Fishing Ghost
Stories - sfogs
This page is dedicated to the
innocent individuals who have lost their lives in East Coast Park,
Kallang River and the Singapore River over the past 10 years.
Dedicated to the people who drowned even though they were supposed
to be good swimmers. To the people whose bodies were found
floating, yet without any evidence of suicide intent. For these
people, their story will never be told.
*** The Policeman of
Sungei Bedok
This is a true story. Names have
been changed to protect the innocent.
Introduction
It is well known that good Kim Bak
Loh (KBL, also known as Sea Bass, Barramundi or Ikan Siakap)
fishing spots are often found in secluded areas. It is also well
known that large KBL only come out at night… secluded spots at
night.
The Setting Sungei Bedok is
actually a canal off Old Bedok Road (behind the former Long Beach
restaurant). It flows to the sea and most of you who have been to
East Coast Park have probably seen it. If you head towards Changi
Airport, it appears after the PA Sports Centre.
I knew that there were KBL in
Sungei Bedok. Together with my friends, Beng and Hock, I bought
some live prawns and went there at around 11pm. Everything was
perfect for KBL fishing. The tide, the date of chinese calender,
and the location.
When we reached there we
immediately rigged up and cast our live prawns. We didn’t talk
much, we were there on a mission - to catch KBL. Beng went to my
left to fish near the bridge. Hock went to my right. This way we
had a good spread over the area. After only ten minutes, Beng came
to me and said
“Tang, I think there’s no fish
over here. We better pack up, don’t waste time.”
I looked at Beng incredulously. I
had gone all the way to Lavender Street to buy live prawns and this
friend of mine was telling me to pack up when we haven’t even used
half the bait. I told him straight off:
“We’ve only been here ten minutes.
Come on man, how come you so impatient one?”
Beng replied that he didn’t feel
like fishing anyway, this place sure got no fish, and he went over
to join Hock. After a while, both of them went to the back, sat
down to drink from their thermos and ate their snacks. In my mind I
was thinking, wah lau man choose the wrong kakis to go fishing.
Nevermind, I’ll go over to the bridge to fish. KBL always like to
hide near structures.
The Encounter I stood beside the
bridge and cast my prawn near the pillar. I was enjoying myself,
hunting for my quarry.
After a few minutes, I heard
someone running through the bushes behind me. I thought it was Beng
running up to give me a scare, so I turned around. There was
nobody.
I assumed it must have been my
imagination, so I resumed fishing. After another 30 seconds, I
heard the footsteps again. This time whoever it was had to be a
metre or so behind me, but he seemed to be running around from left
to right. I was fed up with all this horsing around, I turned
around sharply to scold Beng.
“Beng! Don’t play the foo…..”
Again, there was nobody.
I quickly scanned the area. There
was nobody in the vicinity! The closest people were Beng and Hock,
but even they were at least 50 metres away. Suddenly, my hair stood
on end. Because that only meant one thing. I briskly walked over to
the guys, and I could see that both of them also looked quite
scared.
“Come let’s go back, Beng you’re
right, this place got no KBL.”
The
Explanation
Neither of us said anything on the
way back. But when we reached home, Beng explained what had
happened.
“There was this malay policeman,
he was quite tall about 6 foot and he had a very angry expression
on his face. When I was fishing by the bridge he kept charging
towards my body, like a bull. But everytime he came to contact me
he bounced off. He tried charging to me a few times, like as though
he was unhappy that I was standing there. I hinted to you to pack
up, but you didn’t get the hint, so I and Hock went behind. Then
you went over to that spot. Wah lau, you damm irm zai see. From
where we were, we could see the policeman running towards you, but
everytime you turned around, he disappeared into thin air. You
better thank your lucky stars man, otherwise you might have been
possessed or something.”
I was shocked. So ghosts really
exist?
I checked with my uncle, who has
stayed in Bedok area since his childhood. He said:
“Aiyah, you should have told me
you were going there. In the 1970s, the gangster Koh Sek Lim killed
a malay policeman near the bridge. Came out in the papers. The
gangster challenged the policeman, “You want to catch us right?
Meet us at the bridge on this date and time and you can catch us.”
Of course, the unfortunate policeman was stupid to go alone - he
was stabbed to death by the gang. Koh told the police that the
murder was committed as ‘an example to the police’.”
So there we have it. It could not
have been Beng’s imagination, because he described the ghost
perfectly without knowing about the murder. Back in the 1970s he
was only a toddler. It could not have been my imagination either,
because I was interested in fishing for KBL, not looking for such
experiences.
Epilogue
One frequently reads about people
asking in the Fishing Singapore Forum etc.
“where to catch KBL? what time to
catch KBL?”
I am worried for these
beginners.
*** The Liang Court
Experience
Diehard fishos like me don’t get
scared by just one incident. So there I was back to my old habits a
couple of months later. This time I became even more ‘chia lak’.
This time I chose to fish alone because I had learnt from a number
of occasions not to rely on impatient ‘kakis’.
It is known among KBL enthusiasts
that the mother KBLs (larger than 5kg) need to go to brackish (half
salt half fresh) water to breed. The salinity of the water is
conducive for their eggs, according to researchers. Brackish
estuaries can be found e.g. in Pulau Ubin, Lorong Halus, Kallang
River or Singapore River. But you have to go upstream from the sea
to find the correct salinity. In the Singapore River, the correct
salinity is only found behind Liang Court. I went to the area
behind Liang Court and started spinning my live prawn. I could see
the people enjoying themselves in Clarke Quay. I wondered what I
was doing here on a Saturday night.
Suddenly out of the blue I felt
that the faces of a few people were staring at me. You know the
feeling right? When someone is looking at you, you can feel it. But
the strange thing was that I was the only person in the vicinity.
Now let me assure you that I was not trying to imagine things. I
was here to hunt KBL, and my mind was set on fishing, not such
eerie thoughts. I tried to ignore it, but the sudden image of faces
(men and women) just appeared in my mind.
It spooked me a bit, and I figured
there that this place was “unclean”. I immediately packed up my
tacklebox and left. Later I asked my father about it and he told me
that a car had crashed into the river at the spot where I was
fishing a few years ago. (during the era when The Warehouse was
happening) All the passengers died of drowning because they could
not get out of the car. I do not wish to draw any inferences from
this incident, for it could be purely my imagination. I’m sure if
Beng was around with me that night he could tell me what he
saw.
Lessons to
Learn
I am not trying to discourage
anyone from fishing at night, all I’m saying is be careful and take
precautions. I wouldn’t want other people to experience such things
in their life - it is not fun, trust me. I for one will not go
fishing at night in Lorong Halus or any river by myself
anymore.
Here are some
suggestions.
If possible, don’t fish at night.
Large fish can be caught in the day if you go out to sea. If you’re
Christian, bring a cross. If you’re Buddhist or Taoist, bring some
charm or talisman. If you’re a free thinker, better start believing
in God. Never fish alone. (Refer to the Kranji case, below) If your
kaki tells you let’s pack up and go home, pack up and go home-don’t
ask him so many questions.
There is no such thing as a once
in a lifetime chance of catching KBL. Even if you see KBL chasing
schools of mullet in the middle of the river never, ever feel
tempted to enter the water so you can get nearer to the fish.
(Refer to the St John’s Island case, below)
Here are some other stories I have
heard…..
*** The Kranji
Case
My driving instructor told me this
story. His uncle always liked to go fishing for Snakehead (also
known as Ikan Toman or Siam Loi) in Kranji Reservoir. As every true
blue fishermen knows, the best time to catch snakehead is early in
the morning (6.45-7.45) or late in the evening. So his uncle always
went alone on Sunday mornings before the sun rises to Kranji
reservoir to hunt for his elusive quarry.
One day he didn’t come back from
his fishing trip. Rangers later found his body floating in the
middle of the reservoir. To date, the family has no explanation for
the death. Furthermore, his fishing rod was still in the shore. No
one knows why he entered the water. No one will ever know. Moral of
the story: Never fish alone.
*** The St John’s Island
Case
I read this story in True
Singapore Ghost Stories. This girl went swimming in the waters of
St John’s island at night, and in the middle of swimming across the
reef, she suddenly felt many hands in the water touching her and
groping her body. Needless to say she was terrified and swam back
to her boat. Luckily, she survived.
This “hand phenomenon” is not new
or indigenous to Singapore. I have heard from one Malaysian friend
that his classmate drowned when crossing the river in Gunung Ledang
(Mount Ophir). On recovery of the body, the rescuers discovered
hand marks on the ankles of the victim. Similarly in Lake Toba,
they say never enter the water because of the evil spirits. I was
also surprised when I discovered while visiting Loch Ness last year
that the Scottish locals never swim in the water because they
believe that the ‘kelpie’ will try to drown them.
I would not be surprised if the
many deaths in Kallang River are caused by such evil spirits. It is
said that when a person drowns, the only way his spirit can leave
the place is to take the life of another by drowning. In other
words it is a vicious cycle. How far that is to be believed, I
leave it to you. Moral of the story: Never, ever enter the water,
especially at night.
*** Lorong
Halus
Another famous KBL, mangrove jack
and tarpon spot, I have read here that people have encountered
ghosts that beg for food. So don’t go there at night if you don’t
want to experience it, go to Pasir Ris Fishing Pond instead where
there’s more people. Moral of the story: Avoid Lorong Halus at
night, especially during the 7th Month.
