Siglap is a neighbourhood located in Bedok in the East Region of Singapore. The area also encompasses the Frankel and Opera Estates and their names have sometimes been used interchangeably to refer to the approximate same area. The planning subzone area of Siglap as defined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is confusingly and inaccurately referred to as the small strip of land between Victoria Junior College and Bedok South Avenue 1. It is a residential area where a majority live in landed homes such as freehold semi-detached houses and bungalows. Some of the land parcels near Siglap Centre have been redeveloped into serviced apartments and condominiums. The few Housing and Development Board flats in Siglap have been demolished in 2015 under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme. The East Coast Park is also located nearby, across the East Coast Parkway. Etymology The present area of Siglap was founded by Tok Lasam, the Chieftain (Penghulu) of Siglap. It is believed that he sailed to Singapore to escape the Dutch's attack on his Sultanate of Gowa in the 1660s. According to legend, it was said that dark thunder clouds had appeared when he first landed in the area which led to the name "Si-Gelap", derived from the Malay word ‘gelap’, meaning "darkness that conceals". Other versions of his arrival include him as a Minangkabau prince arriving from Sumatra to visit the Bugis settlements in the Tanjong Rhu area and ultimately establishing Siglap in 1809. According to historians, his arrival might have coincided with a rare full solar eclipse on 4 March 1821 and hence the darkness might have referred to the eclipse, rather than the dark clouds. Today the graves of Tok Lasam, his wife and his panglima (Commander) can be found near Jalan Sempadan off Upper East Coast Road. History Siglap in its early days had four kampongs, side by side each other along the coastline, they were from east to west starting from Jalan Hajijah, Kampong Hajijah, Kampong Goh Choo, Kampong Siglap and Kampong Lim Choo which ended near Siglap Road. There were also a small community of Japanese fishermen living in the area, although by the end of World War II (WWII) they had mostly vanished. The inland areas of Siglap consisted mostly of coconut and nutmeg plantations and in 1912 the Frankels bought over these plantations. The Frankels were wealthy Jewish business people originating from Lithuania and