Would like to share a story that I experienced personally during my army days. The year was 1991. After BMT, I was posted to School of Signals at Stagmont Camp for 7 weeks of Basic Signaler Course. Camp was an eye-opener as it was like a holiday camp compared to the crummy SBMT (well, I have another one on that) where I came from.

OK, as signalers, we have to go through radio and line course. Line means that we use field telephones instead of mobile radio sets. The most difficult part is to “lay the line” as we call it - basically run from point A to B and connect 2 telephones while making sure we give enough slack for maintenance. In Line training, there is this exercise to lay it in built-up areas, which is basically a building.

Off we went on a short ride to this abandoned govt blocks in Chua Chu Kang. It was an afternoon. We were split into 12 teams and 2 teams are tasked to lay line all the way to the 6th floor of each abandoned building by entering from the two staircase entrances located at each side of the building. To my best recollection, there were 6 blocks, 5 together and an isolated one about 50 meters away down a slope. My team together with another were bloody unfortunate to be tasked to lay Block 6 - yup, the isolated one. Was not so much about goblins and ghosts then but for the fact that each team is timed on their mission and the last team has to do push ups on the hot ground full of sands and stones - a real bummer. We had to work faster.

I was detachment-in-charge and my responsibility was to run as fast as I can to the block, run up the stairs to the 6th floor, cist the cable and connect it to the phone, check communications and run back to report with my mates. The other 2 of my mates have the responsibility of covering up the line and allow enough slack. As I ran like hell up the stairs, something made me look back at the corner on the 4th floor. I saw nothing. When I reached the 6th floor and started working with my pliers, I heard a female voice talking in the empty rooms. Pressed for time, I was not thinking much about it. But as I was finishing my job, the talking which I could not make out what was said as they were kind of mumblings, grew louder and it sounded like that female was losing an argument (you know how they are). Next thing I heard was a loud bang, exactly like slamming of a door. What made me froze for 3 seconds was that several other doors also slammed shut one after another.

At that point, I have finished my job, and ran downstairs by jumping each staircase from the 2nd or 3rd step. I didn’t say anything because not being the last detachment to report back took utmost priority for me. When the exercise was almost done, we needed to collect back the field telephone and cables. I kind of suggested to my mates that we should share the work and one of them should go up and claim these items. (Yup, I’m that kind of dude then).

We went back to camp, returned the stores and waited for dinner. I still didn’t tell anyone. In the bunk, I was sitting on the floor opposite this guy from the team that was laying the line at the other end of block 6. Thinking back, they had a rawer deal as their staircase entrance was facing the woods while mine was facing the command centre. Anyway, this guy look real pale and green. Then I sprang my questions. “Did you lay block 6?”, “Did you hear any woman’s voice?” The guy looked at me and was totally shocked out of his pants! He couldn’t speak for at least 1 min and then told me his story.

When we were collecting back the equipment, this dude was unsure if his detachment ic was upstairs doing it, so he ventured upstairs to look for him. While he was at halfway between the 5th and 6th floor staircase, he called out the ic’s name and got a female voice replying “Wo zai ze li” (I am here). Straightaway he dashed back downstairs. We tried to analyze and rationalize it because it was broad daylight (sunny and hot) and we had a female instructor present during the exercise. But all the time she was at the command post. Could it be a human hiding in the rooms? Finally, we approached our female sergeant (instructor) and told her our experience. She confirmed that she was at the command post all the time and the blocks are vacant. Later that evening, she revealed that we were not the only ones that “complained” about it. Apparently, previous platoons also encountered unexplained things there. After this event, the place was not used for any future line training exercises.

The story did not end…

1992 - I was in a unit and involved in this big division exercise just before my ROD. My unit was in Tekong and I had ultra sinang duties. With nothing to do at night, I sat around a bunch of store man and drivers listening to ghost stories. There was this driver that said that during his teenage days, they like to peep at lovers making out at night. One of the hotspots then was a bunch of abandoned govt blocks in Chua Chu Kang. But there was one incident whereby this girl was ditched by the boyfriends and she hung herself in one of the rooms. I couldn’t believe what I have heard!

Immediately, I asked him to describe the place…it was the same BLOCK 6!!!