Police investigating case involving man allegedly skateboarding at Cenotaph

Chin Hui Shan
The Straits Times
December 19, 2023

The police are looking into a case of a man who allegedly skateboarded at The Cenotaph.

Screenshots of a social media post – which shows a man on a skateboard on the steps of the war memorial in Connaught Drive – were posted on Reddit on Dec 15.

The screenshots show a time stamp of Dec 5, as well as 426 likes and more than 20 comments. In response to queries, the police confirmed that a report was lodged.

The Cenotaph – which is nearly 18m high and made from local granite – honours people who fought and died during World Wars I and II. It was gazetted as a national monument in 2010.

In 2019, a photo of four men striking poses on top of The Cenotaph drew flak from netizens online. One of them was believed to have made a rude gesture, according to a previous news report.

The National Heritage Board said then that the public should accord due respect while at war memorials, which are spaces for contemplation and reflection.

It was not the first time such acts had taken place at a war memorial.

A man was jailed in 2013 for vandalising The Cenotaph.

In 2021, a man was charged with damaging and interfering with a national monument when he wakeboarded at another memorial, the Civilian War Memorial in Beach Road, and damaged it. He was fined $4,000.

It was the first time someone has been sentenced for defacing, damaging or interfering with national monuments, the court heard then.

Under the Preservation of Monuments Act, those found guilty of wilfully defacing, damaging or otherwise interfering with any national monument can be fined up to $30,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.