A man clad only in his underwear triggered a five-hour search on Thursday (May 25) along Hume Avenue in Hillview after a concerned citizen reported a sighting of a person in a drain. Upon arrival at the scene at 9:15 am, TODAY observed eight police vehicles parked along the road. The drain cover nearest to a path leading to the Rail Corridor was cordoned off, with police officers redirecting curious onlookers away from the area.
Dressed in their distinctive camouflaged uniforms, seven Gurkha police officers, renowned for their search expertise, were seen combing through the drains along Hume Avenue towards Upper Bukit Timah Road. Officers from the national water agency PUB were also present at the scene.
TODAY reached out to the police for updates on whether the man had been found and other related information. In the absence of detailed information from the police, TODAY has gathered accounts from witnesses and residents to piece together what is known so far.
Mr. Victor Ilano, a 50-year-old resident of a Hume Avenue condominium, revealed that he had made the initial call to the police. According to him, while on his morning walk around 6:30 am, he noticed a faint light emanating from a hole in one of the drain covers.
"It was still quite dark at around 6:30 am, and I was looking at the ground when I noticed a light shining from a hole in the drainage cover," Mr. Ilano said.
Upon closer inspection, he realized that a man inside the drain was shining a light, presumably from his phone, onto a piece of luggage. Mr. Ilano filmed the man in the drain but initially hesitated to contact the police, assuming the individual might be a worker or repairman. However, upon noticing that the man was only wearing underwear, he became increasingly concerned.
To verify his suspicions, Mr. Ilano stopped a jogger heading towards the Rail Corridor and asked if he had also seen the man in the drain. The jogger, who did not have his phone with him, urged Mr. Ilano to call the police. Mr. Ilano dialed 999 and handed the phone to the jogger to speak with the police. Subsequently, the jogger departed, instructing Mr. Ilano to wait.
Around 6:50 am or 7:00 am, two police officers arrived and were seemingly taken aback by the presence of a man in the drain. They requested that people stay away while they called for backup. Mr. Ilano recounted his observations to the officers and showed them the video he had captured.
Between 11:50 am and 12:30 pm, TODAY witnessed waste management workers removing various items, including two chairs, a mattress, a black luggage bag, a brown luggage bag, and other miscellaneous objects from the drain. Police officers examined the items and placed them in approximately 30 black trash bags. At approximately 12:30 pm, the police and waste management workers left the scene. By that time, the man had not been located.
Mr. Ilano and other onlookers expressed surprise at the extensive police presence on Thursday morning. The route connecting Hume Avenue and the Rail Corridor is typically bustling with people taking morning walks or runs, or grabbing breakfast at the nearby Rail Mall.
A resident of Symphony Heights condominium, who preferred anonymity, noticed the police presence around 7:30 am during her morning run. "I wondered what was happening; nobody will say anything," she said, hoping that no unfortunate incident had occurred.
Another resident, a woman in her 70s, also opted not to disclose her name and was taken aback by the commotion in the usually tranquil neighborhood. She witnessed the unfolding events around
TODAY reached out to PUB to inquire about the legal penalties for unauthorized entry into drains. The Straits Times, a national daily, reported in 2017 that individuals entering waterways, including drains, without prior approval could face fines of up to S$3,000.
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