​SINGAPORE — A 37-year-old man will be charged on Friday (Nov 20) after he allegedly defiled a statue at a church in Hougang last week.

In a statement on Friday, the police said that the suspect will be charged with criminal trespass and defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class.

On Nov 12 at around 10.50am, the police received a report that a statue in the courtyard of a church along Upper Serangoon Road was defaced.

The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Hougang said last week that it had found the defaced statue last Thursday morning, and had reported the issue to the authorities.

A photo of the statue of Mary, with marbles stuck on its eyes and a stroke of white paint on its forehead, was circulated on social media. 

Through ground investigations and with the help of images from security cameras, officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division established the identity of the man and arrested him on Wednesday, the police statement said. 

They will seek a court order to remand the man at the Institute of Mental Health.

If found guilty of criminal trespass he may face up to three months’ jail or a fine of up to S$1,500, or both.

For defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class, he may be jailed for up to five years or fined, or both.

The police said that they do not condone acts that insult the religious harmony at the places of worship of any class in Singapore and perpetrators will be dealt with sternly in accordance with the law.

The Catholic church in Hougang was opened in 1901 and was gazetted as a national monument in 2005. The statue has been there since 1946.