PUBLISHED ONMay 18, 2022 5:19 AMByChing Shi Jie[UPDATE May 18, 7.46pm] Responding to AsiaOne’s queries, a spokesperson from PUB said that they did a quick check internally and they understand that the crocodile sighting in the TikTok video was from December last year.
Crocodiles are a common sight in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, but one of them was spotted too close to home recently.
A TikTok video shared by Khaijer on Tuesday (May 17) shows the massive reptile lurking under the waters of a canal. According to Khaijer, the canal was located along Old Choa Chu Kang Road.
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This 30 second-long video garnered over 100,000 views within a day and netizens in the comments section were taken aback by this latest crocodile sighting.
AsiaOne has reached out to the National Parks Board (NParks), Public Utilities Board (PUB) and Khaijer for more information.
In an Instagram video shared by Singapore Incidents on the same day, two men were caught on video fishing illegally inside a canal.
While the location of the canal is unknown from the clip, the two men – one of them bare-bodied – were seen trawling through the waters armed with a cast net looking for fishes.
In the comments, a netizen suggested that with the recent crocodile sighting, the men should perhaps cast their net somewhere else instead.
In a fishing incident last September, PUB told Stomp in the article that those caught entering drains and canals without approval may be fined up to $3,000.
Fishing is only permitted at designated fishing areas, and offenders who violate fishing regulations may be fined up to $3,000, according to the national water agency.
Last October, a crocodile was spotted by anglers at East Coast Park. The 1.53m-long reptile was later removed by NParks officers and relocated to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, the Straits Times reported.
And in June 2019, a 3.4m-long crocodile was caught by NParks officers and trained contractors, and transferred to a crocodile farm after it was spotted in a drain in Sungei Kadut.
Estuarine crocodiles, also known as saltwater crocodiles, are native to Singapore and can reach more than 5 metres in length, according to NParks.
Anyone who encounters a crocodile should stay calm and back away. They should not provoke or feed the animal, NParks advised.