WOODLANDS residents are resigned to thieves making off with parts of their vehicles parked overnight in multistorey carparks.
Wing mirrors, headlights and motorcycle helmets are all fair game.
Over the weekend, however, these residents had a new nuisance to deal with - arsonists.
On Sunday, 24 motorcycles in three carparks within walking distance of each other were found torched.
These thefts and fires are making a mockery of the crime-prevention posters put up by the police and the town council at the entrances to carparks in four Woodlands neighbourhoods.
Full-time national serviceman Mohamad Faiz Abdul Razak, 24, said an $80 speaker went missing from his 10-year-old Vespa scooter, which he parked in the Block 747 Woodlands Circle carpark late one night in March.
"So fed up", he has not replaced the speaker because he thinks it will get stolen again.
Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao reported that the three carpark blazes, now being investigated by the police, took place within 20 minutes.
It said that at 4.10am, three motorcycles were set alight at Block 768 Woodlands Avenue 6. Eight minutes later, four others were torched at Block 766A, followed by the rest at Block 748A.
NTUC Income told The Straits Times yesterday that it had received three claims for damages relating to these fires.
This was the second motor vehicle arson case in Woodlands, said Mr Balasubramaniam Veerasamy, property manager with Sembawang Town Council.
In the first case two to three years ago, one motorcycle was set ablaze, he added.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told The Straits Times yesterday that there were seven fire incidents involving motorcycles in multi-storey carparks islandwide last month and this month, each involving between two and 16 motorcycles.
A car was also involved in one incident, and a lorry in another.
A person found guilty of mischief with fire faces up to seven years in jail and may also be fined.
Mr Balasubramaniam reminded residents not to leave valuables in their vehicles, and to keep them locked.
But Woodlands residents say reminders on posters and police patrols are not enough.
Technical officer Elmi Sha Mohamad Nasir, 24, suggested installing CCTV cameras at carpark entrances.
His Piaggio scooter's $300 brake caliper was stolen last November, and his father's helmet, two months ago.
He said: "We don't feel safe parking our motorcycles there, but we've got no choice since we can't illegally park elsewhere."
He noted that police patrols covered only the ground floor of these multi-storey carparks, and that he had seen suspicious characters loitering in the carparks after midnight, and riding up and down every level on their motorcycles.
The Sembawang Town Council said it will work with the police on further preventive measures.