It seems that someone has sent letters with a veiled threat to government leaders protesting the impending closure of the Sungei Road Market, popularly known as the Thieves Market.

For those who are not in the know, Sungei Road Market's last day will be on July 10. The government does not intend to relocate the market despite petitions by vendors and other groups.

According to TODAY, the Police is currently investigating a case involving "threatening letters sent to Government leaders" such as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

TODAY also received a copy of the letter which read "Don't forget the 200 people and supporters. We only ask for this place. That's not much". It was signed off by "Koh Eng Khoon (Friend)".

The letter also came with Hell bank notes, commonly used by many Chinese people burn during funerals and certain Chinese festivals.

Incidentally, Koh Eng Khoon is also the name of the president of the Association for the Recycling of Second Hand Goods located at the Sungei Road market.

Koh is known to be a tireless campaigner for the preservation of the Sungei Road Market. He has been the face of the union of Sungei Road vendors that had engaged government bodies to keep the market as well as the livelihoods of its vendors.

The market has been around since the 1930s but the space it occupied was halved in 2011 to accommodate the building of the Jalan Besar MRT station on the Downtown Line. The fate of the market was further sealed when government ordered the vendors to clear out by July this year.

The Straits Times reported that the Police raided Koh's one-room flat at MacPherson at midnight on April 28.

Koh maintained that he was not involved in the matter, and "couldn't understand who would want to sabotage ]him[ and use [his] name." Koh also told The Straits Times that he intended to lodge a police report regarding the misuse of his identity.

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Here's a video of an old-timer at the Sungei Road Market telling you why the market shouldn't close down:

Top photo via Ghetto Singapore

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