A 52-year-old man has been arrested after a car was found smeared with faeces at Blk 49 Sims Place in Aljunied on Nov. 19.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the man left "prayer offerings" on the car's bonnet, with a note in Mandarin that said, "The only way to prevent people from knowing what you did is not to do it at all. (若要人不知，除非己莫为)," was found on the windshield.

The note appeared to be addressed to a person with the surname of Tan.

However, the car belonged to a nearby 60-year-old hawker by the surname of Wang (transliteration from Mandarin).

"Nauseating" faecal stains on windows and door handles

When Shin Min reporters reached the scene, they found the car had faecal stains on its front and rear windshields, windows, and door handles.

The stench from the stains was reported to be "nauseating".

The items left on the bonnet consisted of a huat kueh (steamed cake usually used for offerings) with a flower stuck on top, and an orange with a ribbon and incense sticks tied around it.

Two police cars were also spotted at the scene, with several officers seen taking photos and carrying out their investigation at the nearby market.

Car owner is a chicken stall owner at the market

Wang told the Shin Min reporters she sells chicken at the nearby market and knew about what happened only when a neighbouring stall's staff informed her.

Shocked and angry, she immediately called the police but returned to her stall to continue serving her customers.

She only cleaned her car after the market closed in the afternoon.

Wang said she never had disputes with her customers.

In addition, she does not know the person to whom the notes were addressed.

She added that after she cleaned the car herself, she still had to bring it to the car wash to clean it thoroughly.

She said:

"We have never offended anyone and have just been making an honest living. This is really too much."

Man could have targeted the wrong car

Besides vandalising the car, the same perpetrator is also believed to have stuck notes with abusive language on nearby pillars.

Other hawkers speculated that it could have been another vendor who offended the man and that the suspect might have chosen the wrong target.

Shin Min observed that there was another car in the carpark of the same model, with a similar colour and even a similar car plate number to Wang's car.

In response to Shin Min's queries, the police said a 52-year-old has been arrested for public nuisance and that the case is under investigation.

Top photo via Shin Min Daily News