Mess of joss paper left scattered around burner in Tampines: 'Pity the cleaners'

The New Paper
Aug 18, 2023

Devotees of the Hungry Ghost Festival have drawn the ire of residents in Tampines after they apparently failed to clean up the joss paper from their burnt offerings.  

Many Taoists and Buddhists in Singapore observe the seventh month of the lunar calendar by burning joss paper and making offerings to the deceased.

On Thursday (Aug 17), a Facebook user posted a picture of the scene at a grass patch in Tampines. It showed a mess of joss paper scattered around the designated burner.

They also haphazardly left the joss sticks in between the concrete drainage covers.

“Pity the cleaners this morning, even the plastic they didn’t throw,” read the photo caption.

One Facebook user commented that their six-year-old child had asked them why things were so messy.

Another commenter called the behaviour “irresponsible” and said that the mess in their neighbourhood, Sengkang, was even worse.

Another user included a hashtag for the National Environment Agency in their comment, while pointing out that such actions constituted to littering.