner had said that she was chased by a wild boar earlier that morning but was thankfully left unscathed as she was able to escape quickly.

Huang Jiexi (Hanyu pinyin), an employee of the Chinese Development Assistance Council, added that several parents picking up their children from tuition lessons witnessed a wild boar roaming about in the area.

Since then, the number of parents who send their children to and from lessons in the area has increased as well, possibly because parents want to accompany their children.

On the other hand, a man named Lin Maike (Hanyu pinyin), who often runs at Zhenghua Park, shared that he often sees wild boars in the area during his runs and that he is used to the sight of them.

However, he still tries to avoid running by himself due to the risk of being involved in a wild boar attack.

He also hoped that the relevant authorities would take the necessary actions quickly to ensure residents’ safety.

MP’s Response

Just yesterday (3 May) evening, the Member of Parliament for the Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituency (SMC) visited Durga’s home to offer his well wishes and assistance.

The MP, Liang Eng Hwa, also called on NParks to reevaluate the preexisting measures in the area to better prevent wild boars from intruding into residential spaces.

He also suggested that NParks respond to residents’ reports more efficiently.

Apart from that, he expressed his shock and sorrow at how an innocent person got attacked for no reason when she was just waiting for a bus at the bus stop.

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Not the First Time Wild Boars Have Been Seen at Bukit Panjang

However, despite the shock brought about by Durga’s experience, it seems like wild boars are a pretty common sight in Bukit Panjang.

Previously, a wild boar appeared around the Segar area in Bukit Panjang, prompting curious residents to take a look.

Other places, such as the Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre and Market and the Zhenghua Nature Park area, have also experienced wild boar sightings in the past.