Basketball Court in Yishun Closed After People Repeatedly Broke COVID-19 Rules in the Area

The strange town of Yishun has seen its fair share of interesting things happening around the precinct.

From serial cat killers to murder cases, Yishun has earned itself an interesting reputation.

This time around, the strange town has another (not as weird) incident, which revolves around basketball courts.

Group Of Teenagers Playing Basketball And Smoking Till Midnight at Yishun Basketball Court

A basketball court at Blk 110 Yishun Ring Road has been closed off from use.

Image: Google Maps

The reason?

Due to the violation of safe distancing measures by basketballers playing at the courts.

According to Zaobao, authorities have been receiving complaints about teenagers playing at the sheltered basketball court till wee hours at night.

In addition, those who were playing at the basketball court were also smoking and chatting amongst themselves.

Aside from that, a resident mentioned that the teenagers were spotted throwing cigarette butts and trash into the nearby drain.

The member of the public expressed concern that the act of smoking may be a bad influence on the children living around the vicinity.

Upon receiving the complaints, police officers went down to the basketball court for two consecutive days, on 15th and 16th September, to conduct investigations.

All was well when the officers patrolled the area.

However, things were back to usual after the officers left. The group of teenagers continued to play at the court.

The Situation Has Been Happening For Years

According to a resident, this situation has been going on for several years.

The resident highlighted that the teenagers continued playing at the court even during the Circuit Breaker period.

There were times when groups of 20 to 30 people were sighted at the basketball court, violating safe distancing measures.

The authorities decided to cordon off the basketball court after receiving multiple complaints about the rules violation.

To prevent people from using the court for basketball activity, the basketball net was also tied to the basketball ring.

Before the basketball was cordoned off, it was used by residents for other sports, such as badminton and Sepak Takraw.

Though the basketball court is now out of bounds, four to five teenagers were still spotted skateboarding and playing soccer.

The teenagers left immediately upon noticing that someone was taking photographs.

Not The First Court To Be Closed

Prior to this incident, another sheltered basketball court located beside Blk 165 Yishun Ring Road was also closed for public use.

A notice of closure was put up to inform the general public about the court’s closure.

It was mentioned that the basketball hop rim is sealed and the court will be closed for basketball activity until further notice, to minimise the risk of Covid-19’s community spread.

Image: Shin Min Daily News

This basketball court is near the court located at Blk 110.

It was barred from use two weeks prior before the court at Blk 110 was closed on 19 Sep 2020.

According to Zaobao, the tapes used to cordon off the court has been damaged.

In order to prevent residents from using the court, the movable basketball frame was then covered and shifted to one side of the court.

But then again, after the warning by our new discipline mistress, is anyone surprised, really?

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