Bedok's Berlin Wall to go back to US owners

Bedok's Berlin Wall to go back to US owners: Housed in a glass, steel and concrete facility at Bedok Reservoir Park, the 5m-long section of the Berlin Wall features the spray-painted artwork of German artist Dennis Kaun, called Kings Of Freedom.

By Lisabel Ting
The Straits Times
Apr 19, 2013

FOUR panels of the historic Berlin Wall on display in Bedok Reservoir Park will be returned to their owners by the end of this year.

The 5m-long section of the wall, which was unveiled here in January 2010 to much fanfare, is on indefinite loan from American oil industry veteran Robert Hefner III, 78, and his Singapore- born wife MeiLi.

The couple plan to move the wall back to one of their properties in the United States, former foreign minister George Yeo revealed in an e-mail interview with The Straits Times.

Mr Yeo is a friend of the Hefners and former MP for Bedok Reservoir-Punggol.

The National Parks Board also confirmed the return of the wall panels.

Mr Yeo said: "When the Hefners told me some months ago that they wanted the wall back, I expressed sadness and the strong hope that they would keep it at Bedok Reservoir for a while longer. But it is a decision they have taken which I have to respect."

The couple, who are art collectors, acquired the 4m-high, 60cm-thick segments in 1990 - a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall - for an undisclosed amount.

Spray-painted on the concrete slabs are two kings, one smiling and one looking sad.

Titled Kings Of Freedom, the painting is the work of German artist Dennis Kaun.

The Hefners originally wanted to exhibit the pieces with their collection of Chinese oil paintings at the National Museum of Singapore in September 2008, but it proved logistically impractical to transport the pieces here and back to their original location in Oklahoma City a month later.

Mr Yeo, who is now based in Hong Kong as chairman of Kerry Logistics Network, had offered to house the pieces in Bedok Reservoir Park, then part of his constituency.

The former minister has a keen interest in the arts and history, having headed the Information and the Arts Ministry for almost a decade.

He is also a patron of Lasalle College of the Arts, and adviser to the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall.

Other luminaries who were involved in bringing the wall sections to Singapore include veteran businesswoman Jennie Chua, who chaired the fund-raising committee for the project.

The pieces are housed in a specially-constructed $2 million glass, steel and concrete facility at the park. This facility will stay; a spokesman for the fund-raising team said it is in discussions with NParks to fill the enclosure.

Regulars of the park said they would be sad to see the wall go.

"I feel like it's a waste, because the wall is quite colourful and has graffiti on it," said Mr Chiam Wee Leong, 29, who owns WaWaWa Bistro, a German eatery located next to the wall. "Without it, this park would just be like any other."

Mr Jonathan Lim, 25, a resident of Bedok, agreed. Said the operations officer: "It's important that history isn't forgotten, but shared with the young."

The spokesman for the fund-raising team said one option being explored is for Kaun to work with Singapore artists to create an artwork for the enclosure.

Mr Yeo is happy that the facility will not go to waste.

He said: "I'm glad that NParks is planning to use the enclosure for some other object of interest so that the Kings Of Freedom facility will continue to be interesting and inspiring to Singaporeans, young and old."