Confessions by Zijun Huang We recently moved into the new BTO flats near Punggol settlement. I usually work late and one night as I was returning home from work, I took a wrong turn and ended up walking through Punggol Seventeenth Avenue, where the private estate is, and saw something that gave me goosebumps; even now as I'm recalling the story. The time was a little past midnight and before 1 am. I was walking past the Raffles Kidz Childcare Centre. Some of the street lamps were flickering and the road was a bit misty. Suddenly, I heard woman crying hysterically. The crying got louder and louder. I was the only one on the street at that time. Then I heard someone shouting in Japanese. I didn’t understand what he was screaming about but the voice sounded very fierce. I looked around thinking it’s the TV sound coming from one of the houses but there were no occupied houses there. That was when, from a far, I saw a woman in traditional cheongsam behind the gate of a very old house. That was when, from a far, I saw a woman in traditional cheongsam behind the gate of a very old house. I panicked and started running down the street, past the house, and towards the direction of the nearest main road. The crying sound only faded away after I ran quite a distance past the house. I was seriously very, very scared. It's the first time I've seen or heard anything like this. I prayed and chanted all the way home. I showered quickly and went straight to bed. The next few day I came down with a really bad case of fever. For nights after that, I would have recurring nightmares about the crying woman and the Japanese man. My mum brought me to a old temple in Punggol and with the help of the temple medium, my fever eventually subsided. When the medium learned where I had my supernatural encounter, he nodded and said, "no wonder". Then he shared his memories about the Punggol point area. During the Sook Ching Massacre at Punggol beach, the Japanese raped and murdered many villagers in that area. There were many mass graves around the place, many of them were never officially documented. One of the mass grave was on the site directly opposite the Childcare centre. He said if you ask anyone staying there, 9 out of 10 would have had experienced some degree of strange encounters there. There is a also a church nearby. The choice to build the church there was to keep the angry spirits at bay but clearly that had very little effect. According to the medium, he believes that is why many of the houses there are unsold as those who are 'pantang' or superstitious would avoid buying properties in that area. Although my fever have since subsided after my visit to the temple, the haunting nightmares never stopped. Each night when I try to sleep, I would see the image of the screaming lady in cheongsam behind the gate. Each night when I try to sleep, I would see the image of the screaming lady in cheongsam behind the gate. The temple medium told me the spirit needed my help because her soul was stuck in a tormented cycle. He asked me to return to the spot at Seventeenth Avenue to burn a particular set of incense paper for her. I hesitated for a while as I am extremely scared of going back there. It took me a couple of weeks before I finally got the courage to go back there again, accompanied by the medium and one of the temple helpers. The weather seemed find when we arrived but during the prayer ritual the cold wind suddenly picked up and it began to rain. A black cat walked over towards us and sat close by to watch us pray. Maybe it’s a coincidence but the temple medium said it was a sign. The entire ritual would take about half an hour and involved chanting and burning of Hell Money for the tormented soul of the crying lady, but the rain and the wind kept putting out the fire. We were forced to abandon the ritual when the rain got too heavy. The temple medium told me that this was a sign that the spirit or spirits in the area did not accept the offering. We waited for the rain to subside and left without completing the ritual. I really hope she can get out of this vicious cycle and reborn again in a better world. I really wish I can help her but it seems like there are stronger forces at work. Photos of site and offering submitted by confessor.
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