- Joined
- Dec 14, 2009
- Messages
- 514
- Points
- 43
Home > Prime News > Story
Jan 27, 2011
Vandal strikes at major Singapore tennis tournament
By Jonathan Wong
A VANDAL struck at the Singapore Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger tournament just days into the US$50,000 (S$64,000) event.
In an apparent warning from loan sharks, the Kallang Tennis Centre - which is the host venue of the event - was vandalised with red paint.
The vandal, who is believed to be a young Chinese male, was spotted by a security guard outside the toilets on Tuesday morning and fled when he was approached. The guard gave chase but was unable to catch him.
Returning to the toilets and upon closer inspection, the guard discovered that the walls in both the men's and women's restrooms had been defaced.
According to a cleaner, it took him and four others almost an hour to remove the indoor graffiti, while another team had to apply four coats of paint to remove all traces of the red markings on the white wall outside leading to the toilets.
Besides some numbers and a car licence plate number, the words 'STA.GM.NG' and 'O$P$' were also scrawled on the walls above the wash-basin mirrors in both restrooms and also above the men's toilet urinals.
'O$P$', which means 'owe money pay money', was clearly directed at the general manager (GM) of the STA (Singapore Tennis Association).
While STA general manager Gilbert Ng, 61, acknowledged that the numbers on the wall matched his car licence plate, he flatly denied any involvement with loan sharks.
He said: 'I have never borrowed money from loan sharks. I'm very shocked.
'This is very personal and vengeful. Whoever did this is trying to defame me and it was obviously their intention to cause embarrassment to me by choosing to do it during this tournament.'
The Singapore Sports Council, which runs the tennis centre, filed a police report on Tuesday at about 6.30am. The police are investigating the matter.
Mr Ng also lodged a report with the authorities yesterday. He said: 'I am a victim of a baseless attack. I hope the police catch whoever is responsible quickly and I will take legal action against them.'
When The Straits Times visited the restrooms - which have been converted to changing rooms for the players and officials - yesterday at noon, signs of red paint were clearly visible on the grout of the tiled walls despite the efforts of the cleaners.
Organiser Sports Management Group (SMG) was also stunned to hear about the vandalism. Its managing director Kenneth Low said: 'We are upset that something like this has happened. But we do not want this to take anything away from the tournament, which we have all worked hard to organise.'
The Jan 23 to 30 ATP-sanctioned event marks the return of professional tennis to Singapore after a 10-year absence. ATP Challenger Tour events are a tier below World Tour events, which include the Grand Slams, Masters 1000, ATP 500 and ATP 250 tournaments.
SMG and STA had hoped the event, which cost about $500,000 to stage, would pave the way for higher-level tournaments such as the Heineken Open, which Singapore last hosted in 2000.
Jan 27, 2011
Vandal strikes at major Singapore tennis tournament
By Jonathan Wong
A VANDAL struck at the Singapore Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger tournament just days into the US$50,000 (S$64,000) event.
In an apparent warning from loan sharks, the Kallang Tennis Centre - which is the host venue of the event - was vandalised with red paint.
The vandal, who is believed to be a young Chinese male, was spotted by a security guard outside the toilets on Tuesday morning and fled when he was approached. The guard gave chase but was unable to catch him.
Returning to the toilets and upon closer inspection, the guard discovered that the walls in both the men's and women's restrooms had been defaced.
According to a cleaner, it took him and four others almost an hour to remove the indoor graffiti, while another team had to apply four coats of paint to remove all traces of the red markings on the white wall outside leading to the toilets.
Besides some numbers and a car licence plate number, the words 'STA.GM.NG' and 'O$P$' were also scrawled on the walls above the wash-basin mirrors in both restrooms and also above the men's toilet urinals.
'O$P$', which means 'owe money pay money', was clearly directed at the general manager (GM) of the STA (Singapore Tennis Association).
While STA general manager Gilbert Ng, 61, acknowledged that the numbers on the wall matched his car licence plate, he flatly denied any involvement with loan sharks.
He said: 'I have never borrowed money from loan sharks. I'm very shocked.
'This is very personal and vengeful. Whoever did this is trying to defame me and it was obviously their intention to cause embarrassment to me by choosing to do it during this tournament.'
The Singapore Sports Council, which runs the tennis centre, filed a police report on Tuesday at about 6.30am. The police are investigating the matter.
Mr Ng also lodged a report with the authorities yesterday. He said: 'I am a victim of a baseless attack. I hope the police catch whoever is responsible quickly and I will take legal action against them.'
When The Straits Times visited the restrooms - which have been converted to changing rooms for the players and officials - yesterday at noon, signs of red paint were clearly visible on the grout of the tiled walls despite the efforts of the cleaners.
Organiser Sports Management Group (SMG) was also stunned to hear about the vandalism. Its managing director Kenneth Low said: 'We are upset that something like this has happened. But we do not want this to take anything away from the tournament, which we have all worked hard to organise.'
The Jan 23 to 30 ATP-sanctioned event marks the return of professional tennis to Singapore after a 10-year absence. ATP Challenger Tour events are a tier below World Tour events, which include the Grand Slams, Masters 1000, ATP 500 and ATP 250 tournaments.
SMG and STA had hoped the event, which cost about $500,000 to stage, would pave the way for higher-level tournaments such as the Heineken Open, which Singapore last hosted in 2000.
