SINGAPORE – Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) is looking into an incident of falling debris on Sunday that left a gaping hole in the rear windscreen of a luxury sedan.

Shin Min Daily News reported on Monday that a dislodged brick from the facade of a Housing Board block in Hougang had fallen four storeys and ended up inside a BMW.

In photos of the incident, pieces of the brick can also be seen on the ground near the vehicle.

In response to The Straits Times’ queries, an AHTC spokesman said the area was immediately barricaded after the incident to ensure the safety of passers-by and workers.

“AHTC has ascertained that there were no injuries reported, but a car was damaged... AHTC has since contacted the owner of the damaged vehicle,” he added.

He did not say if the town council will offer any compensation to the car owner.

The spokesman added that the affected block is slated for repair and redecoration works, which are ongoing in the vicinity.

“We would like to assure residents that the findings will be carefully studied to look into ways to prevent the recurrence of such an incident,” he said.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the incident took place at Block 222 Hougang Street 21 at around 9.25am on Sunday.

A resident working in the investment industry said he was waiting to board a car at the foot of the block when he heard a loud bang beside him.

The 32-year-old said he initially thought someone had thrown a flower pot from a height, before realising it was a brick and that it had hit a car parked near where he was standing.

“As I was rushing to get into my transport, I quickly told my father to send a message in our block’s group chat to alert the rest of the residents,” he said.

Residents interviewed by the Chinese-language daily said this was the first time they had encountered such an incident, and that they were thankful no one was hurt. They said there are kindergartens and tuition centres in the area, with many elderly residents and children passing by each day.

A 63-year-old resident, who wanted to be known only as Madam Huang, said she would avoid waiting for her transport in the open-air area in future because of this incident.

In 2018, an HDB block under the purview of AHTC also encountered a similar issue, where bricks from the external facade of Block 634 Bedok Reservoir Road fell nine storeys to the ground. No injuries were reported.