Sungei Road
Sungei Road | |
---|---|
Subzone of Rochor Planning Area | |
Name transcription(s) | |
• Chinese | 双溪路 (nicknamed 结霜桥) |
Country | Singapore |
Sungei Road (
Etymology
Sungei Road got its name because it runs along the banks of the Rochor River (Sungei Rochor), hence its
History
In the 1820s, the area around Sungei Road was designated by Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore, for the homes of affluent Europeans and Asians, when he divided the early settlements according to different ethnic groups. The Arabs and Malays who had settled at Sungei Road previously were relocated eastwards to Kampong Glam. Ornately designed two-storey and three-storey shophouses that came with covered 5-foot (1.5 m) way were built in its place.[3]
At nearby Lavender Street was the
During the
Thieves' Market
From the 1930s, Sungei Road and its surrounding roads became a flea market better known as the Thieves' Market, because all sorts of second-hand merchandise as well as contraband goods were sold here. The peddlers may change from day to day and there were no receipts, so refunds are impossible. Until the British Army withdrawal in the late 1960s, it was also a place to buy army merchandise like uniforms, army gear and other army surplus, possibly looted earlier from British military stores.[2] The open-air market soon acquired a bad reputation as the major dissemination venue for stolen goods that would last to the present day. If an item was "lost" recently, people can try their luck in looking for it at the Thieves' Market, and buying it back from the sellers who will always claim no knowledge of its source.[5]
In the early 1970s, opium dens used to be common in the Sungei Road area. The drugs were popular with workers looking for a cheap way to ease the hardship of the day's toil. The opium addicts were mainly poor, elderly people from working-class groups.[6] In early 1991, a spate of fires destroyed more than 20 shophouses along Sungei Road. Most of the century-old shophouses, crumbling with age, had become potential fire hazards for its residents. The first fire incident left two people injured and 61 homeless. As a result, many of its buildings were torn down for safety reason and its inhabitants relocated in later years.[7]
In the mid-1990s, the old shop house buildings were torn down, resulting in street peddlers displaying their wares on canvas sheets along the empty roads in the area. The peddlers did not pay rent, but the Singapore government forbade them from selling brand-new items.[8] To keep up with the times, some of the peddlers put up their wares to sell on websites and eBay, especially those hard to sell items such as old photographs, badges, medals and other collector's items.[9] The market remained until its final closure by the authorities on 10 July 2017.[10]
Success stories
Despite its notorious reputation, there were a few cases of honest and hardworking karung guni men who made good, and became millionaires. One was Poon Buck Seng who started his business with only a capital of
Another similar rags-to-riches story is Pang Lim, who was an illegal fruit hawker in Sungei Road in the 1970s. His big break came when he saved enough money to rent a coffee shop in 1990 with his younger brother and uncle. They rented the stalls out to other hawkers and managed the drinks stall themselves. The business took off and from one coffee shop, Pang is now the managing director of Koufu, which operates 20 foodcourts, five coffee shops and five cafes around the island.[12]
Landmarks
Sungei Road Laksa
Located nearby at Jin Shui Kopitiam ("
Singapore Ice Works
Located at the junction of Sungei Road and Pitt Road, was the former site of the Singapore Ice Works that was built in the 1930s. The factory was the first ice-making plant in Singapore using large
Rochor Market
The Rochor Market, a wet market, was another popular landmark in this area. Built in 1872, it served the surrounding community for more than a century. In August 1982, part of the market was demolished and its stalls were moved elsewhere.[3]
Closure
Despite its long history, the flea market was permanently closed on 10 July 2017, with government authorities reclaiming the land for "future residential development".[1] Plans for vendors to relocate to the rooftop carpark of Golden Mile Tower have so far been unsuccessful.[19] A group of vendors from the flea market now ply their trade at legally rented public areas.[20] One of such area is the Market Gaia Guni situated at Woodlands industrial area.
See also
- Bugis Street
- Middle Road, Singapore
- New World Amusement Park
Notes
- ^ a b "Last day of Thieves' Market at Sungei Road on Jul 10". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
- ^ ISBN 981-210-364-3.
- ^ a b c Thulaja, Naidu Ratnala. "Sungei Road". National Library Board. Archived from the original on 4 July 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
- ^ Chia, Helen (9 August 1989). "Discovering Rochore". The Straits Times. p. Books section.
- ^ "Undeveloped land for loot seller". National Environment Agency. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
- ^ Chua, Chin Hon (12 April 1999). "Busted—1990s' largest opium syndicate". The Straits Times.
- ^ "Third fire in two months hits the Sungei Road area". The Straits Times. 10 February 1991. p. Home section.
- ^ Ho, Michelle (12 October 2001). "How much for that broken phone?". The Straits Times.
- ^ Tsang, Susan (12 July 2005). "Sungei Road bargains on eBay". The Straits Times. p. Digital Life section.
- ^ "Sungei Road Thieves' Market: The final weeks". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 12 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ Lim, Joyce (11 August 2007). "He grows fortune from discarded computers". The New Paper.
- ^ Tan, Theresa (14 April 2007). "From illegal hawker to food chain boss". The Straits Times. p. Saturday Special Report.
- ^ "One good deed begets one good laksa", The New Paper, 17 December 2005.
- ^ "Serangoon's Chinese surprise", The Straits Times, 17 June 2001.
- ^ "The best claypot rice and laksa in town", The Straits Times, 23 June 2002.
- ^ Teo Pau Lin, "On the makan trail", The Straits Times, 30 July 2006.
- ^ "Chow good enough for critics", The New Paper, 2 August 2006
- ^ a b Tan, G.S. (August 2000). "The History of Refrigeration in Singapore". Ashrae Singapore Chapter Newsletter. 3 (1): 6–8.
- ^ hermesauto (12 July 2017). "Sungei Road market may not get its new lease of life at Golden Mile Tower carpark". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- ^ "Photos and description of Sungei Road merchants selling at rented public areas". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2019.