Singapore: Steel nuts stolen from new Riau bridge

[tacobell fan]

Just one month since its inauguration, the Siak IV Bridge in Pekanbaru, Riau, has been vandalized, an official said.

Among the damage caused, the bridge is missing at least a hundred nuts, and its steel parts and copper cables were sawed by the perpetrators. Despite having sustained damage, the bridge was still safe to use, claimed the head of road and bridge affairs at the Riau Public Works and Housing Ministry, Yunnan Haris, on Monday.

“But if [people] continue to remove its nuts and bolts, the bridge will surely lose its strength. In case it becomes too weak to use, we will have to close the bridge,” said Yunnan, who had ordered new bridge parts to replace the stolen ones.

As for the bigger bridge parts, he added that his team had already replaced the cables twice after they were repeatedly stolen in the past. For this incident, he had contacted the local subprecinct police to investigate the case.

However, he admits that security personnel have been absent at times. “The surveillance is done at random. As soon as the burglars see an opportunity, they will take action. In the future, we will install security cameras around the bridge so we can monitor anyone who intends to sabotage the bridge,” Yunnan said.