A World War II bomb relic found at CDL’s The Myst condominium construction site was recently disposed on 26 September 2023 following two controlled detonations.

According to historians and analysts, the 100kg Type 94 or Type 1 war relic that was discovered on 20 September during excavation works, was likely dropped during the Battle of Bukit Timah in February 1942, the final stage of Singapore’s fall to the Japanese. Singapore was occupied by the Japanese from 1942 to 1945 during World War II.

It was probably a high explosive bomb deployed by an aircraft supporting then Imperial Japanese Army on the ground, and likely contained about 47kg of explosives, enough to destroy a block of flats.

The bomb is not the largest to have landed in Singapore. Bigger bombs weighing up to 250kg were dropped by the Japanese during their three-month Malayan campaign.

About nine hours after a mandatory evacuation that began before 8am, more than 4,000 residents were allowed to return home at around 5pm after the completion of safety checks.

The bomb was successfully disposed by the Singapore Armed Forces after two detonations. The first that took place at 12:30pm was marked by a loud blast and plumes of smoke, followed by a second detonation at 1.45pm, with the explosion displacing sandbags and dirt.

Aside from some cracked glass, dislodged plaster from ceilings and fallen light bulbs, no structural damage was reported in the surrounding area’s buildings.