'Singapore also got Picasso': Vacant Tanglin Halt HDB block smeared with graffiti

Splashes of black, red and yellow paint 'decorate' a lift in Block 40 Tanglin Halt Road.

In a video uploaded by social media account Tiagong on Facebook and Instagram, a red handprint can also be seen, though another piece of graffiti helpfully points this out to be "fake blood" with a smiley face.

"Singapore also got Picasso," the post's caption reads, and the camera momentarily shows broken glass strewn across the floor in the corridor.

One netizen commented: "This one should be Jackson Pollock, not Picasso" while another remarked: "Looks more like Basquiat."

"Ah long practice target," joked a comment.

A total of 31 housing blocks, markets and food centres in Tanglin Halt were selected to be part of the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme and vacated in 2021. They are set to be demolished by 2024.

Shop tenants in blocks 47, 48 and 49 of Tanglin Halt Road, however, were told that their contracts could be renewed for three more years, until March 2027.

Shin Min Daily News visited Block 40 and found the location to be overgrown with weeds, with the windows to many units broken.

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One of the lifts, presumably seen in the Tiagong video, was still working and the reporters noticed the strong smell of paint as the lift doors opened.

They also saw more graffiti on pillars and corridors along HDB blocks in the area, including tags reading "hello" and "goodbye".

One shop employee in the area surnamed Lee told Shin Min that there could still be some people living in the block.

"We've seen some residents come and go. The stairs would be boarded up if there were nobody occupying [the block]," he claimed.

However, Shin Min reported that they did not see any resident in their two visits to the block.

A senior criminal lawyer interviewed by the Chinese daily said that, although the Tanglin Halt block was about to be demolished, it was still considered public property.

The vandalism is considered damage to public property and carries a criminal change with imprisonment up to three years, three to eight strokes of the cane, and a fine up to $2,000.

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drimac@asiaone.com