News from the West: 'Spirit' Trees

by Mohd Faisal Jamain



Nearly two years have passed since this Jurong West neighbourhood was gripped by a minor social mania that generated a lot of media buzz.



Around 3 September in 2007, a resident in the area purported that the image of a monkey appeared on the trunk on one of the trees (see left). Some residents living nearby believed that the image is a manifestation of the Monkey God, a deity from Chinese mythology.



The appearance of the monkey outline on the tree trunk was reported in the local papers and became sensational news. Overnight, hundreds of people, mainly Chinese and Indians, from all over Singapore flocked to the usually quiet HDB neighbourhood to pay homage to the tree.



This tree is merely one of the many ‘spirit trees’ in Singapore that some believe praying to it would bring luck.



We head down to Jurong West to investigate.

Read below to have a closer look at behind-the-scenes of the investigation or find out more about the species of the tree.