Tree sheds its 'war secret'

A group of workers resting against a tree near Outram Park MRT Station on Thursday evening were admiring a peculiar heart-shaped carving on a stump when something else caught their attention.

Nestled in a crevice between two of the tree's branches was what would later be identified as a World War II hand grenade.

The workers alerted the police at about 5pm, and the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF's) Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team was subsequently activated to conduct investigations.

Working through the night, the EOD team managed to remove the relic from the tree, and it was safely disposed at about 12.45am yesterday, some seven hours later.

Throughout their work, a police security cordon kept the area free from passers-by. A police spokesman said no danger was posed to the public in the process of the grenade's extraction and destruction.

In a Facebook post yesterday, the SAF put up pictures of the grenade's discovery and thanked the EOD team for keeping Singapore safe.

War relics have been found from time to time, typically within construction areas.

The last reported discovery was in January, when empty World War II bomb cases were found on a construction site near Tampines.

Two years ago, a World War II bomb was found at the junction of Lorong 22 and Guillemard Road.

Earlier that same year, about 50 relics were dug up in East Coast Terrace and East Coast Drive.

hpeishan@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on June 7, 2014.
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