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For the past 10 years, it has been their secret hideaway, an oasis away from Singapore’s sprawl.
What started out as a small sitting area hidden in a forest in Choa Chu Kang soon became a garden shelter the size of a three-room apartment.
But the 75-year-old retiree, who wanted to be known only as Mr Goh, must now clean up the site and evict it by April 9, as required by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) after its officers inspected it. March 19th.
This was after a hiker stumbled upon Mr. Goh’s mini farm and alerted the SLA.
An SLA spokesperson told The New Paper yesterday: “We have posted a notice on the site requiring all items to be removed by April 9. Such cultivation constitutes a trespass offense under the State Land Invasion Act.” .
The spokesperson added that the SLA has been in contact with Goh and will remove any remaining materials found on the site after April 9.
DREAM
Goh, who declined to reveal his previous occupation, told TNP that he had always been an avid gardener and that his retirement dream was to establish a small space for gardening.
“I visit the garden almost every day, especially in the morning after taking my grandson to school. My wife joins me on the weekends. It’s a quick bike ride and I’m there in 30 minutes,” he said in Mandarin.
The secluded place is about 2.5 km from the main road and about 5 km from her apartment in Choa Chu Kang, he added.
“I don’t have a place to garden at home, so I built a small garden and a makeshift shelter years ago. I have grown bananas, mangoes, papayas and even some herbs,” he said.
“I’d rather have this hobby than sit in a coffee shop all day doing nothing.”
Goh said the shelter he built with four sturdy posts and a tarp with a tarp provides good cover during thunderstorms.
“When it rains, I don’t bike home. I just wait under the shelter because it’s so comfortable,” he added.
Goh’s daughter Jeslyn Goh, 32, who runs a business from home, said she installed a tracking app on her father’s smartphone in case he got lost in the woods.
“Sometimes I worry that he will be stuck gardening for hours. But I know how happy this makes him,” he said. “In fact, he loves bringing home fruits and vegetables for all of us.”
When asked how she feels about her father having to leave the area, Ms Goh said: “I understand where SLA is coming from. After all, it is using state land.
“But I also feel sad because he told me that this is the retirement life he’s always wanted and that he doesn’t know what to do after this. It breaks my heart to see him upset.”
He said his father had applied for a garden plot last year under the National Parks Board’s Garden Plan, but was put on the waiting list.
“I hope we can find a way for my dad to continue his hobby of gardening as it makes him very happy. I think it also keeps him active and healthy.”
Goh, who hopes to find a way to continue his hobby, proudly said that some of his crops, such as bananas, are popular with hikers and wild boars.
“I have offered fruit to hikers who passed before. I used to grow potatoes, but the wild boars were constantly eating them, so I stopped,” he added.
Members of the Facebook group Singapore Hikers said they had seen small shelters and gardens similar to Goh’s while walking through the forest.
Grace Chai, a 45-year-old homemaker who walks at least twice a week, said: “Although I’ve never seen shelters like this on my walks before, they are probably there.”
He added that he sympathizes with Mr. Goh for having to give up the garden he had cultivated for 10 years.
Although disappointed, Goh said he understands to follow the rules and has been cleaning up his things.
“I am sad, but I have no other choice. I will try to ask (SLA) for an extension because I only planted seeds for new herbs and I want them to grow before I leave the place.”
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