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Singapore: The plot thickens as thieves plunder community gardens

Despite new deterrents such as signs, thefts still happen in each garden at least once a month.PHOTOS: RAYMOND TANG, CASSANDRA HO

“A few gardeners in Bishan will wrap their papayas in cloth or take them home to ripen. We have to be faster than the person who wants to grab them,” said Ms Ho.

By Shabana Begum
Straits Times
July 26, 2020

Excerpt:

Growing some fruit and veg for the kitchen table is hard enough what with pesky insects and pests but community gardeners have an even more infuriating foe to contend with – thieves snitching produce and digging up entire plants.

This has been happening for as long as the community plots were introduced around 15 years ago and most gardeners can put up with people taking a few cuttings or leaves but they draw the line at ripping off plants, stealing fruit and destroying greens.

Incidents have continued unabated despite new deterrents.

These include community groups erecting signs reminding the public not to pluck edibles without asking and covering rarer plants with nets.

But thefts still happen in most gardens at least once a month.

Homemaker Cassandra Ho, 52, who grows edibles in a community garden in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, said petty theft is an unfortunate reality .

The community garden, which has about 100 plots tended by 50 gardeners, encounters at least one theft every month, said Ms Ho.

Read the complete article here.