July 18, 2005
Attack by crows in Marine Parade
86-year-old injured in head; crows also turn on another man and kids
By Khushwant Singh
RETIREE Y.C. Soh had taken many a stroll on the pavement along Marine Parade Road near Neptune Court but he has stopped using it since Saturday - after he was attacked by several crows.
IN SHOCK AFTER ATTACK: The crows kept coming back at Mr Soh. After the attack, he felt pain and when he touched his head, his fingers were bloody. -- SEAH KWANG PENG
Said the shocked 86-year-old: 'Something hit me hard on the top of my head with the force of a football and I looked up to see four to five crows coming at me from the left and the right.
'I used my hands to shoo them off but they kept coming back.'
The birds backed off only as he entered Neptune Court, where he lives.
Mr Soh said he felt pain and when he touched his head, his fingers were bloody.
'There was a man crossing the road, maybe about 60 years old, who saw the crows attacking me and he was laughing and then the birds set upon him,' Mr Soh said, with a touch of satisfaction.
He then went up to his 15th-floor flat to wash and treat the wound.
Looking out of his window half an hour later, he saw the crows frightening five children near the spot he was attacked.
'I decided to call the National Environment Agency (NEA) before someone got seriously hurt,' he said.
He was told the NEA could send the crow-shooting squad down to Neptune Court only today. Mr M. Velaytham, who was manning the NEA call centre yesterday, told The Straits Times the shooters were volunteers from shooting clubs and were shooting crows almost daily in various parts of Singapore.
'The fastest we can get them to Neptune Court is Monday,' he said.
When The Straits Times visited the site of the attack yesterday afternoon, no crows could be seen. There also had not been any attacks since Saturday.
Said Mr Soh: 'The crows have nests in these trees and they view some people as a threat.'
It could not be the colour of their clothes. While Mr Soh was wearing a white shirt when he was attacked by the crows, neither the other man nor the children wore white.
'I'll feel much better once the crows are shot,' he said, gently touching the wound on his head.
