The Abandoned Statues


1. Stone statues are trashed in this common burial ground; 2. What used to be a colorful stone gate left standing alone in the bush;
 3. You can find many different statues around here; 4. Some trees are fell, pressed on the statues
 

1. On the left it is a semi-abandoned office ward belongs to Haw Par Villa management; 2. The dumping site;
3 & 4. Construction site for a new building in Science Park II





Deity statues are just anyhow dumped on the ground like dead bodies.  Try to closely look at their eerie faces...



1. Their glares are still sharp and sparkling; 2 - 4. Other structures like arch, pagoda, pavilion and cave are trashed here too.
All sharing the same fate of extinction, expressing speechless bereavement


1 - 3. On the other side of the bush, groups of statues are still posing in action, just like how they were in their old days.
4. Hey, what is this statue?  It is our SPI Abductboy, but he looks like one of these statues from a distance.

Interview the people who know they exist

In order to find out more about these abandoned statues, SPI interviewed two persons who spend much of their time everyday (and every night) with the statues.  They are both unnamed for privacy reasons.  One is an Indian construction worker from the construction site next door.  Let us nick him as Raj.  Raj works at the construction site in the day time, and sleeps in one of the construction worker bunks (you know those modified metal cargo containers) just beside the dumping ground at night.

Raj's bed is a double-decker and he has the upper deck right next to a small window, giving him a full view of most of the bush.  He likes the window bed position as he can get fresh air and some view from the outside at night.  Such is a cool sensation as if he sleeps at the border of a jungle.  A good mental relief for him from his stressful work. 

We asked Raj what did he see at night in the dumping ground, especially that of paranormal.

"I saw no ghost, nothing paranormal at night, except ..." Raj told us while he was shaking his head.

"Fireflies...", Raj continued.  "They come in a bunch of green dots; sometimes here and sometimes there.  But no ghost." He assured us.

1. Raj sleeps in one of these cargo bunks at night in the construction site; 2 & 3. Raj being interviewed by SPI;
4. These hawker trolleys used to be selling gifts and camera films to visitors - now they are no longer needed as the business declined

The other interviewee is a watchman or caretaker of the office estate on the other side of the dumping ground.  The office is not in full operation probably due to the crippled business of Haw Par Villa.  This one-storey office building is usually quite empty.  Only occasionally there would be some staff pass by.  The watchman, whom we nicked as Mr Wok, aged about 70 plus has been in this job for many years.  But he was working in different positions in the past at Haw Par Villa - delivery man, cleaner, gardener, and even souvenir shop keeper for he only knows little English.  Only recently he is assigned to guard this empty backyard at night, as the business shrinks and left him with nothing much to do.  Also partly the reason is because Mr Wok is getting quite old, its about time to retire.

1. Just next to the hill slope where the dumping ground is, you will see some office building;
2. This is the shower-room that Mr Wok uses for daily cleaning; 3 & 4. A stair case leading up to the main Haw Par Villa Park area


1. Haw Par Villa's house keeping area; 2. Some kind of power plant generator;
3 & 4. The office ward that Mr Wok guards for security.  Its operation has been abandoned for some years due to business downfall

Mr Wok is believed to be the perfect candidate to story-tell us weird encounters in this place.

(He spoke in Mandarin) "Why you young people always want to know things that people don't want to remember?"  He said in a half-teasing tone, "You want to find spirits, there are spirits everywhere!  Which one you want me to tell you?" He seemed to be not interested in mysteries and paranormal - just a straightforward worker who works for a living.

But we showed him our sincerity and persistence.  We humbly voiced our questions to him again, insisting to know the truth.

Mr Wok calmed down, and replied somewhat solemnly.  "Do you know this place that supposed to be glorious now filled with glooms?  I mean the whole Tiger Balm Park.  The grasses are uncut, the business is making a loss and all our morale is low."  He was not telling us any ghost encounter, but we remained patient. 

Mr Wok followed up.  "Everybody is so troubled.  Even now the entrance is free, still not many people want to visit the park, and... I am leaving soon.  I will retire in the next few months but they probably want me to go sooner."

We felt a sudden sadness from his words.  "I dreamt about this place every night.  In my dream, I was in the story of the tableau of virtues and vices.  Ah, there is one I remember very clearly."

SPI is paying high attention.  Mr Wok said "On one early morning around 6am, I was walking into the washroom for a shower.  Out of nowhere a half naked Chinese boy wearing a blue cap was standing there.  Under the dim and omni sunrays in dawn, I could barely see that his skin was too pale and cold to be a human.  He spoke to me half-crying in a Chinese dialect... 'I am lost, I want to go home.  My shoulder is injured and my body dirty.  Old uncle can help wash my body clean?  Please..'  This boy was begging.  Honestly I wasn't afraid although I strongly sensed something spooky was going on."

"The Strange thing is this:  After I briefly wiped clean his body that was cold and dirty I offered him an old blanket to cover his body.  He thanked me and then repeatedly said to himself 'where is my home?', 'where is my home?', 'where is my home?'  On the next day when I woke up I realized that it was only a dream.  I wanted to go take a shower at the end of my night shift but I was too tired; I dropped straight into sleep in my bed instead.  But when I walked out to the bush yard I saw..."

"Saw what?" SPI asked.

Hesitatingly Mr Wok said "... I saw the boy! and my spare blanket was on his shoulder!"  He pointed his finger over our shoulders.  Turning our heads slowly to the left we over looked to the bush, the boy statue was smiling spookily in the wild grasses.  A cold creep followed by Goosebumps spread outrageously over our backs.

"Well, many people think this is only a mythical and fictional park.  But I can tell you, the concept of this park is simple but yet sophisticated by Mr Aw: everything has a life form, even a stone, a tree, an animal has a spirit.  And we must respect one another.  You sow good seeds, you will reap good fruits..." Mr Wok continued his preaching in a somewhat Zen style.
 

Most of the statues torn and worn badly under weathering.  The paint has faded and peeled, making them look more like corpses.
The faces are smashed and the bodies look like blood-bathed.


1. The vines grow wildly and nearly cover the whole statue; 
2. Is this the 'boy' whom the caretaker dreamt of?  Notice his 'wound' on his right shoulder;
3. This used to be one of the main arches in the past; you can see the Chinese words 'Hwa' and 'Par' on it; More views (1) & (2)
4. Looks like ruins in a battlefield.  See another view of it.


Here is another corner of the dumping land - an old man trying to catch the birds?


1. This looks like a giant fish that supposed to be displayed in the swimming pool (now converted to a pond).
We have found that it used to be a gold fish since the old pool.  See this picture.
After the war, Aw Boon Haw drained the family swimming pool.
He filled the cavity with mermaids, figurines, and fishes.
By Aw Boon Haw's death, the pool was encrusted with sea life.
It is abandoned probably due to congestion in the pool?  Or some other reason?
2. Fallen trees and broken branches are common sights in this dumping ground
3 & 4. Trolleys, chairs and other utility stuff are abandoned all over the place.