SINGAPORE: A police report has been made after a video of a woman who allegedly caught sharks in Sentosa was uploaded online.
The video, which has since been taken down, was first seen on social media platform Xiaohongshu, according to Chinese media outlet 8world. The incident may have occurred between Sept 21 and Sept 22, it reported.
The video was also posted on Reddit’s r/singaporehappenings forum on Sept 29.
It shows a woman holding a fishing rod against the backdrop of Sentosa island at night before cutting to a snapshot of a shark set on a wooden floorboard with a piece of fishing equipment called a lip gripper seemingly in its mouth.
The video then shows two sharks, resembling blacktip reef shark pups, lying together on the floorboard. The clip ends with a woman seen walking along the pier with a fishing rod in hand.
Investigations are ongoing, said the police on Sept 30, in response to queries from The Straits Times.
A check by ST on the Sentosa website found that “fishing, poaching, or any act of hurting wildlife in Sentosa, is prohibited”.
It is not known what happened to the two sharks after the video was taken.
Government website SG101 states that blacktip reef sharks, native to Singapore, typically grow up to 1.6m in length, sometimes reaching up to 2.9m. They pose little threat to humans and are commonly found in shallow coastal waters.
Blacktip reef sharks are listed as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. Its population has been declining because of overfishing, marine pollution and climate change, SG101 states.
This is not the first time sharks have been spotted in Sentosa waters.
On Sept 1, 2024, swimming and water activities were temporarily halted after a shark sighting off Palawan Beach.
ST has contacted the Sentosa Development Corporation, National Environment Agency, Nature Society Singapore, Animal Concerns Research and Education Society, and National Parks Board for more information. - The Straits Times/ANN
