2 Hougang HDB flats damaged after suspected marble shooting, at least 38 marbles found

Windows belonging to two Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats in Hougang were damaged after allegedly being shot with glass marbles.

The affected units were located on the second and third floors of the block and a total of 12 indents were found in the windows.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the incident took place on Feb. 8 at Block 575 Hougang Street 51.

Awoken by a loud sound

A 50-year-old woman, surnamed Huang (transliteration), who lives in the second-floor unit, told Shin Min that she was woken by a loud noise at around 7am that Sunday, and later heard the sound of glass shattering.

Concerned that more objects might be thrown, she waited for about five minutes before getting up to check and later discovered two indents in her bedroom window.

She added that she had heard a loud noise at around 4pm on Feb. 7 while sleeping on the sofa in the living room, but initially assumed that her upstairs neighbours had simply dropped something.

However, after discovering the damage to her bedroom window the following morning, she decided to check the living room window and found three additional indents.

Huang said that though the protective film on the windows prevented any major damage, she noted that she could have been injured had she been standing nearby at the time.

35-year-old Fang Ziliang (transliteration), who lived in the affected third-floor unit, told Shin Min that he was playing games in his room early Sunday morning when he heard a loud bang between 4am and 5am.

Upon checking, he found three indents in his window.

Fang said his parents had also heard loud noises on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7 but had mistaken them for objects falling from upstairs, and hence did not realise their bedroom window had been damaged.

One resident's window was previously hit by a tennis ball

A resident on the third floor told Shin Min that her window had been hit by a tennis ball just a few weeks earlier.

When she peered out her window, she noticed that the ball belonged to two children.

However, she did not pursue the matter further as the children apologised and her window was not damaged.

The resident added that there are many children in the neighbourhood, and that there have been previous incidents of soccer balls hitting windows, though they do not occur frequently.

At least 38 glass marbles found

At least 10 police officers were deployed to the scene, Shin Min reported.

The driveway below the block was cordoned off, and evidence markers were placed on the ground.

According to observations at the site, two windows in the second-floor unit were damaged, while three windows in the third-floor unit were affected. 12 indents were recorded in total.

At least 38 glass marbles, measuring approximately 5mm to 8mm in diameter, were also recovered, mostly from the driveway below the block. No marbles were found inside the affected units.

Police later attached identification markers to the damaged windows to document the impact points, drawing the attention of onlookers.

In response to Mothership's queries, police confirmed they received a call for assistance at Block 575 Hougang Street 51 on Feb. 8 at about 7:40am.

No injuries were reported and investigations are ongoing.

Top photos from Shin Min Daily News