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A Boon Lay resident was left high and dry recently.
This was after he finally debuted a community library that was several months in the making only to find out the books and shelves were stolen overnight.
Wanted to make world better
The man, who goes by Hengster Kor, shared his experience on the Little Libraries Singapore Facebook group on Apr. 25.
Kor is the chairman of the residents’ network for Boon Lay View, The Straits Times reported.
He cooked up the idea of setting up a community library, where people can borrow books and donate their own during the Covid-19 pandemic "to make the world better".
Kor, who did not have enough books at that time, spent the next few months collecting books from other residents and his friends.
He also sought the town council's approval to set up the library at the void deck at 216A Boon Lay Ave.
Gone without a trace
He had collected enough books and shelves and received the green light from the town council by March 2023.
On Apr. 24, Kor set his plan in motion, shifting the materials he had gathered to the void deck before meticulously arranging the books by size and genre for display.
Image by Hengster Kor.
Image by Hengster Kor.
Setting up took him a total of three hours before he finally called it a day at 8pm.
He planned to continue arranging the rest of the books the next day on Apr. 25, only to realise that morning when he was sending his son to school that two of the shelves were nowhere to be seen.
According to him, the shelves were still there at around 11pm on Apr. 24.
No crumbs left
In a subsequent update on Apr. 26, he wrote that all of the books had also disappeared and that he was heart broken.
"All the books, including the encyclopaedias, are damn heavy. If anyone in this group taken them, pls (sic) take good care of them. Wah.. my heart [is] damn pain now… 💔"
He believed that the books and shelves were stolen.
Felt really demoralised
After his shocking discovery, Kor wrote that he felt really demoralised.
"So much effort has gone into setting this up, and many of us are very excited that the project is finally happening."
When asked why he did not think of installing a CCTV camera, Kor said he trusted in the community to utilise the community library responsibly.
Appears to still be going ahead with initiative
Since writing his Facebook post, several Good Samaritans have stepped up to offer him monetary donations, and to buy and donate shelves and books for his initiative.
In response to the comments, Kor said he refused the new books and shelves as they would "defeat the purpose".
He clarified that the books and shelves that he had collected were all secondhand as he just wanted to give them "an extended lifespan".
"Such incidents can make people think twice about volunteering and contributing... We are not paid to do this. We are just people who want to make the world better."
Despite what has happened, Kor appears to be going ahead with the initiative and is still accepting book donations, according to his replies to comments.
Those who wish to donate their books and shelves can leave a comment to Kor here.
Don't steal, please
Top image from Hengster Kor/Facebook and Google Maps