As netizens complain about blocked-off basketball courts, Baey Yam Keng explains why it had to be done

Avid basketballers in Tampines North won’t be able to shoot some hoops in the neighbourhood courts for now after the authorities responded to multiple complaints by residents about the behaviour of the players. 

According to a recent Facebook post by Tampines GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Baey Yam Keng, he has been receiving photographic evidence of people playing basketball or sepak takraw playing in close contact and hanging around the courts without masks on. 

Other complaints range from noise nuisance into the wee hours of the morning, widespread littering and not adhering to social distancing rules by having more than five players at a time. Even when Tampines Town Council tried closing the neighbourhood courts temporarily, some folks would ignore the cordons. Big crowds still returned when the courts reopened. 

As such, the hard courts of Tampines North will now be closed for longer — two months to exact. To ensure that nobody is able to use the facilities, basketball hoops and sepak takraw net poles will be entirely removed. 

It’s not an ideal solution, said Baey, but it is one that makes sense in the larger public interest, especially when Covid-19 transmission rates within the community are getting lower by the day. 

Complaints in Yishun

Over in Yishun, the authorities are responding to resident complaints in the same manner by closing off access to basketball courts last month. 

Shin Min Daily News reported that complaints have been lodged about large gatherings of teens playing at a sheltered basketball court along Yishun Ring Road. 

“To minimise the risk of community spread of Covid-19, the basketball hoop rim is currently sealed and the court will be closed for basketball activity until further notice,” read a notice of closure posted at the court. 

A resident who spoke to Zaobao noted that as many as 30 people have been gathering at the court, with teens smoking, chatting and playing matches till midnight. 

Elsewhere in Yishun, a basketball player isn’t too happy about the preventive measures taken. 

“Don’t be a puss and decorate the hoops,” the person wrote on the Complaint Singapore Facebook group page on Oct 19, objecting against the hoops at Yishun Nature Park being blocked off. He appears to believe that it was the handiwork of an aggrieved resident. 

The measures have been a long time coming as the authorities have made repeated calls for the public to abide by prevailing public health rules when exercising outdoors.

Back in August, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu noted that she received numerous feedback regarding breaches of safety measures at public spaces such as game courts located in various HDB estates.

Town Councils are monitoring the situation closely, she said, but if residents continue to defy the rules, they will block off access to the community facilities.

For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.

ilyas@asiaone.com