Samseng students torment residents at Bedok Reservoir
void deck 'They smoke, gamble, litter and pee there'
RESIDENT: I'll complain to your school
STUDENT: So what? Go ahead
May 02,
2008
NOTHING, it seems, can get rid of them.
Students in school uniform smoke and gamble at an HDB void deck
next to their school's compound despite the various CCTVs installed
by the town council. Picture: CHOO CHWEE HUA
Not the numerous warnings by their school.
Not the countless complaints by residents, even to the police,
over the past two years.
The students from a nearby school continue to hang out at the
void decks around Block 717 at Bedok Reservoir Road every day after
school.
Still in their uniforms, they play cards, ball games and
generally make a nuisance of themselves by shouting and running
around.
Some of them smoke openly despite being obviously underaged.
As one resident puts it, they behave just like samseng (Malay
for gangsters).
They usually congregate there around 2pm, and often hang around
till about 6pm. On occasion, they have remained there till after
9pm.
One resident, who wanted to be known only as Mr Lim, said he has
complained regularly to the school over the past two years, and
started emailing the school photographs of the students last
year.
CCTVS HAVE NO EFFECT
But the problem just won't go away.
Said Mr Lim, 48: 'The problem has got worse. I don't mind them
hanging around, but they are gambling and smoking in their school
uniforms.
'It reflects badly on their school.'
The IT consultant said the closed-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras
installed by the town council have had no effect.
'When they leave, you can see cigarette butts, empty drink
packets and cup noodle containers scattered all over the place,' he
said.
Mr Lim once told a student to pick up his rubbish but he
refused.
'I told him I would inform his school and he said, 'So what? Go
ahead'. When I threatened to take a picture of him with my phone,
he reluctantly picked it up.'
Residents call the police at least once a month when the
students get too rowdy. The police were there twice last week, said
Mr Lim.
He has called the police several times before, especially when
older youths join in the gambling sessions.
Mr Lim said that following his complaints, the school told him
it had taken disciplinary action and counselled the students.
'But a few days later, the students were at it again. I have
given up complaining,' he added.
This year, the students started gathering at neighbouring Block
718 as well and are usually joined by students from another nearby
school.
The New Paper spoke to 10 residents and all but one were annoyed
by the students.
Customer service officer Rosita Rasli, 47, who was on medical
leave that day, said she had trouble resting because of the
noise.
'In the past, some of them even used the staircase landing as a
toilet. I work during the day and I'm worried for the safety of my
children,' she said.
'STEALING'
Another resident, Madam Gladys, said the students sometimes hang
around till 11.30pm.
'We can't go to sleep. They scream, shout and run everywhere. We
can't blame the school as they have warned the students.'
Mr Lek Yong Heng, 59, who runs a provision shop, claimed the
students have stolen tidbits from his racks outside his shop.
He said the school principal and discipline master occasionally
turn up to chase the students away, and have told him to call them
if the students cause any problems.
He added: 'They behave like samseng. It's quite a turn-off.'
When The New Paper approached a group of students last week,
they ignored us and continued with their card game.
They later said they were there because their co-curricular
activity (CCA) had been cancelled. (See report on facing page.)
When contacted last week, the school's principal said he was
trying to solve the problem.
'We have stepped up patrols in the neighbourhood,' he said,
adding that staff, including himself, take turns to do so almost
every day.
He said the school was working with the neighbourhood police
post, the residents' committee and town council to stamp out the
problem.
'There are times when we request the town council for CCTV clips
so we can identify the students. We also work with the NPP to find
out the current situation in the neighbourhood and to give talks to
our students,' he added.
The school has also told shop owners in the vicinity to alert
them of any trouble.
The principal, who was posted to the school this year, said it
needed time to resolve the problem through educating its students
and gaining their trust.
He said its efforts have been ongoing for the past two years,
and there has been a marked improvement in the number of students
caught smoking.
Students caught smoking undergo counselling together with their
parents.
They also attend the school's smoking cessation clinic to help
them kick the habit.
He said complaints from the public have also dropped and
stressed that it was only a minority of students who are causing
trouble.
He appealed to residents to contact the school to give exact
locations andthe timing of the students' misbehaviour so it can
follow up on the problem.
'We have invited some of them to work with us in the past, but
many want to remain anonymous,' he added.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STUDENTS: Gamble and smoke? No, we don't
WHEN The New Paper approached a group of students hanging around
a void deck last week, they basically ignored us and continued
their game of chor dai ti (also known as Big Two in English).
Several boys and a girl sat together at a round table, while
another boy was standing.
Most were in their school uniform.
Asked if they knew that residents had been complaining about
them, one nonchalantly said yes, without looking up from his
cards.
Though he denied that they were gambling, they were later
overheard discussing how much they owed each other from their card
game.
Has their school warned them?
'They said not to make too much noise,' said the boy who was
standing.
And the police?
'They said the same thing,' he added.
The student claimed they were there because their CCA was
cancelled for the day.
They preferred to hang around at that void deck as there is a
provision shop where they can buy food and drinks.
Although a few were spotted smoking cigarettes earlier, the
student denied that they smoked.
When told of this, the school principal said he would obtain the
CCTV clips from the town council.
He subsequently told The New Paper that the students captured in
the footage had been identified.
'We have brought them in together with their parents over the
past few days and have been counselling them,' he said.
Mr Lim, one of the residents who had complained about the
students, noticed the change in the neighbourhood over the past
week.
He said yesterday: 'I've not experienced such peace in a long
time.
'It has been a great change, and I hope it will last
